Plans to demolish the Farmers Arms pub and replace it with a Greggs drive-thru have been shelved, deferred for decision at a later date. 

At a planning committee on Thursday (16 August), councillors concluded that further information would be required before a decision was reached. 

Specifically, more detailed traffic modelling was called for, following concerns that plans did not fully account for the likelihood of queues, or the site's busy location (at the junction of Edgeley Road and the A560).

Cllr Steve Gribbon, who chaired the committee, said: "I am wholeheartedly unsatisfied with the traffic plan. [...] I don't like the idea of it. I know how busy that road is already - it is a main artery."

Cllr Wendy Meikle was similarly opposed, saying: "I'm not happy at all with this application, and I will not be supporting it."

Although planning officer Jane Chase maintained that there was "no evidence within the application to suggest that an unacceptable or severe impact to traffic generation will arise", councillors were, for the most part, still sceptical. 

If plans were eventually approved, the new Greggs restaurant would provide 35 jobs and would open from 6am-11pm, seven days a week. 

Objection letters from 64 locals were originally submitted to Stockport Council over these plans, mostly associated with traffic around the site as well as concerns over the impact on public health.

The Farmer's Arms pub closed down in 2020, and has since fallen into dereliction, becoming a hotspot for anti-social behaviour. 

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