Stockport is in a housing "emergency" with thousands more homes needed to meet local demand, the town's MP has said.

Navendu Mishra said the situation has left people in "desperate" situations trying to find an affordable home.

In June, a council report found that an 'unprecedented' number of people are facing homelessness in the borough.

And there are around 6,000 people on the local housing register according to Stockport Homes, the firm which manages the town hall's housing stock.

Mr Mishra said his office recently supported a Stockport resident facing homelessness who was offered accommodation 100 miles away in Birmingham.

The Labour MP accused the Lib Dems, who run Stockport council, of contributing to the problem by previously voting to leave a region-wide housing plan, then known as the Greater Manchester spatial framework (GMSF).

The scheme has since evolved into Places for Everyone and has been adopted by every town hall in Greater Manchester apart from Stockport, but it has faced criticism over the release of green belt land.

Places for Everyone aims to build a total of 165,000 homes around Greater Manchester.

Navendu Mishra, Labour MP for Stockport (Image - UK Parliament)

Mr Mishra said: "Housing continues to be the single biggest issue that people contact me about.

"Sadly, Stockport council is not part of the Greater Manchester spatial framework, because the Liberal Democrat councillors in Stockport aligned with the Conservatives and voted together in December 2020 against Labour's proposal to join the framework.

"That means that the borough of Stockport is massively behind on housing targets. When Stockport withdrew from the Greater Manchester spatial framework, the borough needed to build 793 homes per year.

"In September 2022, Place North West estimated that that figure had risen to almost 1,200 homes per year. The council is on schedule to fall short of its target by 6,000 homes.

"We are in a housing emergency.

"I welcome the Labour Government's commitment to building 1.5 million homes and decent, affordable housing for everyone.

"In my view, Stockport does not need any more developments for investors; it needs housing for families and young people so that they can get on the housing ladder and have the dignity and respect of safe housing.

"People are desperate for secure, safe and affordable homes. Far too many face homelessness or being placed outside Stockport, far from their families, support networks and schools.

"I am familiar with a case that came through my office last week. A person experiencing homelessness was offered a place to live in Birmingham, which is almost 100 miles from Stockport—that is simply not acceptable.

"Many private landlords in Stockport and across the UK have ensured that renting is unaffordable for many. There are bidding wars for properties. It is vital that rents are controlled and rent caps implemented.

"I urge the Government to go further."

Stockport Town Hall (Image - Alasdair Perry)

Stockport council has a draft local plan for housing which will go out to public consultation in September.

This aims to build more than 15,000 new homes by 2041, with 8,000 based around the town centre.

The local plan aims to deliver an affordable housing target of 50 percent.

Stockport Lib Dems have pushed a 'brownfield first' approach to development, which they say will help to protect the borough's green belt land from being built on.

But Labour councillors in the borough said the plan will "not deliver" enough affordable homes for Stockport.

A housing topic paper published alongside the draft local plan stated that 15,000 homes would meet 85pc of the borough's requirements.

Cllr Mark Roberts, deputy leader at Stockport council, said: "As an administration we look forward to working with our local MPs to press the new government for the funding we need to deliver affordable homes across Cheadle, Stockport and Hazel Grove.

"This won't be an easy issue to solve, is deep rooted and has no silver bullet, but will require collaboration across all parties and levels of government.

"The housing crisis is a national one and we would welcome a strategy championed by the Liberal Democrats (and supported by others) to build the right homes in the right places, building on the positive regeneration of our town and district centres for the benefit of all, rather than concreting over the green spaces our residents hold dear.

"A Stockport draft local plan will be consulted on in September and October, that delivers more homes than GMSF offered within Stockport, has a clear strategic target of 50 percent affordable while prioritising delivery of three bedroom homes and most importantly seeks to represent the views of our local people rather than delivering a developers charter to concrete over the green belt.

"I hope that the Member of Parliament will respond to the consultation himself, sharing his views and highlighting which areas of green belt he would like to release to provide even more housing."

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