Stockport Council has approved a draft transport strategy that will shape how residents travel across the borough for the next 16 years. The Cabinet gave its backing to the Draft Stockport Transport Strategy 2026-2042 at a meeting on 23 June, according to official minutes. The decision triggers a public consultation that invites everyone living and working in the borough to help refine the final document before it comes up for formal adoption.
The strategy envisages sweeping improvements to bus services, road schemes, cycling and pedestrian routes, and up to four new railway stations. Councillor Grace Baynham, Cabinet Member for Parks, Highways & Transport Services, said the policy sets out how the council will turn its transport ambition into reality. “We can create a transport system that not only meets the needs of today, but helps power a more ambitious, connected and sustainable future for Stockport,” she added.
Construction of a long-awaited station at Cheadle is poised to begin within the next twelve months. Planning permission was secured in October 2023 and funding ring-fenced the year before, with Transport for Greater Manchester set to take over day-to-day running once the platforms open. Elsewhere, Stockport station will be overhauled into a modern travel hub featuring a new eastern concourse, a footbridge, an additional entrance on the Edgeley side, and a refurbished subway, while step-free access will be widened across more platforms. The Didsbury Metrolink line is also earmarked for extension into the town centre.
The approved document identifies potential sites for three further stations at Stanley Green, High Lane, and Adswood, though the latter will hinge on future tram-train plans. Behind the scenes, Transport for Greater Manchester is building a business case for tram and tram-train options, supported by a £2.5 billion regional fund, and a mid-Cheshire line link to Manchester Airport is under consideration. The Communities & Transport Scrutiny Committee examined the draft on 8 June before it reached the Cabinet table.
Residents can now submit their views during the consultation, which runs alongside the borough’s wider Local Plan process. Feedback will directly influence the final strategy before the council considers adopting it later this year.
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