Making Marple Better Together
Who plans to build what? New development in Marple in 2023
The story of new development in Marple in 2023 is one of few building projects taking place but several in the planning pipeline. Bricks and mortar have been laid in Market Street in Marple where the conversion of the former Royal Bank of Scotland to new apartments is now finally completed after a stop / start building programme but not yet occupied. The ground floor windows, and the entrance door with its columns and pediment have been retained to remind us of this sturdy little building. We made some comments on the initial planning application and were pleased that the final scheme was adjusted to take these into account.
And on the bank of Macclesfield Canal the seven houses on the Wharf are now nearing completion. Known as The Yard the houses have been built in stone in keeping with the canal bridges at either end. We had objected to this rather lack-lustre development on the grounds that this was such an important site for Marple and so much more could have been made of it but to no avail.
The Wharf warehouse, which was retained for use as a visitor centre, has undergone structural renovation, and is now watertight and awaiting internal fitting out ready for visitors. A new tranche of funding has just been secured from the National Heritage Lottery Fund which will allow further development work towards turning it into a Heritage Centre and Health & Wellbeing facility. This will be an important addition to the heritage based tourist attractions in Marple.
Elsewhere new developments are promised on Queen Street (opposite the Regent Cinema) where a proposal for three terraced house is still undergoing scrutiny with Stockport’s planners. Also in the planning system are proposals for the redevelopment of a vacant office building for an 85-bed high dependency residential nursing home at Eastwood Drive (off Cross Lane) and the redevelopment of the Dog and Partridge pub in High Lane for a Sainsbury’s local food store.
Each year SMBC’s Marple Area Committee undertakes an Annual Review of Outcomes tour, to allow Councillors to make a site visit to the sites which they have considered as planning applications, and which are now built. In October 2023 they chose the new residential development in Marple Dale. Here high quality houses have been built on the site of the former Marple Dale hospital. The site is in the Green Belt and care was taken to utilise the footprint of the old hospital buildings as far as possible.
The most eagerly anticipated proposal this year is of course the new Marple Community Hub and a planning application is expected to be lodged in March. The planning application for the demolition of the Old Swimming Pool is as yet undetermined.
Andrew Moorhouse, Committee Member, February 2024
