Neighbourhood 01: Goyt Riverside
The northern edge of the Town Centre is unified by the rivers meeting and flowing through it and contains a strong retail presence edged by the motorway.
3 character areas come together to form this neighbourhood:
- Town centre retail and leisure area
- Great Portwood
- New Bridge Lane
The creation of a new mixed neighbourhood alongside a revitalised riverside will be brought to life in a park setting to be enjoyed by everyone. The beauty of the rivers will be revealed, allowing for an interactive waterside landscape for active and passive leisure, alongside biodiversity and flood resilience.
The riverside is transformed into a vibrant park space for public recreation, leisure, and play.
This vision prioritises accessibility, flood resilience and biodiversity, ensuring Stockport remains an inclusive and sustainable destination for future generations.
In collaboration and working in partnership with existing landowners, key interventions within this Neighbourhood include:
Leveraging the rivers
The River Goyt will be central to the Goyt Riverside Neighbourhood's identity. The aim is to create new parks transforming the waterfront into a vibrant and accessible public realm. This will involve creating new green ‘buffer’ areas and open spaces directly adjacent to the river, providing opportunities for recreation, leisure, and community events, while also implementing ecological enhancements to protect and celebrate the river's natural beauty and biodiversity.
Furthermore, the river is proposed to be integrated into the neighbourhood’s design through the creation of pedestrian and cycle pathways along the waterfront, improving connectivity and promoting sustainable transportation options for residents and visitors alike.
Re-imagining the northern end of Newbridge Lane
The re-imagining of the Northern end of Newbridge Lane presents a key opportunity to create a residential-led mixed-use hub within the Goyt Riverside Neighbourhood. This proposes a comprehensive redevelopment to introduce a diverse range of uses, including high-quality residential developments, new retail and commercial spaces to serve the needs of the growing community, and potentially community facilities such as a health hub or cultural venue.
The design of the redeveloped site will prioritise permeability and connectivity, ensuring seamless integration with the surrounding neighbourhood and enhancing pedestrian and cycle access. Furthermore, the redevelopment will incorporate sustainable design principles, including energy-efficient buildings and green infrastructure, to create a vibrant and environmentally responsible destination.
Reigniting Fred Perry Way
Reigniting the Fred Perry Way will involve a comprehensive revitalisation of this important pedestrian and cycle route, transforming it into a key green corridor that enhances connectivity within the Goyt Riverside Neighbourhood and links it to the wider town centre and surrounding areas. This will include improvements to surfacing, signage, lighting, and landscaping, as well as the creation of new access points and connections to other pedestrian and cycle networks.
The revitalised Fred Perry Way will not only promote sustainable transportation and active lifestyles but also celebrate Stockport's heritage and provide residents with a high-quality recreational amenity.
Improved connectivity
Improved connectivity will be a fundamental principle guiding the development of the Goyt Riverside Neighbourhood, ensuring seamless connections within the neighbourhood itself and to the wider Town Centre. This will involve a multi-faceted approach, including prioritising pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, creating new road linkages and improving existing ones, enhancing public transport access, and promoting sustainable modes of transportation. By prioritising connectivity, the neighbourhood will become a well-integrated and accessible part of Stockport, fostering social inclusion and economic opportunity.
Range of housing types and typologies
Residential-led development will be the primary driver of change within the Goyt Riverside Neighbourhood, delivering a significant number of new homes to meet Stockport's growing housing needs and create a vibrant community. This will involve a mix of housing types, including apartments, townhouses, over-55 housing and family homes, to cater to a diverse range of residents.
High-quality design and placemaking will be essential to ensure that the new residential areas are attractive, sustainable, and well-integrated with the surrounding environment, fostering a strong sense of place and community.
Acoustics and air quality along the M60 corridor
Addressing acoustic and air quality issues along the M60 corridor is crucial to creating a healthy and sustainable living environment within the Goyt Riverside Neighbourhood. This will require the implementation of mitigation measures to reduce noise and air pollution, such as the construction of noise barriers, the creation of green buffer zones, and the promotion of sustainable transportation options to reduce vehicle emissions.
Furthermore, development within the neighbourhood will be designed to minimise exposure to pollution, with careful consideration given to building orientation, ventilation, and the incorporation of multifunctional green spaces.
Ground floor uses
The activation of ground floor uses will be essential to creating a vibrant and engaging public realm within the Goyt Riverside Neighbourhood. Providing a diverse mix of uses at street level, such as retail shops, cafes, restaurants, community facilities, and workspaces, will create a lively and animated environment that encourages pedestrian activity and social interaction.
The design of ground floor spaces will prioritise permeability, accessibility, and visual interest, ensuring that they contribute to the overall attractiveness and vitality of the neighbourhood.