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To: The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Don't Hide Our Viaduct: Save Weir Mill

This campaign has ended.

Save Stockport's iconic Grade II* listed Railway Viaduct from more concealment by cumulative impact of high-rise apartments as part of the Weir Mill redevelopment. The mill can be reused and saved by enabling development, and the rest of C&C's proposals have merit. But not at the expense of the iconic viaduct's concealment from the town centre. We want the developers to revise the scheme moving the east tower to the western side of the viaduct i.e., from one plot of council land to another in compensation. Ours is a win-win proposal.

Why is this important?

Famous views of the town's largest historic feature, enshrined in Lowry paintings, are being eroded by willful siting of tall tower blocks along its eastern side, concealing the structure from most of the town centre.

The Council's own self-permitted 19-storey Interchange tower will block views of the viaduct on the south side of the valley, while a previous grouping at Regent House (14 storeys) blocks views to the north. Capital and Centric's 14-storey tower takes out both central and oblique views.

How it will be delivered

Various means of petition submission have taken place addressed to Capital and Centric PLC., Stockport Council, Historic England, the Secretary of State LUHC., and, if necessary, to the Planning Inspectorate.

Wear Mill, Chestergate, Stockport SK3 0AG, UK

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Category

Updates

2019-11-14 20:53:42 +0000

The Stockport Heritage Trust lodged its objections to the proposals with Stockport Council last night and included the 326 signature petition of concerned citizens. We concur with the objections lodged by Historic England and by the Victorian Society and will continue lobbying for a more appropriate project that respects Weir Mill and sacred views of the Viaduct

2019-11-09 19:16:15 +0000

The "public consultation" held by the developers of the Weir Mill scheme only consulted immediately local neighbors (not many) and held a 1-day exhibition - hardly up to national standards of fair play. Stockport Heritage Trust (that knows a thing or two about Weir Mill and the Viaduct) was NOT consulted.

2019-11-09 19:12:09 +0000

The Weir Mill Tower proposal was designed by Stephen Hodder, Past President RIBA (a Stockport lad) who is infamous for the design of Ryan Giggs' monster tower proposed to overlook Albert Square in Manchester.

2019-11-09 19:09:09 +0000

How fair can SMBC be in determining this planning application? Its advisors for the Town Centre West development zone (within which Weir Mill sits), Cushman & Wakefield, produced a fancy brochure to promote inward investment in the zone that features the Weir Mill / Viaduct concealing tower.

2019-11-05 21:42:42 +0000

Fighting in the dark: Stockport Council decided not to publish online other objections to the proposals. But the Trust obtained key responses from the Victorian Society among others, and was heartened to learn that it strongly objected to the scheme, on similar grounds to those expressed here.

2019-11-04 14:25:50 +0000

100 signatures reached

2019-11-04 10:44:15 +0000

50 signatures reached

2019-11-04 09:05:02 +0000

25 signatures reached

2019-11-04 06:56:15 +0000

10 signatures reached