Cllr Mark Hunter, leader of Stockport Council, announced at a cabinet meeting that he was 'confident' that plans for Stockport Metrolink would be endorsed by the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC).

The MDC is a statutory body created to bring forward the regeneration of a defined area, with powers to acquire, develop, hold and dispose of land and property. 

The council leader also announced plans for a meeting with Andy Burnham and business leaders to further discuss the benefits of a Metrolink service for Stockport. 

Still, Cllr Hunter remained realistic about the plans, saying: "I can only hope the message is received and understood by those in a position to do something about it.  

"Sadly it's not a matter within our control, of course, because if it was we'd have made significant progress on this by now.

"We will miss no opportunity to continue to raise this issue, because it is a sore point. It's been promised so many times, and still it's yet to happen."

Cllr Hunter's support for the Metrolink but continuing frustration seems to be shared by both residents and councillors alike; proposals have been on the cards for a long time, but seemingly little progress has been made. 

Cllr Grace Baynham, the author of a report which set out a number of benefits for a Metrolink in Stockport, said: "I think it's a shame that of all the boroughs neighbouring manchester, Stockport is the only one not yet to have the Metrolink.

"We've been promised the Metrolink for decades. Some of the recent announcements from the previous administration occasionally made it sound like the scheme was almost ready [to go], but actually we were a lot further back in the process than some people believe."

On a similar note, Cllr Frankie Singleton added: "We're a whole mayoral term from the last election cycle, where I seem to remember [Metrolink] being promised to Stockport, and still no sign of it. It's incredibly frustrating that we're still at this point. 

"I think it's something that's really important for those areas of our borough that are less well served by trams. You can't get from Marple to Stockport on a train - a tram train or a tram would be a fantastic solution to that."

Echoing the frustrations, Cllr Hunter pointed out that the ten councils within Greater Manchester each contribute funding to the Metrolink - including Stockport - which makes the lack of service disappointing.

The council leader added: "I would hope that we speak for everyone in Stockport when we say that we've been very patient in waiting for the promised extension of the Metrolink network to come to Stockport."

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