Why do we
build on green belt?
This project demonstrates why suburbia is bad for towns and how it can be avoided. At a time when the MBC and their housing developer partners are looking to build 19,000 homes on greenbelt land, over 200 sites lie vacant in the town centre. ![]() Each of these sites has been methodically surveyed, with a photographic record and speculation about their potential for housing and mixed-use based on generic typologies and density factors based on built precedent. A sample 'quarter', that of Middle Hillgate, is elaborated as a connected group of interventions creating a varied landscape of living and working. Over 9,000 homes could be provided in the centre of Stockport. This suggests a total of over 270,000 homes could be built without any disturbance to the Green Belt. Or put another way, the 19,000 homes might be provided if only 7% of this type of site were developed across the Borough. If nothing else, this study forms a catalogue, of vacancy, neglect, and failed leadership. When
planners no longer plan, private contractors are allowed to lead, and the
result is suburban sprawl. A PLAN
for central Stockport needs to be developed based on car-free
pedestrian access and compulsory purchase, to make the place fit for human beings.
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