25th November 2025
“Stockport Council has secured £20m worth of Capital Levelling Up funding towards the Marple Active Communities Hub and we sought your views on the design of the Leisure and Community Hub as well as walking, cycling and highways improvements to be delivered at the same time, all of which formed part of the funding bid”.
The Council says the project was driven by local feedback: in a consultation with residents in Autumn 2023, over 750 responses were received. As a result, design adjustments were made — e.g., additional sustainability measures (solar panels, EV charging), removal of a coach lay-by proposed earlier (to preserve trees), improved accessibility, and better alignment to community desires.
Freedom of Information Request
Reference: FOI 101007944544
Dear Applicant,
Please consider this as our formal response to your information request which was logged under the above reference number and treated as a request made under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000.
Your Request:
Information you require: Dear FOI Officer,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information
I am writing to request access to documents relating to the decision-making process behind the approval and use of the £20 million Levelling Up Fund allocation for the Marple Community Hub.
Please provide the following:
1. All Cabinet reports, including any exempt or confidential appendices, that relate to:
o Acceptance of Levelling Up funding for the Marple Community Hub;
o Approval of expenditure associated with that funding;
o Any decision directly authorising the £20 million commitment.
2. Any officer decision notices, delegated decision records, or background papers that supported or enacted the above decisions.
3. The specific meeting(s)—Cabinet or otherwise—in which the Marple Community Hub funding was formally approved, including:
o Minutes,
o Attendance lists,
o Voting records (if applicable),
o Any exempt reports or appendices considered in those meetings.
To help you locate the materials:
• Public announcements were made in March 2023 regarding the funding approval.
• Consultation and design-phase updates reference a Cabinet meeting dated 27 June 2023, which may also be relevant.
Please provide all documents in PDF format where possible.
If some information must be withheld under a qualified exemption, please supply the remainder and explain:
• Which exemption(s) you are relying on, and
• Why disclosure would cause the necessary prejudice or harm.
If this request is too broad, please let me know how it can be refined without losing access to the key decision-making information.
Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response within 20 working days.
Our Response:
The requested information is exempt under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 as it is reasonably accessible via other means. All of the items relating to Marple Hub are included on the democracy pages of the Council website, including details of why some items were exempt from publication:
, 1 January 2021 – 1 December 2040 – Stockport Council
Documents held by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council may fall under the Re-Use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015. If you receive a Council document and you wish to use it for a new purpose, please identify the document in question and describe how you intend to re-use it. We will aim to respond to any re-use request within 20 working days.
You can find more information about FOI requests via the following link:
Freedom of Information – Stockport Council
Who Made the Decision?
LibDem council leader Mark Roberts.
LibDem Mark Hunter and Councillor Mark Robert’s wife Councillor Frankie Singleton.
LibDem Marple Councillor Colin Macalister.
- Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC)
- The key decision-makers are Stockport Council councillors. The Levelling Up grant was secured by them, not imposed externally. stockport.gov.uk+2One Stockport+2
- Specifically: Cllr Mark Hunter, then Leader of the Council, publicly congratulated the securing of the £20 million Levelling Up grant. stockport.gov.uk+1
- Cllr Colin MacAlister, Cabinet Member for Economy & Regeneration, was also closely involved. One Stockport+2Life Leisure+2
- Council Capital Programme Approval
- The project is included in Stockport Council’s capital programme. Contentful
- In the Council’s 2025/26 budget papers, they explicitly refer to the Marple Community Hub scheme under the Communities, Culture & Sport portfolio, citing the previously awarded Levelling Up funding. Contentful
- Partnership and Delivery
- The delivery has been procured via Procure Partnerships – a framework that Stockport Council is using. Procure Partnerships Framework
- The main contractor is Willmott Dixon, who are building the hub. BDC Magazine+1
- On the ground-breaking ceremony, other partners spoke: Sport England has a funding role / operational role, and local NHS stakeholders are involved. stockport.gov.uk+1
Interpretation — Why This Matters Politically
- Local Control: Because the decision was made by Stockport Council, not by central government dictating exactly where Levelling Up cash had to go, there’s a strong element of local control. The councillors who represent Marple (and the wider borough) clearly prioritized this project.
- Political Risk & Reward: By backing a high-profile project in a relatively well-off area, the council can deliver something visible, tangible — and likely to attract broad support.
- Strategic Use of Grant: The Council appears to have used the grant to deliver a “regeneration-style” package (pool, library, health clinic, community space). This makes the Levelling Up funding more than just a leisure project: it’s civic infrastructure.
- https://assets.ctfassets.net/ii3xdrqc6nfw/2d42bs6HQVyajuTPZGeOUg/c9e2415d37b5eb4b6272292cf01f2f79/Capital_Strategy_and_Capital_Programme_2025-26.pdf
- There is no evidence that non-Lib Dem councillors were centrally involved in the formal decision to allocate £20 million to the Marple Hub, at least in terms of voting power or cabinet responsibility.
- The decision appears to have been driven by a Lib Dem-led Cabinet, using Levelling Up funding awarded to the Council.
Mark Hunter was a driving force behind the disastrous and corruptly built A555.
Council Leader Mark Roberts recently aggressively tried to silence an OAP with evidence of council planning corruption.
Councillor Colin MacAlister lives in Marple.
Email sent Tue 25/11/2025 11:02
Freedom of Information Team
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Dear FOI Officer,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information
I am writing to request access to documents relating to the decision-making process behind the approval and use of the £20 million Levelling Up Fund allocation for the Marple Community Hub.
Please provide the following:
- All Cabinet reports, including any exempt or confidential appendices, that relate to:
- Acceptance of Levelling Up funding for the Marple Community Hub;
- Approval of expenditure associated with that funding;
- Any decision directly authorising the £20 million commitment.
- Any officer decision notices, delegated decision records, or background papers that supported or enacted the above decisions.
- The specific meeting(s)—Cabinet or otherwise—in which the Marple Community Hub funding was formally approved, including:
- Minutes,
- Attendance lists,
- Voting records (if applicable),
- Any exempt reports or appendices considered in those meetings.
To help you locate the materials:
- Public announcements were made in March 2023 regarding the funding approval.
- Consultation and design-phase updates reference a Cabinet meeting dated 27 June 2023, which may also be relevant.
Please provide all documents in PDF format where possible.
If some information must be withheld under a qualified exemption, please supply the remainder and explain:
- Which exemption(s) you are relying on, and
- Why disclosure would cause the necessary prejudice or harm.
If this request is too broad, please let me know how it can be refined without losing access to the key decision-making information.
Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your response within 20 working days.
Yours faithfully,
Sheila
Editor, The Romiley Gazette
I got AI to check and there was no consideration of Reddish or anywhere else by LibDem councillor Leader Mark Roberts, his councillor wife, Mark Hunter (previous planning shenanigans) and Marple councillor Colin Macalister. These four just decided on Marple – no discussion with anyone else. They justified this by claiming Marple had poor transport links – they have two railway stations and buses every 20 minutes.
How much was spent in Reddish ?