Stockport Independent Issue 195

OCTOBER 2025 2 No part of this publicationmay be used or reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. Every effort is made to ensure that the articles and advertisements that are carried are authentic, however the publisher accepts no responsibility for claims made. © Investors in Publishing Ltd 2025. This newspaper is publishedmonthly by Investors in Publishing, Publishing House, 3 Bridgebank Industrial Estate,Taylor Street, Horwich, Bolton BL6 7PD. 01204 478812 EDITOR : Ged Henderson ged@hendersonnewsandmedia.com CONTACT: JayneMeadowcroft 01204 478812 / 07703 045189 jayne@independentnewspapers.co.uk ADVERTISING: Robin Atkins 07767 840274 robin@cheshireindependent.co.uk CONTACT US ALMOST seven million passengers travelled through Manchester Air- port during the school holidays – making it a record-breaking summer. August was also the air- port’s busiest ever single month, with 3.5m passengers served by the UK’s northern global gateway. Managing director Chris Woodroofe said: “Here at Manchester Airport, we are proud to connect the North to the world – and over the sum- mer it really feels like we’ve done that. “We’ve seen almost 7m pas- sengers travel through the airport in July and August and we’ve worked hard to deliver a great experience for them. “In the first half of the year we know that more than 90 per cent of our passengers rated their time in the airport as good, very good or excellent. “And having seen the work the teams here have put in A BRAMHALL man who took money for dou- ble-glazing jobs which were never delivered and fled to Florida has been convicted of fraud in his absence. Following a number of com- plaints from people that they had paid deposits for windows and doors that were never supplied or fitted, Stockport Council’s trading standards team investigated The Chesh- ire Window Outlet Limited. Investigations revealed that the company was run by Steven Wright, who was already subject to two direc- tor disqualification orders for two separate offences – one in 2014 banning him for eight years, and another in 2018 banning him for a further four years. Despite this, Wright set up The Cheshire Window Outlet within months of the second ban, using his wife, Louise Wright, and later his friend, Mark Tibbot, as directors. In 2022, the Trading Stand- ards team pursued criminal charges against the com- pany, Steven Wright, Louise Wright, and Tibbot, including fraud by false representation and breaches of the disquali- fication orders. PLANS have been unveiled which could see more than 1,000 new homes built around Wood- ford village. Developer Russell LDP has submitted plans for more than 400 new homes a 72-bed care facility in Woodford on a site off Chester Road, following public consultation earlier this year. Transformational: The area earmarked for development (Photo credit: Stockport Council) THINKING BIG! l Continued frompage one It will now be a material consideration in future planning decisions, guiding develop- ment proposals to align with the council’s ambitions for the town. Stockport Council has now endorsed plans to expand the boundary of the MDC to cover the entire town centre. The expansion is expected to be formally recommended by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and taken to Parliament in the coming weeks. Council leader Mark Roberts said: “We’ve already seen the huge difference made to our town centre under the UK’s largest town cen- tre regeneration, and the Strategic Regener- ation Framework (SRF) sets out how we can go even further to benefit residents across the whole borough. “This gives us the route map for achieving our vision to double the number of new homes to 8,000, making the best use of brownfield land to significantly meet our borough’s hous- ing needs while creating well-designed neigh- bourhoods that revitalise our town. “We’re investing in infrastructure that matters – a health hub, new secondary school, green spaces and connectivity – while boost- ing opportunities for local businesses and attracting new investment. “It’s also about enhancing what we already have – restoring our historic charm, opening up picturesque riverside settings and improv- ing travel routes.” He added: “We’ve made huge progress in Town Centre West, and now we’re ready to bring that same ambition to the area to the east of the town centre as we shape the next chapter of our town’s story.” Double-glazing fraudster who fled the country is convicted Convictions: Steven and LouiseWright (Photo credit: Stockport Council) Tibbot, who initially absconded, was arrested in 2023 after Greater Manches- ter Police issued a wanted appeal. He later pleaded guilty to assisting in the breaches and, in early 2024, received a 12-week suspended prison sentence. Speaking after the latest court case Dan Oliver, Stock- port Council’s cabinet member for communities, culture and public protection, said: “This successful prosecution demon- strates the council’s absolute commitment to protecting our residents and holding dishon- est businesses to account. “Steven and Louise Wright acted with complete disregard for the law, deceiving custom- ers and undermining trust in legitimate local traders. Thanks to the persistence of our trading standards team, we secured justice for those affected. “This case sends a clear message – we will not toler- ate fraudulent practices and will take firm action against those who exploit residents in our borough.” At a plea hearing in Decem- ber 2022, a trial date was set for January 2024. However, in early 2023 the Wrights sold their Bramhall home and fled to Florida, prompting the court to issue arrest warrants. The trial was rescheduled for September and proceeded in their absence. Steven Wright was unan- imously convicted of fraud by false representation and breaching both disqualifica- tion orders. Louise Wright was found guilty of two counts of acting in contravention of a disqual- ification order by assisting her husband. The company itself was also convicted of two counts of breaching a disqualification order. New Woodford expansion plans revealed The developer is seeking outline planning permission for 395 new homes, and 15 self-build properties, as well as a 72-unit care home and 72 apartments for older people living independently. A range of supporting facili- ties are also proposed, includ- ing retail and food and drink units, a medical or health facility and a crèche, day nursery or day centre. Dubbed ‘Woodford Gar- den Neighbourhood’, the scheme also includes plans for nature park that will support meeting biodiversity net gain requirements for the development. The site sits to the west of a planned 500-home expansion of Redrow’s Woodford Garden Village scheme, and a number of other housing developments in the village that could see around 2,000 new homes built in total if all are approved. Meanwhile, David Wilson Homes, part of major house- builder Barratt Redrow Homes, has launched a public consultation on its plans to build around 450 new homes east of Woodford Garden Village. Plans for the Upper Swines- eye Farm site propose around 450 homes – with more than half made available as affordable housing. A community consulta- tion, including online ques- tionnaire is being carried by David Wilson Homes ahead of a formal planning application being submitted to Stockport Council, and will close on Monday October 13. Gary Lynch, planning director at Russell LDP, said: “We want to thank those who attended our consultation events in Woodford in July. “Since then, we’ve taken on board the feedback received and sought to revise our pro- posals to reflect the needs expressed by the community. “The updated plans now include provision for health- care, a day nursery, and a small retail unit that could be suitable for a post office, alongside refinements to the housing layout.” He added: “Our propos- als directly respond to the acute need across Stockport for specialist elderly care accommodation and general housing, in a comprehensive and sustainable way; and the illustrative masterplan is based on a landscape-led approach, which provides the public with greater access to quality open spaces.” Cheadle MP Tom Morri- son, speaking when Russell LDP launched its public con- sultation this summer, said: “Residents across Woodford, Bramhall, and the wider area value the Green Belt – and for good reason. “These plans would see the loss of vital green space, with little clarity on how local infrastructure would cope. I’ve asked the developers for more information, but it’s already clear that local people are deeply concerned. I’ll be fighting to ensure their voices are heard.” Airport passenger numbers take off over the summer – and the many, many happy faces I see around the airport every day – I feel very confident we’ll see similar figures for this period. “Now we’re moving into a very exciting time for the air- port as we get into the final stages of our transforma- tion programme. “Over the next fewmonths, we’ll put the finishing touches to our brand new, £1.3billion Terminal 2 and meanwhile we’ve started work on improv- ing and expanding Terminal 3, with the first new parts of that opening early in the new year. “It means that as we look ahead, I think we’ll see our passengers grow even hap- pier with the service they receive here.” The most popular desti- nations during August were Antalya, Palma, Dublin, Amsterdam and Dubai – a trend that looked to continue in September as travellers took advantage of late sum- mer deals in what’s known as the ‘shoulder season’ – peri- ods either side of the school summer holidays when many popular destinations are still warm but prices are lower. Manchester Airport’s 10-year, transformation pro- gramme will be completed later this year. The new Ter- minal 2 will become the cen- tre of gravity for the airport, catering for over 70 per cent of passengers with its new security hall, check-in area and shopping options – all of which opened this year. Further parts of the termi- nal will be opening over the coming months including the Great Northern Market – a market hall style food area featuring pop-up street food vendors – the airport’s first Wetherspoons pub, new shops and bars including Fever Tree and Chanel and a new pier that will allow more flights to depart from the terminal. The airport recently announced further details of its multi-million pound plans to improve Terminal 3 by expanding it to make use of space that will be availa- ble when Terminal 1 closes. Some new parts of Terminal 3 will open early next year, including new sports bar Sporting Chance.