Natural environment

Key progress 2024 to 2025

Woodlands, orchards and meadows

1,184 individual trees and 250 fruit trees were planted between December 2024 and March 2025. The council’s tree planting initiative aims to significantly increase Stockport’s tree cover as part of our climate action strategy.

The orchard planting and meadow enhancement initiatives were designed to create new green spaces and support community engagement. We're currently working on enhancing our existing orchards and meadows and establishing new ones across the borough.

Natural flood risk management

Following the New Year flooding event, a Section 19 statutory report is underway and due later in 2025. Undertaking such measures is a crucial aspect of the council’s response to flooding, together with work to use nature for effective flood risk management.

Natural flood risk management also has a co-benefit of helping address the biodiversity crisis and we’re working in collaboration with United Utilities, the Environment Agency and Mersey Rivers Trust to do this. Development of emergency flood plans for the reservoirs in Compstall and Reddish Vale have also been progressed.

Further work has focused on integrating sustainable drainage into development and active travel schemes, including:

  • A6 Cluster (Black Brook in Heaton Chapel)
  • A34 Improvements (managing highway water more sustainably)
  • Stockport MDC (re-thinking of water infrastructure implementation

We've contributed to and promoted the implementation of the Greater Manchester Streets for All Guide, particularly the sections on highway drainage which supports more natural drainage solutions.

Members' Local Nature Recovery Group and biodiversity net gain

The cross-party Members’ Local Nature Recovery Group has helped shape the approach to nature recovery across the borough. We’ve continued to work closely with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) through the GM Local Nature Recovery Group, contributing to the development of the GM Local Nature Recovery Strategy, which went out to consultation in February and will be adopted in 2025.

Work is also underway to develop a strategy for using Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) legislation to create habitat banks on council-owned land. This involves collaboration across legal, finance, ecology, and planning teams within the council, as well as with GMCA and other local authorities, to make sure BNG delivers real benefits for nature across the region.

Partnership working

Partnerships have supported delivery of the natural environment workstream, including urban tree planting with City of Trees, sapling supply from the Kindling Trust, and planting projects with George Cox Ltd and Wilmott Dixon.

This year, a City of Trees workshop involving council teams identified new planting opportunities and funding, helping expand natural environment initiatives across the borough.

Recycling and waste

Stockport continues to lead on recycling, with the lowest black bin waste in Greater Manchester and among the top 10 nationally. Residents’ efforts have made Stockport the best-performing metropolitan borough in the UK for recycling.

Working with GMCA, we continue to promote recycling and influence behaviour to maintain this success.