Eamonn Boylan joined Stockport council as chief executive in January 2010.
A former deputy to Manchester’s Sir Howard Bernstein, he brought with him Sir Howard’s interest in property, and his capacity to get things done.
As a former deputy chief executive of the government’s Homes and Communities Agency, he also understands regeneration.
For council leader Dave Goddard (left), the appointment was timely. His relationship with previous chief executive John Schultz was not good: the conservative Schultz and the ebullient councillor Goddard did not mix well.
Says Goddard: “Before, it was chalk and cheese. Now, Eamonn has a style more like mine, about making things happen, to the extent that sometimes we have to rein each other in.”
The Dave and Eamonn show has arrived in Stockport. Council leader Dave Goddard and chief executive Eamonn Boylan are giving the town something to talk about – and giving investors something to think about.
This month, just two months after agreeing a bold £15m buyout of the troubled Grand Central leisure complex (see panel, right), the pair published plans that could lead to a massive £500m town centre revamp, complete with a new office quarter and a spruced-up leisure offer.
But in order to get the regeneration ball rolling, Stockport council is dipping into its coffers to purchase sites. At a time when local authority budgets are under intense scrutiny – indeed, Stockport faces cuts of nearly £80m during 2010-14 – some are asking whether this is justified.
Few disagree that regeneration for Stockport is needed and many have welcomed Goddard and Boylan’s initiative. Earlier this year they took advantage of Targetfollow’s travails to pounce on the Grand Central leisure complex next to Stockport station. A new office quarter for the town is promised for the site, along with revamped leisure facilities.
Next, they are preparing to revive the shelved £500m Bridgefield retail redevelopment. Talks between Stockport council and the owners of the town’s 350,000 sq ft Merseyway shopping centre could pave the way for a 650,000 sq ft project (see panel, right).
Nearby Manchester and Salford councils have recently stepped in, financially, to assist their respective local property markets, and in Stockport’s case, its own reserves have been used. Goddard says that his council will intervene where necessary.
“It’s horses for courses,” he says. “When we see an opportunity, we will seize it, like we did at Grand Central.”
He adds: “We’re big enough to go and buy and develop when the private sector isn’t. We’ve already had real interest from big players who want to get involved with us at Grand Central.”
What many observers see is an echo of the can-do attitude that saw council leader Richard Leese and chief executive Sir Howard Bernstein transform Manchester. The working relationship between the two men is said to be just as close.
“We’re about movement,” says Goddard. “For instance, look at Sainsbury’s decision to move away from its store at Warren Street to a site on the fringe of the town centre at Knightsbridge, a decision which releases a tremendous site.”
The Sainsbury’s deal was eased into place by Stockport council, which selected the food retailer to build a 68,000 sq ft store on the 5-acre site.
Goddard is also excited about a Royal Mail sorting office site on the A6 next to Grand Central. Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund bought it last autumn and it could easily fit into the office-led plans for the Grand Central lot.
But the strategy for redevelopment will be pragmatic. After the collapse of the first Bridgefield regeneration effort – when Lend Lease walked away from the £500m project in 2008 – Goddard insists he is not bothering with big strategy documents.
“We have to be proactive, but I don’t like masterplans. I’ve gone right off them. We have to think more about what we can do and what we can deliver,” he says.
Council officials explain that this means “de-risking” individual investment opportunities so that developers can pick them off one by one. A new delivery strategy prepared by Drivers Jonas Deloitte’s Manchester head Simon Bedford identifies the prospects. “We’ll offer a blend of projects,” he says.
There is a potential cloud on the horizon for the double act. With members of his ruling Liberal Democrat group defecting to Labour, and a difficult election just six weeks away, some doubt that Goddard can retain control of Stockport council.
The man himself remains defiant. “I’ve still got a majority of three, and that won’t change in May,” he says. “I’m confident we’ll still be in charge.”
The proposals
The £15m purchase of the 76,000 sq ft Grand Central leisure complex from the administrators of a Targetfollow company has given Stockport council scope to create a new office district.
The site, next to the mainline railway station, could be one of the North West’s most important office development sites outside Manchester city centre. Five phases, each of around 50,000 sq ft, are likely.
CB Richard Ellis’s Iain Selbie, who has been advising the council, says: “There’s an opportunity for Stockport council to drive an office quarter that it hasn’t had before, building on the 49,000 sq ft BAM office block at St Peter’s Square, which is now largely occupied by BSkyB.”
Elsewhere, the £500m Bridgefield retail-led scheme in central Stockport was put on ice in 2008 when Australian developer Lend Lease pulled out. Goddard and Boylan are said to favour a plan to link proposals with the town’s existing Merseyway scheme.
Merseyway has faced an uncertain future since it was placed in receivership in 2009.
The 350,000 sq ft shopping centre was owned by a vehicle of Syrian-born tycoon Simon Halabi, but is now controlled by lender Bradford & Bingley, advised by GVA.
It emerged last November that the council is in negotiations to purchase the scheme.
Paul Lawrence, Stockport council’s regeneration director, explains: “A formal joint venture with Merseyway is not what we have discussed.
“It might need a joint venture to get Bridgefield built, but we are open-minded.”
