Current proposals
Last updated 16 August 2022
3. Active Neighbourhoods
What is an Active Neighbourhood?
An Active Neighbourhood aims to help residents to make short trips on foot, by cycle or by public transport, instead of jumping in their car. Active Neighbourhoods also seek to make our roads a safer place for all users.
This can be achieved through:
- new crossings
- new walking and cycling facilities
- traffic calming
- introduction of measures around schools to improve road safety
- measures to prevent ‘rat running’ in residential streets
- pocket parks
Active Neighbourhoods in Stockport are part of a Greater Manchester-wide programme to improve the areas where people live, and all 10 local authorities are taking part. Chris Boardman, Greater Manchester’s Transport Commissioner, explains more about what an Active Neighbourhood is in this video.
Heaton Chapel trial
After the public consultation held online at the end of last year, we've selected an area of Heaton Chapel to run an Active Neighbourhood trial. During this trial we'll be installing some of the above measures on a temporary basis, to see how they can help reduce through traffic and make the streets safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling, and cut out rat running through residential areas.
The proposed measures will be in for a period of around 3 months to allow us to assess their effectiveness and understand how they can contribute to making the residents more active.
You can view the Heaton Chapel Active Neighbourhood map to find out where the Active Neighbourhood will be located.
How the trial will impact the roads, footpaths and accessing properties
Drivers may have to take a different route to normal, however there'll still be vehicular access to all properties.
We'll be keeping an eye on the traffic throughout the trial. More people walking and cycling will reduce shorter trips by cars and free up space on the roads.
No footpaths will be blocked. All proposed measures will be designed to accommodate wheelchairs, mobility scooters and non-standard cycles.
Emergency services will have access to all properties.
For more information visit the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) website.
Consultation following the end of the trial
We'll be holding a consultation in January 2022 for residents to give their feedback, opinions and experiences of the trial. We're currently in the process of appointing a recognised and accredited third-party to run this consultation.
If you're in the trial area, you'll get an invite to the consultation in the post.
Active Neighbourhood Engagement in Romiley and Heatons
A 7-week engagement period took place in Autumn 2020, which gave residents the opportunity to leave comments on whether they support the introduction of an Active Neighbourhood in the Heatons and Romiley.
The comments left on the consultation pages for each area can be found at:
The project team are currently analysing the data left during the engagement process and further details will be released this summer.