Purpose

The Cabinet will be asked to authorise the use of compulsory purchase powers in respect of land at Town Centre West to support the delivery of the regeneration objectives for the area.

(NOTE: This item was previously published in the August 2026 Forward Plan, however since publication the title and nature of the decision has subsequently been amended making, and consequently, the matter is being republished by way of a General Exception Notice).

Decision

The Cabinet has considered a report detailing a proposal for the promotion of a Compulsory Purchase Order under section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to facilitate the assembly of property interests at Daw Bank, Stockport, SK3 0DU – comprising the bus depot and some small areas of existing public highway, to facilitate the delivery of Phase 1 and Phase 3 of the Stockport 8 regeneration scheme, and has then agreed to:-

(1) Approve the preparation and making of a Compulsory Purchase Order under section 226(1)(a) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to facilitate the acquisition of the property interests in the Site to facilitate the delivery of over 1,300 new homes across three phases together with commercial and community space, high-quality public realm, enhanced pedestrian and cycling connections, and associated infrastructure;

(2) Delegate to the Deputy Chief Executive and the Finance Director – s151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration & Skills authority to:

·         Continue to engage in negotiations and, where possible, to agree terms for the Council to acquire by voluntary means all interests in the Site.

·         Decide if and when itis appropriate to make the Order.

·         Decide (if considered appropriate) to include the Arches Land within this Order.

(3) Delegate to the Chief Governance Officer and Monitoring Officer authority to:

·         Take all necessary steps to prepare and make the Order and supporting documents, including undertaking surveys, and carrying out a land referencing exercise to check that there are no property interests in the Site save for those described below;

·         Submit the Order to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government for confirmation;

·         If authorised by the Secretary of State, to confirm the Order;

·         In the event that objections are made to the Order, take all necessary steps to address and, where possible, resolve those objections and, if necessary, to prepare for and participate in any public inquiry convened by the Secretary of State to consider the Order;

·         Provided the Order is confirmed by the Secretary of State (or by the Council as the case may be),take all necessary steps to exercise powers pursuant to the Order to achieve vacant possession of the Site (including the making and service of one or more General Vesting Declarations and/or the preparation and service of Notices to Treat and Notices of Entry);

·         Approve agreements with relevant parties setting out the terms of the acquisition of the required property interests and the withdrawals of objections to the Order, together with any associated or consequential provisions including proposing modifications to the Order;

·         Participate in any third party proceedings challenging the confirmation of the Order by the Secretary of State and/or the exercise of the powers by the Council;

·         Commence or defend proceedings in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) concerning the determination of the compensation to which affected parties whose land and/or interests are acquired pursuant to the Order may be entitled, and to take all necessary steps to deal with, settle and/or dispose of those proceedings (as the case may be);

·         Do all things necessary or incidental to the implementation of the resolutions recommended in this report and any decisions properly made under authority delegated by these resolutions.

(NOTE: The report contained a ‘not for publication’ appendix that had been circulated to members of the Cabinet only).

Alternative options considered

Not to proceed with preparing a compulsory purchase order. As negotiations with the Leaseholder have so far been unsuccessful, despite the principle of the relocation of the bus depot having been accepted by them, it is considered necessary for the Council to commence preparing a CPO alongside the ongoing negotiations in order to ensure that the Council can successfully assemble the remaining outstanding land interests to avoid further significant delays to this key regeneration project.