Plans for a new multi-storey car on the fringes of Stockport town centre have been given the go-ahead despite councillors declaring a ‘climate emergency’ two years ago.
The 284-space facility will serve Kingsgate House, on Wellington Road North - home to an NHS out-patients clinic and a number of company offices.
Boasting four levels, it will nearly double available parking at the site, including 19 disabled bays and 32 covered cycle spaces.
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Stockport council declared a ‘climate emergency’ in March 2019, resulting in the ‘Climate Action Now’ (CAN) strategy - which is meant to put the environment at the heart of town hall decision making.
But planning officers said the benefits of creating more spaces for visitors and staff - coupled with the promise of more disabled and electric vehicle parking - outweighed concerns over pollution, air quality and congestion.
That didn’t stop Central Stockport area committee refusing to recommend the application when the report went before them last month, however, with councillors accusing officers of 'not taking climate change seriously'.
And while the full Planning and Highways committee ultimately gave the proposals the green light, not everyone was happy about it.
Coun Iain Roberts said that, having made a climate emergency declaration, the council needed to make things better - not just stop them getting worse.
Passing the car park plans would encourage car use by making it ‘more convenient’ for staff, he added.
He continued: “It will make it more convenient, because you are saying to people ‘if you drive, it’s really easy now, because you can park for free right outside your office. You are not going to have to walk at all, you don’t even need to stretch your legs’.
“That’s likely to lead to more people choosing to make that decision to drive into the town centre, increasing pollution and damaging the climate.”
Coun John Taylor had similar misgivings - and said the pandemic had provided an opportunity to take a bolder approach.
“Things won’t instantly go right back to where they came from - and they shouldn’t do.
“We should take that opportunity to take a leap forward in terms of the progressive targets we think we can deliver with regards to climate change.
“And we should actually not encourage people to come along with applications like this in advance of need.”
However Coun Wendy Meikle moved to approve the application.
“This building has got many different uses and many people visit it,” she said.
“If you just pay a visit it’s very difficult to park at the minute, parking is restricted.
“If staff have to park on the street, that will cause problems as well.”
Coun Meikle’s motion was seconded by Coun Roy Driver and the committee agreed to grant permission for the scheme.
Matters relating to access and landscaping will be dealt with by a separate ‘reserved matters’ application.
Stockport council’s planning and highways committee met at the town hall on Thursday evening (July 8).
