Brinnington regeneration praised at leading planning awards
The ongoing transformation of Brinnington in Stockport has been hailed as an exemplary regeneration scheme by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) at the Regional Awards for Planning Excellence.
Stockport Council and its strategic development partner, Countryside, received the Regeneration award at the recent RTPI North West Awards ceremony and were praised for their collaborative approach to creating the brand new sustainable community.
Stockport Council and Countryside’s long-term partnership has so far seen the creation of two new housing developments, Blackberry Vale and Blackberry Point, collectively bringing 264 new homes to the edge of Reddish Vale.
Designed to celebrate outstanding projects that demonstrate the power of planning, the RTPI Awards praised Stockport Council and Countryside’s partnership approach to overcoming challenges and their joint success in delivering more and better homes for the local community.
Launched in 2017, Blackberry Value comprises a collection of 98 new homes, which were fully sold within 12 months. This was closely followed by the launch of Blackberry Point, 166 three and four-bedroom homes where the Government-backed Help to Buy scheme is currently offered.
Ian Kelley, Chief Executive, Partnerships North, Countryside, commented: “From the outset, we have shared a strong commitment with our partners at Stockport Council to create a sustainable community in Brinnington that provides high quality new homes across a diverse mix of tenures to cater to the needs of local people.
“We are experts in regeneration but the standards we have achieved in Brinnington in partnership with Stockport Council are only made possible through hard work and determination and we are extremely proud to have had this success recognised by the Royal Town Planning Institute.”
Councillor Sheila Bailey, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Stockport, said: “I am delighted that this partnership has resulted in such an excellent residential development which has, quite rightly, been recognised with this prestigious award.
“These are high-quality homes that have had a positive impact on the surrounding area and created a place in which people have chosen to invest and call home. Congratulations to everyone involved.”
The RTPI Judges’ commented: “The regeneration of Brinnington is delivering not only a high quality residential development, but improvements to the accessibility of the adjacent Country Park and has assisted in the delivery of a leisure centre for the wider community. The judges thought that the development team’s pride of the scheme shone through at the site visit which is fully justified given the clear integration of the scheme into the community.”
The award success closely follows an NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Award, which was presented to Joe Selkeld, Countryside’s Site Manager at Blackberry Point. Honoured for excellent leadership, technical expertise and meticulous health and safety, Joe was presented with the award for the second time, having also received a Quality Award in 2017.
