Our Stockport high street has been 'neglected' for years and is in desperate need of an upgrade

A short walk from Stockport train station brings into view the sprawling red brick terraces of Edgeley, a Stockport neighbourhood close to the town centre.

It’s the home of Stockport County football club and is an area known for its proud and tight-knit community. But Edgeley’s high street is facing an uncertain future after years of “neglect.”

Castle Street is a meeting point for many in the neighbourhood, and recently hosted jubilant Stockport County fans celebrating the club’s promotion to League One. Some people in the area feel the mix of shops on the street has dwindled too much, leaving it with little to attract more footfall.

Sivori’s cafe is one establishment that has been part of Castle Street for more than 70 years, with customers who keep coming back. Paul Sivori and his son Alessio run the business, but they worry about whether there’s enough on offer in the area.

Alessio said: “Business is good, we have a lot of regular customers, but there’s not loads of footfall here. It’s not as much as you would think for a high street that should be busy. There’s not much reason for people to come here other than food.”

Paul added: “It needs different types of shops and outlets, there’s nothing like that really here. They need more butchers and things like that, shops and independents. It’s all takeaways and nails here. A lot of people park here and go to Manchester so the street is sometimes very quiet.”

Across the way in Stockport town centre, upgrades to transport facilities and the construction of new flats have created a feeling that things are on the up.

It’s a sentiment that’s been recognised nationally, with the town recently being named the best place to live in the northwest by the Sunday Times.

But areas around the borough are facing problems, with places such as Adswood marked by pockets of deprivation, and Edgeley facing future problems with traffic with two bridges into the area set to be replaced, one at the armoury roundabout at the top end of Castle Street.

Sections of Castle Street are pedestrianised, but cars are still able to drive down most of the road and compete for its parking spaces. Part of the problem affecting businesses is people who park around the area and then take a train to Manchester city centre for work, business owners said.

Barry Pearce, the owner of Edgeley Sports & Fishing, said his customers often struggle to find a parking space close enough to the shop.

“The problem is there are so many shops all the same. There’s a lot of parking but the problem is it’s cheaper than the train station so people are coming here instead, my customers struggle to find a parking space.”

Tweedies is another shop that’s been a part of Castle Street for decades. The family furniture firm occupies a large shop about halfway down the high street, providing an independent outlet among the takeaways and discount shops. Members of the family said they worry about the number of buildings around the area that are becoming accommodation.

Stuart Tweedie said: “They need to stop turning properties into flats because by the time they’re done there won’t be any shops left here.”

Russell, who also works at the shop, said: “The main thing is opening the street back up so the traffic can flow freely again. It’s always been a bustling area but in terms of shops it’s all the same, it needs something different. At the same time, I don’t think a craft beer type place would work very well here. It’s a good idea but it wouldn’t work.”

The topic of high streets is political, with the Labour Party making a recent pledge to breathe new life into the UK’s high streets. At a local level on Stockport council, Edgeley is represented by three councillors from the Edgeley Community Association (ECA), a group which was formed to represent the interests of the neighbourhood.

Matt Wynne, leader of the ECA, said his group is working on making improvements to the area, but that a “fundamental upgrade” is needed. He said Castle Street has been “neglected” for years, with issues such as old signage being left up and a lack of variety on offer to shoppers.

“You would be surprised but the vacancy rate for units on Castle Street is quite low in comparison to other high streets in inner town areas across the land,” he said. “The problem is the variety of amenities – instead of greengrocers, butchers, etc., we have a saturation of nail bars, vape shops and takeaways.”

Mr Wynne added that more needs to be done to improve Castle Street, and that he would like to see changes to the pavements to open them for businesses to use.

He added: “The goal is a fundamental upgrade to the public realm – widened footways that will allow tables and chairs to go out proper, where people can stop and chat in the street rather than have to jockey for room.

“Building out crossing points that will address head on the issue of anti-social behaviour on there, such as shocking parking that stops vulnerable patrons using the district centre with ease. Installation of trees and greenery that massively lifts up the public realm.

“We’re hoping we can get to the point where like Moston and Withington district centres in Manchester are at, in receiving several million pound central government grants to upgrade the public realm. We have people saying to us drop it and start again but we believe it holds its own. It just needs the love and the money.”