Stopford Park is a major regeneration scheme in the heart of Stockport, reimagining a collection of historic and new buildings into a coherent neighbourhood.
There’s lots of exciting designs going on across the site, both in the new build residential structures we’re working on and on the adaptive reuse of the Torkington building.
At the centre of this vision is the public realm. Far from being an afterthought, the external spaces provide the glue that holds the different assets together and sets the tone for how the development will be experienced by residents and the general public
We worked closely with Layer.studio and the wider design team to engineer a public realm that balances technical performance with placemaking ambition. From surface water management to material build-ups and drainage, our role was to make sure the vision could be delivered on site without compromise.
The challenge
The site pulls together four distinct assets:
Bosden – a new residential block built using light-gauge steel.
Torkington – an adaptive reuse project, highly detailed and considered.
Lyme – a new build, due to start on site in early 2026.
Cheers and Smith – a Grade II listed former college building that will be transformed into a flexible workspace.
Each asset brought its own constraints and requirements, and the public realm had to act as the unifying element between them. The challenge was to create external spaces that not only connected these disparate buildings but also managed surface water, utilities and levels within a tight urban context.
One of the biggest technical hurdles was the presence of a United Utilities sewer running across the site. This required careful consideration with respect to easements and informed where buildings, planting and drainage could be located. At the same time, the client’s ambition is for high-quality external spaces that offered more than just circulation routes. The brief was to craft a memorable arrival experience, defining the community’s unique identity and offering amenities that will make it an attractive place to live.
The solution
We approached the public realm as infrastructure as much as landscape. Working with Layer.studio’s design vision, we developed the engineering behind the surface finishes, material build-ups and drainage strategies. Soft landscape features were integrated with hard surfaces, balancing surface water management with durability and accessibility, to create a sustainable and functional space.
The scheme is designed to minimise discharge into the adapted drainage network, mobilising soft planting, permeable finishes and careful grading help retain water for longer on site, reducing strain on the surrounding infrastructure. Exceedance routes are built into the topography so the public realm performs under both everyday and extreme conditions.
At the same time, we provided the detail to make the landscape vision buildable. From structural depths for tree pits to podium waterproofing and drainage layers, we worked through the technical interfaces to enable buildable solutions on site.
A further part of our role was ensuring that the different buildings didn’t feel like separate pieces stitched together, but part of a coherent whole. The material palette, level changes, public realm and and drainage strategy were coordinated to act as one considered space that celebrates the character of Stopford Park.
The outcome
The public realm creates an identity for the neighbourhood, sets the tone for arrival and ties together four very different assets into one coherent place.
By working collaboratively with the design team, we’ve been able to translate a strong design concept into technical solutions that will perform long term. Surface water is managed sustainably, utilities have been integrated without compromise, and the external spaces now give the scheme the sense of arrival and quality it deserves.
The project shows the value of treating landscape and engineering as two sides of the same coin. Done well, public realm isn’t just a backdrop. It’s a critical piece of infrastructure and the first chapter in how people experience a place.
Photo credit: Our studio
