Drivers Jonas - Retail - Stockport, Hazel Grove

Date: 01 Mar 2000

The Stockport suburb of Hazel Grove is home to some of the region's wealthiest people - but there is nowhere for them to spend their money. Property consultants Drivers Jonas have won the contract to produce plans to improve the once thriving centre of Hazel Grove which has become rundown. Stockport Metropolitan Borough council has asked Drivers Jonas's Manchester Office to come up with a strategy to bring the centre up to date.

"There is a very high turnover of shops and the kind of outlets simply does not reflect the affluence of the people who live here. People are travelling to other areas, most notably Handforth Dean to spend their money and that shouldn't be happening. We will be looking at current development proposals and other sites around Hazel Grove to see how they can be used to their full potential as a central resource for the local community" says Martin Tonks, at Drivers Jonas. "Our aim is to create an environment which is attractive and has the right quality and quantity of shops to meet the needs of the people who live here."

Hazel Grove is an important gateway to Stockport from Derbyshire and Cheshire and has a potentially enormous catchment population. Unfortunately, it suffers from heavy traffic thundering down the A6 which passes through the centre. "We will be looking for imaginative and viable solutions to tackle the intrusion of heavy voluines of traffic," says Mr Tonks. Drivers Jonas will lead a project team including Taylor Young who will look at urban design and MVA who will provide traffic and transport expertise. The team is due to report back to Stockport MBC in the Spring.

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