Woodley, a district centre in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The main area of focus would be around how to refresh the built environment of the tired 1960s shopping precinct, with a vision for sustainable densification, which includes affordable housing, a focus on physical health and mental wellbeing, investment in high-quality public realm and the creation of additional community space. The area has served its residential catchment well for the past fifty-years but a new vision is now needed which elevates Woodley's status an attractive place to live and work in, whilst, at the same time, continuing to engage its existing catchment of elderly pensioners and working-class residents. One of the major issues faced is the rise of anti-social behavior and crime, so ideas that look to create safer spaces (particularly at night) would be very much welcomed. The opportunity exists to work alongside Joe Barratt, a local resident, Fellow of the Institute of Place Management, and co-founder of The Teenage Market, to use frameworks such as the High Street's Task Force's '4 R's of Renewal' and approaches like the 20-minute neighborhood, to design a series of place interventions and high-concept visions for development which can help inform a future urban design plan for the area. There will also be an opportunity to engage with both the local business community of small shopkeepers and nearby residents, with a focus on participatory planning and place-making.
