22nd October 2025
Dear FoI Officer
What consideration has been given by officers drawing up the Draft Local Plan to these issues:-
As Stockport Council edges closer to finalising its draft Local Plan, one of the most fiercely debated questions remains: can the borough meet its housing need without building on the Green Belt?
According to the council’s own Topic Paper, if no Green Belt land is released, Stockport could deliver about 15,761 homes over the plan period to 2039—roughly 85% of its assessed housing requirement of around 20,000. Two alternative scenarios, involving some Green Belt release, would increase delivery to 17,746 homes (95%) or 19,671 homes (105%), respectively.
At first glance, that shortfall seems to settle the argument. But recent developments—both local and national—may change the picture.
A Pipeline Already in Place
Stockport’s latest housing land supply statement (April 2024) confirms 3,847 homes are already classed as “deliverable” within the next five years. These come from existing planning permissions, sites under construction, and major town-centre regeneration projects such as Stockport 8 and the MDC’s Town Centre West scheme. While not enough to meet short-term demand, these numbers show that much of the housing pipeline is already committed without touching the Green Belt.
Immigration and Demand Pressures
Nationally, the ONS has reported that net migration fell sharply from around 860,000 in 2023 to 431,000 in 2024—a drop of about 50%. If this trend continues, population growth and household formation will slow, easing pressure on housing need across England.
Analysts suggest that if Stockport’s housing requirement fell by roughly 20–22%—the same order as the national migration slowdown—the borough’s planned brownfield capacity of 15,761 homes could actually be enough to meet need without Green Belt release. However, the council’s official projections have not yet been adjusted to reflect the latest demographic data.
The Real Challenge: Delivery, Not Just Numbers
Even if the headline housing need falls, Stockport faces a delivery challenge. Many of the planned homes are apartments in the town centre, while the greatest need is often for family houses and affordable homes across the borough. With only 1.77 years of housing supply at present, the council will need to prove it can deliver homes faster before relying solely on urban regeneration.
What It Means for Romiley and Beyond
For communities like Romiley, Bredbury and Marple, where Green Belt land has long been seen as under threat, the new data provides cautious optimism. If the lower national migration figures are sustained and if major brownfield schemes progress on schedule, Stockport might just be able to protect its green edges.
The key question for councillors and residents now is whether the Local Plan can lock in this shift—updating housing need calculations to reflect new population trends while still guaranteeing enough affordable homes for local people.
For now, the Green Belt debate isn’t over. But for the first time in years, the numbers suggest that a “brownfield-first” future for Stockport could genuinely be within reach.
Kind regards
Sheila Oliver
Editor, The Romiley Gazette
Partner, Citizens 2022 Committee
PS I hope Liz Sykes and Katie Moores don’t get a fit of the vapours over this request.
