Stockport Independent Issue 202

MAY 2026 4 STOCKPORT’S Bramall Hall is among 130 cul- tural venues, museums, and libraries receiving a share of nearly £130mil- lion from the government Arts Everywhere Fund. The iconic building has been awarded £1m in the lat- est funding round that has been announced. The £1.5billion Arts Every- where Fund looks to support more than 1,000 arts venues, museums, libraries and herit- age buildings across England. The first £127.8m of fund- ing has now been delivered by Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Support has been distrib- uted across three funds: the Creative Foundations Fund (CFF), the Libraries Improve- ment Fund (LIF), and the Museum Estate and Develop- ment Fund (MEND). Bramall Hall’s support comes from the MEND fund. The historic building secured one of the largest funding awards of any cul- tural venue across the North West, behind only The Lowry Centre Trust, which received £8.5m and the People’s His- tory Museum in Manchester which has been given £2.49m. Sir Nicholas Serota, who chairs Arts Council Eng- land, said: “Arts organisa- tions, museums and libraries are the beating heart of our communities. After signif- icant financial pressures in recent years, this vital invest- ment will help organisations to secure futures where they thrive and not just survive. “We look forward to seeing these cultural spaces flourish as they continue to provide access to excellent art and cul- ture for everyone, everywhere, for many years to come.” A NEW railway bridge supporting a four-way roundabout above the West Coast Main Line in Stockport has reopened after a year-long overhaul. Network Rail has invested £20million completely replac- ing Greek Street bridge to secure both the road above and railway below for the next 120 years. The major junction linking Stockport with Edgeley is now open following the lifting of traffic restrictions. Last August the former 67-year-old structure was removed and replaced with a new bridge made up of 51 structural elements – all lifted in by crane during a 21-day railway closure. Since then, work to rein- state the carriageway, buried utilities like drainage, power cables and gas and water mains has taken place. On the eve of the reopening local schoolchildren from St Matthew’s and Our Lady’s were given special road safety lessons now that the road net- work will become much busier around their school. Local business owners impacted by the essential upgrade also had the chance to meet the project team from contractor Murphy and Net- work Rail. Patrick Vallely, Network Rail Capital Delivery’s head of buildings and civils, said: “Seeing traffic running smoothly once more at Greek Street is a proud moment for us all who’ve been working on this project for many years. “Replacing Greek Street bridge was a massive feat of civil engineering which has impacted people right across Stockport for over a year, so I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone for bearing with us. “This essential project now secures the future of this structure and will provide a safe and reliable road and railway network for decades to come.” Mark Roberts, leader of Stockport Council, said: “The reopening of Greek Street Bridge is a really important moment for Stockport and marks the successful com- pletion of a complex project delivered on time. “This was essential main- tenance work that couldn’t be avoided, and completing it now has helped future‑proof a vital part of our transport network so it remains safe and reliable for years to come. “Restoring this key route will make a real difference for residents, commuters and local businesses, and I want to thank everyone for their patience and support over the past 12 months.” TRIBUTES have poured in following the death of former Stockport chief executive Eamonn Boylan at the age off 66. A dedicated public servant for more than 40 years he worked across the country and took on leading roles at local and national level. He led Stockport Coun- cil from April 2010 to April 2017, and was a driving force behind the £1billion pro- gramme of investment in the borough’s infrastructure and town centre. In 2023, he returned to support the area once again as interim chair of Stockport Mayoral Develop- ment Corporation. He was also former chief executive of Greater Man- chester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) during the defining years of devolution. Eamonn also steered the city region through the horror of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 and the response to the coronavirus pandemic, and oversaw the appointment of a new Chief Constable for Greater Man- chester Police in 2021. In 2023 he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to local government. He retired from GMCA in 2024, going on to serve as interim chief executive of Manchester City Council and of Homes England. Mark Roberts, leader of Stockport Council, said: “We are very saddened to hear of the passing of Eamonn Boylan and on behalf of the council, I would like to offer our deepest sympathies to Eamonn’s family, friends and former colleagues at this very difficult time. “Stockport is the place it is today because of the strong foundations Eamonn helped to build. His leadership gave our borough confidence, and his legacy can be seen in our town’s physical investment and ambition that carries through to today and the future. “Eamonn dedicated his life to public service and was held in high regard not just for his professionalism, but for the way he worked with people across the council and across political lines with a focus on always doing the right thing for local communities. “On behalf of the council, I would like to thank Eamonn for his service, his commit- ment to Stockport and the lasting contribution he made to our borough.” Andy Burnham, the mayor of greater Manchester, said: “This is a devastating loss, and my thoughts are with Eamonn’s family, friends, and all those who knew him. “Eamonn was the public servant’s public servant, and a giant of English devolution. He led from the front but was rarely in the spotlight, taking every opportunity to lift up and empower those around him.” He added: “At the most cru- cial moment in Greater Man- chester’s devolution journey, he took the foundations laid by past leaders and built it into an effective, efficient machine that continues to deliver. “The fact that we are the UK’s fastest-growing city region is a testament to his leadership.” Roundabout reopens after £20m upgrade Engineering feat: The work on Greek Street has been completed (Photo credit: Network Rail) As part of the project, a much-admired mosaic which was part of the for- mer bridge was retained and reinstalled on the new structure has been unveiled. The work in Stockport is part of Network Rail’s major investment programme into the West Coast Main Line, which will see £400m improvements to Europe’s busiest mixed-use passen- ger and freight railway lines over the next year. Tributes to a dedicated public servant Leading roles: Eamonn Boylan (Photo credit: Stockport Council) Historic hall gets a £1m funding boost AGROUPof 11 apprentices have become the first to graduate froman in-depth, two-year course run in partnership byManchester Airport and Trafford and Stockport College Group. The Level 3 AviationGround Specialist course, which was welcomed by Greater Man- chester mayor Andy Burnham when it was launched in 2023, is unique in giving students experience of all the elements of an airport operation. It was broken down into four separate work place- ments in different roles across the airport with supervision and mentoring from experi- enced aviation professionals. This included everything from terminal operations to airfield safety, ground handling and runway management. Each placement was supple- mented by in-person learning at the college group’s Altrin- cham campus, where appren- tices studied the operational models of airports across the globe, the development of air- port operations best practice and how the aviation indus- try is evolving and adapting to new technology. Places on the course were promoted to local school sixth forms and colleges, as part of the airport’s commitment to providing opportunities to those living nearby. Oscar Pearson Leach, 20, from Stockport, was one of the graduates. He said: “The course has definitely opened my eyes to other opportu- nities for careers in the industry that I didn’t even know existed.” Tina Edwards, people direc- tor at Manchester Airport, said: “We are delighted to cele- brate the first cohort of appren- tices to graduate from this programme and it was great to be able to extend my congrat- ulations to them personally. “It was great to hear that so many of them have already secured paid roles at the air- port with ourselves or one of our service partners, on the back of completing this qualifi- cation and impressing manag- ers on their work placements.” Graduates: The successful apprentices (Photo credit: MAG) Airport learning takes off