SK5 – the Stockport postcode where some are losing a decade of their lives to poverty.

A new report from Stockport Council has revealed that life expectancy in the area, which includes some of the most deprived areas of the borough, is years shorter than its more affluent neighbourhoods.

Put another way, someone born in SK5's Brinnington can expect to live ten years less than those five miles away in Bramhall.

The report, part of the council's One Stockport borough plan, shared that Stockport is the eighth most polarised borough in England, sparking major concerns over "shocking" levels of inequalities.

The Brinnington and Central ward is the 22nd most deprived nationally, and data from 2022 found there are more than 50,000 people living in the most deprived areas of Stockport.

Cllr Mark Hunter, leader of Stockport council, warned that deprivation is having an "inter-generational impact" on families, and that progress to help those living in extreme poverty is "slow and difficult."

"These inequalities start before birth and continue throughout each resident's life," he added.

Brinnington railway station (Image - Alasdair Perry)

"The relative wealth or poverty of your parents has a huge impact on your healthy life expectancy and that of your own children."

Cllr Frankie Singleton, the council's inequalities lead, said anti-poverty work is taking place in the borough and is a "core focus" of the Lib Dem administration.

Data from the council revealed that Brinnington has the highest proportion of people living with disabilities in Stockport, and that smoking rates are 40 percent in parts of the neighbourhood, compared to 4.4pc in an area of Marple.

Areas such as central Stockport and Brinnington also have much higher levels of unemployment.

Cllr David Meller, leader of Stockport Labour, called for urgent action to address the issues.

He said: "I've said it many times that when travelling from Bramhall to Brinnington, you lose around two years of life expectancy for each mile you go. It's good this has been acknowledged within the report – but we need leadership and action, not warm words.

"Stockport is celebrated as a great place to live. However, life expectancy in some areas is shockingly low — a stark reminder that where you live can significantly impact how long you live.

"We must confront these inequalities by showing leadership and making the tough decisions necessary to tackle them. This includes providing more quality housing across the borough so every resident has the opportunity for a longer, healthier life.

"It also includes using the socio-economic duty, which the Lib Dem leadership is ignoring. We've seen their lack of leadership on this through reducing staffed library hours in our more deprived areas."

Stockport Town Hall (Image - Alasdair Perry)

Cllr Singleton said the Lib Dems are not ignoring the socio-economic duty – a requirement for public bodies to consider how their decisions impact inequalities.

She added: "Labour's leadership locally are well aware that we are implementing the socio-economic duty and they would do well to be more honest about this.

"We have explicit anti-poverty objectives, something the previous Labour administration never had, which shows how seriously we are taking it."

Cllr Hunter said: "The Leader of the Labour Group should know all about these issues because they are the same as they were under the previous Labour administration of which he was a part, which faced these challenges for six years up to May 2022.

"Our determination to tackle these fundamental problems is just as strong as his was when he and his colleagues were in power."

A council spokesperson said: "The One Stockport: One Future plan is a shared vision on how we will work together to reduce inequalities. We know that the factors that drive inequality interact with one another.

"In building a fair and inclusive Stockport we want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be happy, healthy and succeed in life; we want to offer all residents thriving communities that have good employment prospects, health care to meet the needs of the population, clean, green spaces and a transport network that will make Stockport the place to live, the place to work and the place to enjoy.

"We are changing the way we plan and deliver services, vital to this approach is collaboration between public services, communities, businesses, and residents working together to achieve better outcomes for local people, all of which are actioned in our One Stockport: One Future plan, which was shaped by the voices of our communities and residents this year."

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