A Stockport man has accused his own council of 'stabbing a knife in the back' after they bought his property against his will.

The local authority however argues the purchase was necessary to move a £145m development forward.

In June 2025, Stockport Council's cabinet made a decision to use compulsory purchase order powers to buy up 72 and 74 Wellington Road South in the town, owned by local solicitor Kieran Henry. These powers allow councils and other public organisations to buy up land or property without the owner's consent.

This was being done to move forward the Stockport Exchange scheme, a huge employment development, that the local authority said is 'critical to the continued growth of the town'. The development includes plans for new offices, homes, and retail as well as leisure facilities.

A report before councillors said the council had bought all the land in the area up except for the site on Wellington Road South, which 'acts as a barrier

between the town centre and the railway station' and was holding the entire £145m scheme back. The council want to demolish the current buildings and creating a grass area.

The report said: "Despite the council's sustained efforts to engage and negotiate with the landowner over a prolonged period of over 10 years, voluntary agreement for the acquisition of the site has not been possible."

However an inquiry was later held over the cabinet decision in April 1 2026 because Mr Henry, who has owned the site since 2001, opposed the move. However he was unsuccessful and on July 3, the council has now moved to buy the land, the details of which have not been made public.

In documents sent to the council as part of the enquiry, Mr Henry said he had concerns about the scheme's viability, the 'lack of a compelling case' in the public interest and evidence backing up the decision, and questioned whether the council has 'really done its homework on this major development'. He said the council had not made enough effort to engage and the order was 'premature and unjustified'.

Despite working as a 'successful' solicitor, Mr Henry said he 'began to acquire investment property residential and commercial to pass onto my children and the next generation and in order to build a better life'.

He said he maintained the buildings to a high standard but stopped after he said the council left other properties in the area 'in a very poor state'. In the inquiry documents, he said the council had damaged part of his property, which was disputed by the council.

He added: "Whilst I respectfully and wholeheartedly welcome the optimism of

the council in Stockport with its ambitious plans for improvement I do believe that they have not fully considered or time tested the proposals that they so eloquently portray."

The solicitor said he always planned to redevelop the building with commercial space downstairs and flats upstairs. However he told the LDRS the council were not interested despite him offering to invest his own money to deliver a scheme.

In response, the council's assistant director of regeneration Jude Barker said they did not believe there was 'reasonable prospect of concluding an agreement in the near future' and a number of funding options were available to deliver the scheme despite no requirement for that to be the case.

Their submission to the inquiry said Mr Henry's claims there was 'insufficient demand' for office space was 'not supported by evidence' and there was a shortage of top grade office space in Stockport, adding: "The scheme will deliver significant and well‑evidenced economic, social and environmental benefits, including employment growth, regeneration of a highly accessible town‑centre site and enhanced investor confidence."

They said: "The landowner has not advanced any alternatives capable of achieving the objectives of the scheme. Redevelopment in isolation would not deliver a coherent or comprehensive regeneration outcome."

Other evidence submitted to the council said officers had engaged with Mr Henry and agents directly but accused him of being reluctant to engage. Ged Massie, a council-appointed surveyor said all the local authority's offers had been refused for the land.

He said: "The landowner has indicated willingness to sell but his price expectations have consistently been far above market value. Despite ongoing discussions, voluntary agreement has not been reached.

"The landowner has been largely uncooperative over a decade of negotiations, and his price expectations remain unrealistic."

However Mr Henry takes a different view claiming the local authority had been 'belligerent and obstructive', adding: "I have been a Stockport person and I have been a resident of this town since day one. I have got the capital to reinvest but they just dismissed it."

He told the LDRS: "It was just harassment and underhanded techniques they were playing to p*** me off. The feeling I get is the council are buying everything at the moment.

"The amount of stuff they are buying is unbelievable. On one hand, they are working for the people and on the other hand they are working for themselves."

Mr Henry told the LDRS: "It's like Julius Caesar. It's like getting a knife in the back. I live in Stockport. It's good to see the town being developed but developed in the right way and developed with the people.

"It's just thinking hold on, this isn't fair this but I am not going to beat the council. You can't beat the local authority with the funding they have got."

Despite being a legal professional himself, he added: "You are fighting barristers and lawyers from the best legal teams you can have so there's no way I could win."

He said he was ready to work with the council and get the building going, adding: "They are prepared to knock it down and put a grass turf area so people can dump litter on it.

"I wanted commercial on the bottom and have flats on top but they said no we are not having that."

Cllr Micheala Meikle, Stockport Council Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration and Skills, said: "Stockport Exchange has become one of the region's most significant regeneration projects, creating a thriving business district that attracts investment and supports more than 2,000 jobs.

"The remaining land is required to enable the future phases of the development to come forward, creating further employment opportunities and high-quality amenities.

"For the past decade, the Council sought to acquire the site through negotiation. Despite extensive efforts, we were unable to reach an agreement and, as a result, progressed a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the first time in the project.

"The case was considered by an independent inspector at a public inquiry, where all parties had the opportunity to present evidence. Following that process, the inspector determined in favour of the Council and the CPO was confirmed.

"We appreciate that this has been a long-running process and that the outcome will be disappointing for the landowner. Delivering the next phases of Stockport Exchange remains a priority for the Council, supporting our UK-leading regeneration of Stockport town centre."

~

Free from clickbait, Stockport Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

To get our top stories in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.

Please consider following Stockport Nub News on Facebook or X