Don't Hide Our Viaduct: Save Weir Mill

Dear Petitioners: many thanks for your support. However, news today is that we are finally defeated. The offending tower will be built.

We received the following text on 5 November 2021 from the Ministry of Levelling-up, Housing and Communities: "The Government remains committed to giving more power to councils and communities to make their own decisions on planning issues and believe that planning decisions should be made at the local level wherever possible. The call-in policy makes it clear that the power to call in a case will only be used very
selectively. The Secretary of State has decided, having had regard to this policy, not to call in these applications. He is satisfied that the applications should be determined at a
local level." Stockport Council has already resolved to allow the scheme and, in fact, is funding it with a commercial loan. It will now proceed with a start date planned for February 2022.

Today, Stockport Council will approve a £60 million loan to developer Capital & Centric to deliver the Weir Mill scheme that incorporates a 14-storey tower block that will block iconic views of the Grade II* listed railway viaduct from the town centre, and limit views of the town from 4-6 million rail passengers. The loan decision comes long after the Council received debenture stock from Capital and Centric (Rose) Ltd. Nobody else wants to loan money to the scheme, despite a £7 million grant from Homes England, because as the District Valuer states, the scheme is not financially viable in the short to medium term. The DV also found strange calculations in C&C’s figures, and recommended that the Council seek independent quantity surveying advice on the project costs. C&C bought the semi-derelict buildings and land for £3 million, which some folks would argue was over the odds. Now the case is in the hands of the Minister to decide to allow the scheme or call it in for a Public Inquiry.

Stockport Council's Planning and Highways Committee unanimously voted today to grant planning permission and listed building consent (the latter, subject to referral on heritage matters to the Secretary of State) for the entire Weir Mill scheme. While acknowledging that harm would be levied by the eastern tower on the character and appearance of the Grade II* listed viaduct, the Council’s view remains that this impact would be “less than substantial” and offset in a balance of public benefits by increased housing provision, urban regeneration, the repair of two Grade II listed buildings, and by the provision of riverbank open space. Stockport Heritage Trust’s position remains the same: that the harmful 14-storey tower’s relocation to a site west of the viaduct, in a land-swop of council land, would retain all these benefits and preserve iconic views of the viaduct. The council failed to take account of the cumulative impact of towers proliferating between the viaduct and town centre.

When reporting to Council committees on the planning proposals, officers tend to underplay the District Valuer's report (27 August 2021) which states that the current scheme, with the offending 14-storey east tower, is NOT financially viable in the short- to medium- term, and may only work as a long-term investment when sold to others (e.g., investment firms). The DV was not provided with any firm written proof that Homes England would withdraw its HIF grant entirely if the tower was not built, nor that the grant would be reduced if a lower tower was built. He / She also found it strange that the developers’ construction cost estimates get larger if a shorter tower is built (para 7.2.6). The DV suggests ‘value engineering’ (cost savings) would help the valuations and that the Council ought to have independent construction costs advice on the plans. There is also a query over the £3.9m land costs associated with the scheme. Was the semi-derelict site worth so much?

Looks like Stockport Council are minded to grant planning permission and listed building consent on 30th September 2021. However, because of the objections, the case has to be referred to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government and we shall make representations to DLHCLG at the appropriate time with a view to the minister calling in the scheme, preferably for a local public inquiry.

As of 13 September 2021, petition statistics: 2,856 (77.7%) of the current total of 3,678 signatures are from Stockport: chiefly from postcode districts SK1 thru SK7, with substantial numbers also from SK9, SK12, SK14 and SK23. A further 292 (8%) signatures are from Manchester, with additional double-digit contributions from Blackburn, Bolton, Oldham and Wigan. Other entries expressing national concern for the fate of the viaduct come from all across the UK: from as far away as Kirkwall, Jersey, Norwich, Truro and the Isle-of-Man, with especially strong representations coming from the historic railway towns of Crewe, Derby, Preston, Sheffield, and Stoke. Around 96 (2.6%) petitioners provided postcode data to the 38-degrees petition website but preferred to omit their full address information under data protection law. The Weir Mill project will be considered by SMBC’s Central Area Committee on 16th September with a Planning and Highways Committee decision on 30th September 2021.

Stockport Council's Heatons and Reddish Area Committee met today and supported the current Weir Mill scheme. Officers admitted that council land was involved in the project; that the project was barely financially viable, even with the £7m Government grant; and that the proposed east Tower would do harm to views of the Grade II* listed viaduct, “less than substantial harm, nonetheless at the higher end of harm” (a legal nicety). Councillors understood the objections to the east tower, arguing that the Mersey Square view was already wrecked by extant high-rise Regent House (previously approved by the council), consoling objectors that they could still see uninterrupted viaduct views from the M62 and B&Q car park (west of the town centre), and thought that the scheme was the only way to save the Grade II listed Weir Mill and regenerate a decayed area of the town. “There is a price to progress,” one stated.

Investigations reveal that 2/3rds of the offending East Tower footprint would stand on Council land that appears to have been sold to Capital and Centric on a deferred repayment basis, linked to the previously-mentioned debenture. No claim of wrong-doing here: a standard land transaction. However, this has not been made clear during the planning process so far, and we've asked the Council to clear this up. Also, this is an issue where our suggested land swap could still be facilitated for little cost, and quicken the planning result by withdrawal of objections if the tower was moved to the west.

According to Companies House records: Weir Mill owners, Capital and Centric, have subdivided their assets into over 25 small, single-site entities. That for Weir Mill is called Capital and Centric (Rose) Ltd. The records show that Stockport Council appears to have a financial interest, by way of a Debenture, in the project. A debenture is an instrument used by a lender when providing capital to companies and enables the lender to secure loan repayments against the borrower’s assets. Thus, the Council appears to have a vested interest in the project upon which it is considering planning approval.

Decision-making begins: Stockport Council committees will consider the planning and listed building consent applications on 13th September (Heatons & Reddish Committee); 16th September (Central Area Committee) and 30th September (Planning & Highways Committee). We will submit a hard copy of this petition next week. Please encourage relations, friends and neighbours to sign as soon as possible.

The Council's portal www.stockport.gov.uk/find-planning-applications contains the District Valuers report (27 August 2021) on the financial viability of C&C's Weir Mill scheme [search "current" applications, "Weir Mill" then click the first entry]. The report states that the Weir Mill scheme will NOT be commercially viable - even with heavy public subsidy from Homes England - in the short-to-medium term. Its economic viability relies on selling the site after construction to a long-term investor (i.e., often foreign sovereign funds). The DV appears to suggest that the longer anybody waits to revalue the site, the better the figures should become. But there are uncertainties due to pandemics, Brexit, inflation etc. We believe that the scheme is financially marginal but will be politically justified whatever the figures say. If so, move the offending east tower away from viaduct with a Council land exchange. Any costs will do, so long as the project is not revalued for a long time.

The UK has very few legally "protected views" of buildings, monuments or town centres whose familiar, cherished appearance are desirable to preserve and enhance. Views of London's St Paul's Cathedral from Parliament Fields and Richmond Hill are enshrined in law. And the river frontage in Liverpool was provided with UNESCO World Heritage Site status for its "outstanding, universal values" representative of Maritime and Mercantile Heritage. But no longer. This week UNESCO removed Liverpool's WHS status because of the irreversible loss of heritage attributes caused by inappropriate and unsuitable developments. Many of which visually obscured the city's primary listed buildings. How will visitors and residents feel if the Weir Mill and Interchange towers are built to obscure our familiar, cherished views of the viaduct?

Map displayed shows all land assets owned by Stockport Council near and around the Weir Mill site (ringed top right in red) - taken from www.stockport.gov.uk/stockport-council-land-and-assets-map. We argue that it is within SMBC's power and remit, as supported by the GM Mayoral Development Corporation, to engineer land swaps and other facilities to allow the mill developer Capital and Centric to build its 14-storey tower enabling development west of the Grade II* listed viaduct to avoid ruining iconic town centre views. Lord Kerslake, who chairs the Development Corporation, is also vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Conservation, Places and People - and ought to know that better conservation can be achieved through lateral thinking, ingenious actions and good design manners.

You can also lobby local ward councillors including: [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; [email protected] ; and [email protected]

24 may 2021: its crunch time! Now that the Labour Party has retained its reign on power in the borough of Stockport (strangely, with help of eight Conservative councillors), council processes will recommence with consideration of the Capital & Centric scheme, including the offending east tower, by relevant committees. Please spread word of this petition to others who may not have signed it. You can also register your own objection by emailing [email protected] citing reference DC/079225 & 6. Please ensure that you include your name and postal address with any email. Or write to Stockport Council Planning Department, Fred Perry House, Edward St., Stockport SK1 3UR citing the reference codes provided above for Weir Mill, Stockport SK3 0DT.