Stockport Council's new leader demands ‘action’ on Metrolink expansion
Stockport council's new leader has demanded action rather than words on the town's call for a Metrolink stop.
Mark Roberts was appointed to the top job at the Lib Dem-controlled council last week, having previously served as deputy leader.
The new town-hall chief said plans to expand the Metrolink network to Stockport need to move forward, urging the Labour government to 'put its money where its mouth is' to get trams rolling into Stockport town centre.
"We are banging the table to say that it is Stockport's turn," Cllr Roberts told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
"It is only right and fair that Metrolink comes to Stockport next, and we do get warm words and I welcome them, but we do need to see action, our residents want to see action on it.
"Stockport has contributed towards Metrolink for enough years now and not seen it delivered yet."
A possible expansion of Metrolink could see Stockport get a link to the east Didsbury line in south Manchester, with the work expected to cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
Meanwhile, the regeneration of Stockport has been geared towards a future tram stop, with the town's transport interchange described as being 'Metrolink ready'.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said last year that it was creating a business case for the expansion to Stockport which should be ready by this September, and that it has already awarded contracts for the design, modelling and appraisal of the construction work.
Cllr Roberts said the government's spending review would be a key sign of whether the plans are likely to move forward any time soon.
"That's something to look out for in the spending review, about ensuring that [Greater] Manchester is given the money that it needs from a transport perspective to be able to deliver things for Stockport, and for government to put its money where its mouth is, saying it believes in this kind of stuff, which they say they do.
"Metrolink to Stockport would be a game changer. It's not just something that Stockport needs, it's what Metrolink and that transport network needs, it needs to be plugging into Stockport, and getting those benefits for the whole of Greater Manchester."
Stockport council's deputy leader, Cllr Jilly Julian, added: "It's not just Stockport's turn, it's Manchester's opportunity.
"It's not just Stopfordains getting into Manchester easier, it's about Greater Manchester having better access and connectivity to Stockport, because there's a lot going on here."
Local transport minister Simon Lightwood visited Stockport in February and was asked about whether the government would fund the work to expand the tram network.
He said any decisions on funding future transport projects "would be a matter for the spending review" – but added that Parliament will work with local authority leaders to look at what is possible "within the realism of value for taxpayers."
TfGM and the Treasury were approached to comment.
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