Stockport council leader Mark Roberts has called it an ‘absolute scandal’ that Lancashire Hill was not part of a major government regeneration scheme. The estate is based outside Stockport town centre and is made up of apartment blocks and high-rise towers.
It is managed by Stockport Homes, a social housing provider owned by the council. In recent deprivation rankings, Lancashire Hill was found to be in the most deprived area in Greater Manchester.
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Families on the estate told the Local Democracy Reporting Service in December about issues with overcrowding and maintenance problems in the ageing buildings.
Despite the problems, Lancashire Hill was not one of 25 ‘trailblazer neighbourhoods’ around the country which will get up to £20m to spend on improvements.
The idea of the scheme is to spur on ‘community-led regeneration and renewal’ in places which have been ‘too easily left behind’, according to the government’s report.
Other parts of Greater Manchester will benefit from the cash, including Brinnington in Stockport and Pendleton in Salford. Calls have been made in Stockport for the government to put its hand in its pocket for Lancashire Hill and fund new changes.
Stockport’s Lib Dem council leader Mark Roberts addressed the issue at a town-hall meeting on March 26. He said: “That Lancashire Hill has missed out on funding from national government I think is an absolute scandal.
A meeting was held at the town hall on March 26(Image: Adam Vaughan / MEN)
“But it is something that we can change, it is something we can push government to change, by sending a collective voice and calling for Lancashire Hill to be given that trailblazer status as well as Brinnington.
“The brilliant work that’s being done over there can absolutely be done in Lancashire Hill too.”
Stockport also missed out on funding from the government’s recovery grant, a scheme which has dished out millions of pounds to councils across the country. The issues at Lancashire Hill came up during a council meeting motion on inequality.
Labour Councillor Jon Byrne proposed the motion on closing the inequality gap in the borough, which was amended by the Stockport Community Group and Lib Dems before being agreed.
The motion stated: “Lancashire Hill is now ranked 21st most deprived neighbourhood in England, the most deprived in Greater Manchester, while hulme>Cheadle Hulme West is the 6th least deprived. These communities are five miles apart.“
Coun Byrne said at the meeting: “Here in Stockport we are going places, we now regularly feature in the best places to live lists, and I’m sure we all got a copy of the latest MDC [Mayoral Development Corporation] newspaper through our doors in recent weeks, telling us all the many positive things happening in our borough.
“But a borough is only as strong as its most vulnerable residents, and for us to hold our heads high as a place that’s on the up we must dismantle all of the barriers that keep our neighbours on the outside looking in.”
Councillors in Stockport agreed the amended motion which stated: ‘This council resolves to call on the government to fund Stockport adequately, to recognise the level of inequality we face, to grant trailblazer neighbourhood status and the funding that goes with it to Lancashire Hill and extend the recovery grant to our borough with immediate effect to help us support our deprived, non-trailblazer neighbourhoods including Hillgate, Victoria Park, Adswood, the town centre, Offerton and others.’
James Frizzell is a Green Party councillor for Reddish South, the ward where Lancashire Hill sits.
Coun Frizzell said issues on the estate include ‘filthy cladding, exterior walls covered in mould, windows which can’t be cleaned because they no longer open, unreliable lifts, expensive and inefficient heating, and a building access and intercom system which is no longer fit for purpose.’
He said earlier in the council meeting: “Although the regeneration of Stockport is an undeniably good thing, I feel that the administration’s priority should switch to Lancashire Hill.
“I do not think it’s a difficult argument to make that our most deprived crumbling neighbourhood should get the most attention.
“Please can we start this process without further delay with a very specific focus on immediate improvements.”
Council leader Mark Roberts said the issues at Lancashire Hill are ‘absolutely a priority’ for his administration, and proposed setting up a ‘roundtable’ group with local councillors to look at the challenges on the estate.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was approached for comment.
