Insights

When it comes to regeneration, the UK loves to lead with PR. A nice slogan here, a fancy bit of CGI there and a soft-touch masterplan. But over in Europe, the most successful neighbourhoods grew from frameworks. Clear, civic enforceable frameworks backed by patient delivery and long-term political courage. What can we learn from them and how can we switch modes?

Underbank isn't new to Stockport, but it is newly thriving. The town's once-chief shopping street had become a graveyard of closed-down stores in the midst of the recession era, before being resuscitated as part of Manchester's most talked about renaissance. Now, its cobbled lanes and Tudor façades are back in business, with a growing line-up of independents drawing the crowds from far and wide.

As one region, Greater Manchester's rise has been stratospheric - but big things are happening within the 10 individual boroughs. Over two decades of investment, devolved power and connectivity have created a patchwork of growth in Greater Manchester, with different districts pulling their weight in different ways. The trick now? Knowing how they piece together...and how they stack up against London.

Greater Manchester's economy is popping off, productivity is rising faster than London, investment is flowing and cranes scatter the skyline. But in all this progress, there are tough questions to ask, like who gets to live in these new neighbourhoods, and at what cost?

In the last 20 years, the Cottonopolis has been weaving a story of reinvention; now the numbers tell it best. Once trailing the UK average on productivity, Greater Manchester has spent two decades quietly gaining ground. Manchester hasn't only close the gap with London, it's outpaced the capital in productivity growth.

Cities all over the world are grappling with the challenges of growth and identity. In Manchester and beyond, Capital & Centric has been establishing a meaningful regeneration blueprint for over a decade.

At BRIK, we stay in the loop on all things property, especially when it comes to Stockport. If this town’s rapid growth has done anything in the last five years, it’s proven just how hard it could reinvent itself.

Stockport hasn’t always been a hive of happenings, but if there’s one thing it has always been home to, it's ambition. Dubbed the ‘New Berlin’, the brick-clad textile town has been transformed by an influx of hotspots, independents and boutique everythings. Now, the momentum behind Stockport has new fuel, with the incoming Metrolink expansion. Here’s our rundown of what’s coming and why it matters.

Stockport’s recent rise has been nothing short of meteoric, leaving its mill-town status in the dust. Behind the scenes, there’s been a quiet engineering one of the North’s most impressive urban comebacks, and the next phase is right on track.