26th November 2025

Romiley – Residents are once again questioning Stockport Council’s handling of public concerns, this time over the costly repairs now required on the A555 following repeated flooding.

Several locals say they raised flood-risk concerns years ago, only to be dismissed or talked down to by what they describe as the council’s “panjandrums” – senior officials who, they claim, routinely shut down legitimate questions instead of addressing them.

Now, with repairs to the A555 expected to cost taxpayers a significant sum, some residents are asking whether the bill could have been avoided.

“People were raising this years ago,” one resident told the Gazette. “We asked repeatedly whether a proper flood-risk assessment had been done. Instead of listening, they shut us up. Now look at the mess. And guess who’s paying for it? Us.”

Locals say the pattern is familiar: when residents ask awkward or detailed questions about planning policy, environmental risks, or decisions affecting their area, they are met not with transparency, but with condescension or dismissal.

“This practice of talking down to residents who raise genuine concerns is ongoing,” another resident said. “They forget who they’re supposed to serve – and who pays their wages.”

The A555, which has faced repeated closures due to flooding since it opened, now requires major drainage and maintenance works. Although exact costs are still emerging, early allocations already run into the millions.

Residents say they warned about drainage weaknesses, groundwater flow, and culvert pressure points along the route long before the problems escalated. Some now fear that this will not be the last time warnings go unheeded.

“It’s not about being right,” one local campaigner said. “It’s about the council taking residents seriously before it becomes expensive, dangerous, or irreversible.”

As the A555 repair costs mount, many in the community say they hope the situation prompts a cultural shift at Stockport Council – one where questioning decisions is not treated as an inconvenience, but as part of democratic accountability.

A spokesperson for the council was invited to comment.

Chief Executives — Stockport MBC (2010 → present)

1. Eamonn Boylan — Jan 2010 → Apr 2017 (approx.).
   Sources: council/press profiles and interviews giving appointment as Chief Executive in January 2010 and his move to GMCA in 2017. Built Environment Networking+1
2. Pam Smith — September 2017 → December 2021 (left to take up Chief Executive role at Newcastle City Council in January 2022).
   Sources: Stockport press/appointments and Newcastle press confirming Pam Smith started at Stockport in Sept 2017 and was recruited to Newcastle (appointed Jan 2022). Digital Leaders+1
3. Caroline Simpson — 20 December 2021 (appointment approved) → June 2024 (left to become Group Chief Executive at GMCA/TfGM).
   Sources: Stockport Council news announcing her appointment (Dec 2021) and media reporting her move to GMCA in 2024. Stockport Council+1
4. Michael Cullen — June 2024 → present (Nov 26, 2025).
   Sources: Stockport / local press announcing Michael Cullen as the council’s new Chief Executive in June 2024 and Stockport senior leadership pages listing him as Chief Executive. Stockport Council+1

Notes on Chief Exec dates: sources consistently show Eamonn Boylan’s start as January 2010 and that he left Stockport in 2017 to join the GMCA. Pam Smith is repeatedly described as starting in September 2017; Caroline Simpson’s appointment was approved 20 Dec 2021 and Michael Cullen’s selection was announced June 2024. Where press says “appointed” I’ve used that date; for transitions you’ll sometimes see a council meeting approval date and a slightly different employment start date — I’ve used the public appointment/approval dates unless a source states the individual’s first working day.

Monitoring Officers — Stockport MBC (2010 → present)

Monitoring Officer is the council’s statutory legal adviser; these posts are sometimes held by the Borough Solicitor / Head of Legal and may have deputies or interim holders. Public records for Monitoring Officer appointments are patchy; below is a best-effort list from council pages, agendas, LinkedIn and public FOIs. I’ve flagged where exact start/end dates aren’t published and given the sources I used.

1. Jane Scullion — named as Monitoring Officer in public FOI material around 2011 (former Monitoring Officer referenced in 2011 FOI correspondence).
   • Evidence that Jane Scullion was a former Monitoring Officer appears in an FOI/public record discussion from 2011. Exact start/end dates not publicly listed in the documents I found. WhatDoTheyKnow+1
2. (Other / un-catalogued officers, early 2010s) — public meeting packs and governance docs from early-mid 2010s refer generically to “the Monitoring Officer” but do not always name a person in the agenda front sheet. Where a name appears in older agenda packs it may be buried in scanned PDF pages rather than a single staff list; I could not find a single, comprehensive public roster with every named Monitoring Officer for every year between 2010–2017. Contentful+1
3. Patrick Arran (interim) — Jan 2018 → Sep 2018 (interim).
   • Patrick Arran’s LinkedIn/public profile shows an interim role as Head of Legal & Democratic Governance / Monitoring Officer at Stockport (Jan–Sep 2018). This is explicitly referenced in his public profile. LinkedIn
4. Vicki (Victoria) Bates — 2018 (joined Stockport) → present (Monitoring Officer / Assistant Director, Legal & Democratic Governance).
   • Stockport Council senior leadership pages and meeting speaker profiles list Vicki Bates as the Council’s Monitoring Officer (Assistant Director / Strategic Head: Legal & Democratic Governance / Monitoring Officer); multiple council pages and job adverts list her in that statutory role and she is shown as Monitoring Officer in public meeting papers in recent years. Public mentions indicate she joined Stockport Council in 2018 (joined the authority after working in legal practice) and is currently the Monitoring Officer. Exact appointment start date (day/month) is not published in a single easily-locatable press release; the council senior leadership pages and webcast speaker page show her as the Monitoring Officer. Stockport Council+1
5. Deputy Monitoring Officers — Michelle Dodds, David Hopkins (and others) appear in public materials as Deputy Monitoring Officer or head of legal teams across the 2010s–2020s. Their names show up repeatedly in meeting packs and LinkedIn entries; they typically serve alongside the Monitoring Officer. Exact start/end dates for deputy posts are not always published centrally. LinkedIn+1

Council Leaders –

Karen Lane — Data Protection Officer / Information Governance (recent / current)
Evidence: Listed as Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council’s Data Protection Officer on the ICO registration entry and as the DPO contact on numerous Stockport school / council documents. This is the clearest contemporary public record for the council’s DPO. ICO+1

Claire Naven — Data Protection & Freedom of Information Officer (active in public documents c. 2009–2011 and earlier)
Evidence: Claire Naven signs FOI responses and appears as “Data Protection & Freedom of Information Officer” in a range of archived FOI pages and WhatDoTheyKnow threads (examples from 2009–2011). She also appears in council correspondence as RIPA coordinator. sheilaoliver.org+2sheilaoliver.org+2

Phillipa (Phillipa / Phillippa) Nazari — Data Protection / Access to Records Coordinator (mid-2010s)
Evidence: Named as “Data Protection and Access to Records Coordinator” on Stockport FOI responses / public documents (example threads around 2014). Phillipa Nazari later appears in Greater Manchester regional IG/DPO senior roles. WhatDoTheyKnow+1

Andrea Stewart — Corporate Information / Information Governance contact (historic; mid-2010s evidence)
Evidence: Stockport school policies and council guidance (Managing Personal Information / corporate information pages) list Andrea Stewart alongside Claire Naven as contacts in Corporate Information Services. arden.stockport.sch.uk+1

Will (William) Gregory — Information Governance Manager (recent period, late 2010s → early 2020s)
Evidence: Public LinkedIn profile and business-directory listings show Will Gregory as Information Governance Manager at Stockport Council in the modern period. LinkedIn is self-reported but consistent. LinkedIn UK+1

Vicki Bates — Monitoring Officer / Assistant Director (Legal) — remit includes Information Governance (from 2019)
Evidence: Senior officer pages and leadership profiles show Vicki Bates as Monitoring Officer (appointed Oct 2019) with a remit that includes Legal Services and Information Governance oversight. Note: this is a statutory senior post with governance remit, not the operational DPO.