Compstall Mill Development

[Tricky]

From a letter I received this morning -


Stockport Council have resolved to approve the planning application for the redevelopment of Compstall Mill.

I understand that the planning consent is proposed to be valid for five years and that Ask Property Developments do not currently have definite plans to commence on site.

[nbt]

it's guidance rather than policy: at least one council (in essex I think) has decided it's rubbish and started demanding bigger garages as the smaller garages intended to discourage people from having two cars were not working so they want new garages to be able to fit the monster 4*4s that appear to be necessary for the modern school run

edit: here's the link

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7948673.stm

Don't know what came of it

[Belly]

Having received the recent proposal letter I decided to visit Bredbury Library expecting to see a similar display as was on offer the last time. I was shown about an 18 inch cube box full of documents. First question is, if that is all the room it needed why wasn't it situated in the Etherow Park Visitor Centre, perhaps is was because of the limited opening times. OK.  I tried to read some of the documents, my own criticism of the scheme is that there is insufficient car parking now we are in the era when the majority of families have at least two cars. If they don't have cars and perhaps have motor bikes or even only pedal cycles - many families with children will probably have three or four of these - where will they put them, and what about prams etc. There is no storage space, or even if there is most garages will be used as storage space partly due to them being too small to accept today's cars and so they will have to find somewhere else to park their cars - on neighbouring roads I assume, or will they simply park them anywhere and no doubt block access for the - probably - very large delivery vehicles that are used nowadays. The company appears to be out of touch with today's society, we must hope the Council is more aware of how people live.  I said I tried to read some of the documents, well I couldn't because in the Company's desire to appear to be up to date they have used printing that fades in as you look down the page, which means you can't read the first part of the information. I think our best hope for this scheme, the principle of which I would support, is that it fades away and a more enlightened company comes up with a more practical proposal.

As a CTCrep I would have thought that you would be aware that council's and developers have to work to maximum car parking supply standards above which they are not allowed to go. Whilst we can debate the merits of this government policy for a long time (believe me I have) the enforced restriction of car parking supply is supposed to encourage residents to utilise walking, cycling and public transport. 

Even if the developer wanted to (and I'm sure that they wouldn't, they will undoutedly want to provide the maximum number of units on the site) the prospect of 3 or 4 car parking spaces per dwelling is simply never going to happen as it is forbidden by national planning policy!

[amazon]

Having received the recent proposal letter I decided to visit Bredbury Library expecting to see a similar display as was on offer the last time. I was shown about an 18 inch cube box full of documents. First question is, if that is all the room it needed why wasn't it situated in the Etherow Park Visitor Centre, perhaps is was because of the limited opening times. OK.  I tried to read some of the documents, my own criticism of the scheme is that there is insufficient car parking now we are in the era when the majority of families have at least two cars. If they don't have cars and perhaps have motor bikes or even only pedal cycles - many families with children will probably have three or four of these - where will they put them, and what about prams etc. There is no storage space, or even if there is most garages will be used as storage space partly due to them being too small to accept today's cars and so they will have to find somewhere else to park their cars - on neighbouring roads I assume, or will they simply park them anywhere and no doubt block access for the - probably - very large delivery vehicles that are used nowadays. The company appears to be out of touch with today's society, we must hope the Council is more aware of how people live.  I said I tried to read some of the documents, well I couldn't because in the Company's desire to appear to be up to date they have used printing that fades in as you look down the page, which means you can't read the first part of the information. I think our best hope for this scheme, the principle of which I would support, is that it fades away and a more enlightened company comes up with a more practical proposal.

      LIKE WHAT .

[CTCREP]

Having received the recent proposal letter I decided to visit Bredbury Library expecting to see a similar display as was on offer the last time. I was shown about an 18 inch cube box full of documents. First question is, if that is all the room it needed why wasn't it situated in the Etherow Park Visitor Centre, perhaps is was because of the limited opening times. OK.  I tried to read some of the documents, my own criticism of the scheme is that there is insufficient car parking now we are in the era when the majority of families have at least two cars. If they don't have cars and perhaps have motor bikes or even only pedal cycles - many families with children will probably have three or four of these - where will they put them, and what about prams etc. There is no storage space, or even if there is most garages will be used as storage space partly due to them being too small to accept today's cars and so they will have to find somewhere else to park their cars - on neighbouring roads I assume, or will they simply park them anywhere and no doubt block access for the - probably - very large delivery vehicles that are used nowadays. The company appears to be out of touch with today's society, we must hope the Council is more aware of how people live.  I said I tried to read some of the documents, well I couldn't because in the Company's desire to appear to be up to date they have used printing that fades in as you look down the page, which means you can't read the first part of the information. I think our best hope for this scheme, the principle of which I would support, is that it fades away and a more enlightened company comes up with a more practical proposal.

[Dave]

If these two-bed bed houses really are priced at 240K, then as nbt rightly points out, this is far from 'affordable' for a young family.  But where I have to disgaree is when he goes on to write:

I don;t see how building houses can solve the problem of house *prices*

Have a look at this:
http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/uk-housing-market/why-there-is-a-housing-shortage-in-the-uk/

It's simply a matter of supply and demand.  Government figures indicate that the UK needs to build about 240,000 houses per year just to keep up with the demand for new homes.  At the moment we are only building about half that number.  As any economist will tell you, the law of supply and demand means that when demand for anything exceeds the supply, the price goes up.  This is why even in the current recession, house prices are still artificially high - they were over 5 times average household income in 2008.  They have fallen quite a bit since then, but have some way to go before they get back to the level of 3.3 times average income which they were in 2003.   

Whether the Compstall Mill development will be 'starter homes' or not is not the only issue: even if they are not, increasing the supply of new homes should eventually help to make them more affordable.

[nbt]

I beleive it's going to be a mixture of small 2/3 bed housing with a few bigger ones.

My guess is that the "small 2 bed" houses will be around the £240k mark, and will be snapped up by people who know the developers and sold on for a  profit. not exactly "affordable". I don;t see how building houses can solve the problem of house *prices*: in this country we seem to have an obsession with owning property, courtesy of that nice lady Mrs Thatcher probalby. If you look at europe the ownership vs rental figures a fre more skewed towards rental than in the UK, people live at home / rent for longer and save a massive deposit - as I understand it, you *MUST* have a 25% deposit to get a mortgage in france. How well would that go down here where even people with nojobs have the right to get a mortgage?!

[Tricky]

What's interesting here is that nobody has given a second thought for all the small businesses already working from there.

I know of some who have already had considerable costs in relocating (when this plan originally was tabled) and of others who have just folded with the loss of jobs etc.


There will, of course, be more people working from there who lose their jobs/businesses because of these plans.

[Dave]

I beleive it's going to be a mixture of small 2/3 bed housing with a few bigger ones.

[Miss Marple]

Oh its my mistake you must have more information than I do.  So what your saying is that the site is to be low cost housing for first time buyers   Then that's GREAT !!!   Pity my daughter didn't wait she purchased one of the last new housing developments in Compstall on Redbrow Hollow and paid £298.000.  Oh yes! I am all in favour of low cost affordable housing for first time buyers.  Hope the prospective builders understand first time buyers budgets??   Thanks for that information ! Flippin heck here's me thinking they are going to be luxury developments with a view of Etherow commanding extortionate prices well out of the reach of first time buyers OH HUSH MY MOUTH !!!

[Dave]

I think we are getting off the point. You write that 'investigation and action will release already existing housing for local people', but you are referring here to council/social housing for rent.  Yes, as a result of the 'right to buy', there is a chronic national shortage of such housing, and local authorities with ever-growing waiting lists are having to resort to desperate measures to free up rented accommodation for those who need it.  See, for example:  http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5680129.ece

However, that is a completely separate issue.  If under-occupied or unoccupied council houses can be freed up, they will rightly go to the most needy cases on the waiting list.  That will do nothing at all for the people who are wanting to buy their own first homes.   These are people who in most cases would not wish to rent a council house, and even if they did they would probably not be eligible for one.   They simply want to buy a house, and they can't, because the demand for such homes outstrips the supply, which keeps the price too high.   Hence the Compstall Mill proposals, which if they go ahead will provide much needed homes for our young families to buy.

[Miss Marple]

Think you may have misunderstood my last reply.  In my job I have become aware that there are a lot of second homes, people living together on housing benefits and sub letting their other home and council or should i now say social housing which are often under occupied.  So yes I agree the housing system requires investigating but building new homes will not solve the existing housing shortages only investigation and action will release already existing housing for local people

[Dave]

  I know about housing and there is not a lack of it! 

I think most people would beg to differ, and certainly those of us who have grown up children who are looking to find a home and start a family know that there is a very serious shortage of affordable homes, even though prices have been falling recently, thank goodness.  Some reports  suggest that there are empty homes around, but these are almost entirely the city-centre apartments built as speculative buy-to-lets, which nobody wants to live in, and are overpriced and quite unsuitable for a young family.   

The problem is that we are nimbys: we want our children to be able to find homes, but not in our backyards thank you! 

[Miss Marple]

Yes I am based in Marple but I 'Hot Desk' around the whole of the Stockport area. Still think a lottery grant would sort the mill out with tea rooms and exhibitions (The way we used to live!) The site could be many things it does not have to be housing.  I know about housing and there is not a lack of it!  There is although a lack of money to regenerate deprived  areas where empty houses are being pulled down in the name of progress There maybe housing poverty in these areas  but how many people who live in deprivation could afford the cost of a new build in the mill development. 

[Rachael]

   I take it Belly you live in LA LA Land then not on Compstall or Stockport road  ? The development at Strines is not finished so add that increased traffic to the one main road through Compstall and Marple and I will have to leave home for work even earlier than the hour I allow myself to get into Stockport town centre Mon - Fri.  At this rate I will be leaving for work before I have arrived home.  KEEP IT REAL !!!

I thought you said on another post  on the boards that  you worked in the Memorial park in Marple ??