Stockport Council has been unsuccessful in its application to the Library Improvement Fund, missing out on a share of the £6.3 million pot designated to support the upgrade of facilities and technology in local libraries.
Stockport asked for £493k to transform the children’s offer at four libraries: Reddish, Bredbury, Cheadle Hulme and Great Moor. This would also have helped make more minor improvements at our other library sites.
Leader of Stockport Council, Cllr Mark Roberts, said
“We are disappointed to learn Stockport has been rejected again by this Labour Government for vital funding. In this case it would transform the children’s offer in 4 of our local libraries, something we Lib Dems feel is truly deserving of investment. This is made worse by them shutting out Stockport from the £600 million recovery grant support for deprived areas, leaving out the borough with the most deprived area in the whole of Greater Manchester. It’s difficult to think anything other than we’ve been unfairly treated yet again. We have bold ambitions for our local area and Labour nationally have shown again that they just don’t seem to care.”
“It is particularly difficult to swallow desperate election promises by Labour candidates when their government denies the funding we need for our libraries. We keep seeing Labour taking our community for granted, promising a lot but failing to invest. This funding could have made a huge difference to families in Cheadle Hulme, Bredbury, Great Moor and Offerton in particular and, yet again, the Labour Government have failed to back investment in Reddish. We need action, not words, we need consistent funding, not handouts and we need support, not spin.”
“We know how successful Stockport can be when given the funding we deserve. In its first few months of opening, Stockroom staff needed to order even more books for children and young people because of the high demand for its services. The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for the Labour government to give Stockport its fair share of funds after years of Conservative chaos, rather than them just throwing money at the places where they desperately think it might rescue them in the local elections.”
The full list of successful bids are here- https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/our-open-funds/libraries-improvement-fund-lif-round-4
Stockport stands up to Starmer
Stockport Council is set to challenge the Planning Inspectorate, who have approved a 540 home, 84-acre expansion of Woodford Garden Village, by developer Harrow Estates. The initial bid was submitted in December 2024 and had failed to receive approval from the Council. The Labour government’s Planning Inspectorate waved through the plan last month, with SMBC receiving legal advice in the meantime to explore its options.
The Liberal Democrat Cabinet Member for Housing and Environment, Cllr Jake Austin, has now approved the council contacting the Labour Government, in a formal bid to get the decision reversed. He cited numerous issues with the developer’s plan, including lack of open-space provisions, infrastructure, and other amenities.
Cllr Austin said
“After working closely through the detail with our planning team, it’s right the council has moved ahead with this challenge. Our green belt is precious, and it should not be subject to the whims of developers.
If the Labour government is going to force its developers charter across our green belt, it is imperative that we are able to get the right infrastructure in place – including the educational and open-space provisions.
I am grateful to Councillors Dallas Jones, Jeremy Meal and Cheadle MP, Tom Morrison, who have worked with us continually to ensure residents voices are heard, pushing the council to protect our green spaces and fight against unfair developments across Bramhall and Woodford.
Leaving this decision unchallenged would’ve had a devastating impact on the precedent of future developments across Stockport. This decision is about more than just one development, it is about fighting back against this Government and delivering the infrastructure we need across all of the borough where they are forcing development to happen.”
Stockport Council best in the North West for recycling rate
New Government data released today shows that Liberal Democrat-led councils are the best in the country for recycling, with Stockport Council achieving a 59.5% recycling rate, the highest in the north west of England.
The annual figures for 2024-25 published this week by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), reveal that councils run by the Liberal Democrats are amongst the 14 of the top 20 councils.
The Lib Dem-led Stockport Council has been ranked 9th in councils in England, and 1st in the North West, with the national average being 43%.
Commenting on the figures, Cllr Jake Austin, Cabinet Member for Housing & Environment said:
“These figures prove what we have known for a long time: when Liberal Democrats run your local services, we deliver a cleaner and greener environment.
“Lib Dem councils are paving the way by making it easier for residents to recycle and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill.
“Even with the national challenges of the last year, we have maintained a recycling rate of 59.5% and committed to a more sustainable future. We aren’t stopping here; we will continue to innovate to ensure Stockport stays at the forefront of recycling in the UK.
The official Government statistics on recycling rates in England can be found here.
In memory of Eamonn Boylan
The Liberal Democrat Group is saddened to hear of the loss of Eamonn Boylan OBE, formerly Chief Executive of Stockport Council. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues.
Read Stockport Council’s tribute to Eamonn here.
“Every Raindrop Triggers Fear” Stockport Council Demands Government Action on Flooding Crisis
Last Thursday, Stockport Council passed a Liberal Democrat motion demanding Government funding for flood defences and relief, after ministers ruled the New Year’s Day 2025 floods were not “catastrophic enough” to warrant support.
The Flood Recovery Framework is financial support that the Government can provide to families via local authorities that have suffered flood damage. It is at the government’s discretion if they release the funding on a case-by-case basis.
Deputy Leader of Stockport Council, and Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, Cllr Jilly Julian, had planned to share the testimony of Liz, a neighbour in Cheadle and founder of the Cheadle Flood Alliance, at the council meeting, but the motion passed without debate.
Liz’s testimony included:
“New Year’s Day 2025 was anything but a celebration. I watched families bail water out of their homes — exhaustion, disbelief and heartbreak on their faces. For many, this wasn’t the first time.”
“Every weather warning becomes a source of anxiety. Every raindrop on the roof triggers fear.”
“A person’s home should be a place of safety. To lose that is to lose a sense of self.”
Cllr Julian said:
“The Government must act. We cannot have families forced to live in fear while ministers debate what counts as a disaster and refuse to recognise that flood risk is a much broader concern than it used to be. Whilst Stockport Council is doing great work to protect residents from flooding, we cannot do it alone. The lack of funding the council receives from central government is highly concerning, and despite lobbying to ministers across Government, we are yet to find one who seems to care.”
“Stockport will receive £52 million less next year than the average for councils of its kind, and 75% of our budget is spent on providing support to vulnerable children, adults, and families. Yet the Government seems intent on shifting responsibility away from itself onto overburdened councils. They expect us to find the capital funding and have contingency set aside whilst also forcing us to run down reserves.”
Stockport Council is calling on the Government to increase capital investment in flood defences and urgently review the thresholds that leave flood-hit communities without support.
The Flood Recovery Framework is financial support that the Government can provide to families via local authorities that have suffered flood damage. It is at the government’s discretion if they release the funding on a case-by-case basis.
Deputy Leader of Stockport Council, and Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources, Cllr Jilly Julian, had planned to share the testimony of Liz, a neighbour in Cheadle and founder of the Cheadle Flood Alliance, at the council meeting, but the motion passed without debate.
Liz’s testimony included:
“New Year’s Day 2025 was anything but a celebration. I watched families bail water out of their homes — exhaustion, disbelief and heartbreak on their faces. For many, this wasn’t the first time.”
“Every weather warning becomes a source of anxiety. Every raindrop on the roof triggers fear.”
“A person’s home should be a place of safety. To lose that is to lose a sense of self.”
Cllr Julian said:
“The Government must act. We cannot have families forced to live in fear while ministers debate what counts as a disaster and refuse to recognise that flood risk is a much broader concern than it used to be. Whilst Stockport Council is doing great work to protect residents from flooding, we cannot do it alone. The lack of funding the council receives from central government is highly concerning, and despite lobbying to ministers across Government, we are yet to find one who seems to care.”
“Stockport will receive £52 million less next year than the average for councils of its kind, and 75% of our budget is spent on providing support to vulnerable children, adults, and families. Yet the Government seems intent on shifting responsibility away from itself onto overburdened councils. They expect us to find the capital funding and have contingency set aside whilst also forcing us to run down reserves.”
Stockport Council is calling on the Government to increase capital investment in flood defences and urgently review the thresholds that leave flood-hit communities without support.
Stockport Liberal Democrats mark International Women’s Day 2026
Sunday, 8th March 2026 will mark the 115th International Women’s Day, with this year’s theme being ‘Give to Gain’, a reminder that collaboration is key to overcoming gender inequality.
Deputy Leader of Stockport Council, Cllr Jilly Julian, said
“In keeping with the theme of ‘Give to Gain’, we are delighted to see several events across our borough inspiring community and co-operation in Stockport. Notably, today there is a coworking event and workshop in Stockroom, encouraging collaboration amongst the amazing businesswomen in Stockport. There will also be a free to attend talk on Sunday by the incredible Professor Jackie Carter, who will be discussing the continuation of gender inequality, particularly in academia.”
“We’re all too aware of the difficulties women face when trying to strive in public life and Sunday is a good day to mark both the achievements that have been made, whilst considering the barriers that remain. Women’s participation in all aspects of government and democracy is crucial, and we’re incredibly proud to have a majority of women serving in our cabinet, which means we can embed gender equality into the heart of everything we do.”
For more information on events run by Stockport Council, including monthly health, social and wellbeing activities, please follow the link here.