Stockroom, Stockport for Stockport Council with AEW Architects, Kier and SpaceInvader

Stockroom, Stockport for Stockport Council with AEW Architects, Kier and SpaceInvader

 

Stockroom is Stockport’s reimagined community space—a 45,000 sq ft former retail block transformed into inclusive public areas for learning, creativity, and social connection. Open daily, it combines a library, café, sensory room, archives, workshops, exhibitions, performances, and civic services under one roof. With a year-round programme for all ages, Stockroom fosters belonging, supports local talent, and encourages social interaction. Since opening in 2025, it has welcomed over 500,000 visitors, providing a safe, vibrant, and accessible space that strengthens community life in Stockport.

 

 

What is the programme and use of the space? How does the project foster community, connect people and contribute to urban life?

 

Every day is different at Stockroom. It is a vibrant, multi-use civic, creative and cultural centre, designed to bring people together and make the high street a place for connection. The ground floor houses a café bar, children’s library and play area, a sensory room, and flexible spaces for performances and workshops. Tables and seating areas feature poetry and artwork created by young people and local artists, while the gallery wall hosts ever-changing exhibitions showcasing local creativity. Upstairs, the non-fiction library, archive collections, and event spaces provide a quieter environment for learning, research, and community gatherings. The space is fully accessible, welcoming families, older residents, and people with disabilities, while also offering areas for relaxation, reading, and socialising. 
Stockroom fosters community through a constantly evolving programme: children’s storytelling and creative sessions, youth music gigs, comedy nights, zine-making workshops, and family jam sessions for disabled young people and their friends. Civic and cultural events celebrate local heritage and diversity. Public services such as registrars’ and work and skills workshops are integrated seamlessly, offering practical support in informal, welcoming settings. By combining arts, learning, wellbeing, and civic services under one roof, Stockroom brings increased footfall to Merseyway which has grown month on month since opening, encourages social interaction, supports local talent, and provides a safe, inclusive space where residents can meet, collaborate, and take part in community life, making it a lively and meaningful part of Stockport’s town centre.

 

How does the community space make a positive social and environmental contribution? 

 

Stockroom makes a measurable social and environmental impact by transforming disused retail units into a thriving civic hub at the heart of Stockport. Environmentally, it demonstrates how regeneration can be low-carbon and design-led: 45,000 sq ft of existing space was repurposed rather than rebuilt, preserving Merseyway’s mid-century structure and avoiding the substantial embodied carbon that demolition and new construction would have generated. Sustainable materials, energy-efficient systems, and adaptive reuse underpin the project’s long-term environmental legacy. Socially, Stockroom is intentionally barrier-freer and fosters inclusion. It is fully step-free, features a sensory room, accessible toilets (including a fully equipped Changing Places) and breastfeeding facilities, and provides a safe, welcoming environment for families, older residents, and people with disabilities. Dedicated quiet times mean that those with sensory issues feel confident in visiting Stockroom. 
 
Inclusive programming, with the majority of events free of charge to make it accessible for everyone, is at the heart of Stockroom’s ethos. From creative workshops and storytelling to music sessions for disabled young people and civic celebrations like Pride and Windrush Day, strengthens connection and belonging. Residents can access public services, skills advice or wellbeing support in the same space as cultural and social activity, reducing stigma and isolation. Weekly sessions, including Knit & Natterand Youth Night, have helped foster communities that are centred in Stockroom and discreetly deliver an important service in respect of tackling loneliness. By placing inclusion, and everyday participation at its core, Stockroom delivers lasting social value every single day of the week.

 

Please explain the governance of the project, such as its viability, purpose, motivation and any consultation, co-creation or community engagement undertaken in the development of the community space. 

 

Stockroom is governed by Stockport Council as part of the borough’s £1 billion regeneration programme, with funding from the Future High Streets Fund ensuring its long-term viability. Its purpose is to transform a high street space into a civic and cultural hub that improves literacy, supports families, and makes public services more accessible in a non-stigmatised, welcoming way. As a cornerstone of Live Well Stockport, Stockroom brings together help and support services, making it easier for residents to help themselves, their families, and those they care for, all in places close to home. 
 
Community engagement shaped every stage of development. Hundreds of residents took part in Stockroom Socials, workshops, and pop-up sessions across the town centre prior to opening. Young people co-designed and built furniture for the children’s library and local artists created murals and installations with community groups. 
 
Stockroom delivers both cultural and civic value. By embedding public services alongside creative activities, the space demonstrates how town centres can function as inclusive, community-driven hubs where people connect, learn, and access support in one welcoming environment. Its success demonstrates that high streets can once again become civic living rooms, places where people are not just consumers, but citizens, neighbours and creators. Stockroom now stands as a blueprint for how towns everywhere can build belonging, purpose and pride from the ground floor up.