Stockport Council

Many thousands of people benefit from the services provided by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council. More than 280,000 people live in the borough, and many more look to Stockport for employment or entertainment.
In all cases, Stockport Council provides the services to make these and hundreds of other daily activities possible. With a full and part-time staff of around 11,000 people, the Council is a major organisation and the biggest employer in the borough. It delivers a range of key services such as education, social services, housing, planning and transportation, community and leisure services, environmental health, and finance.

Council Priorities
The Council has announced three 'headline' aims for its work until 2010. It wants to help create a place which:
• is even more attractive and thriving
• is a leading 'green' borough
• has safe and strong communities

Stockport Councillors have also pledged that running through all the Council's actions will be a set of values: the Council will be responsive, support the vulnerable, tackle inequalities, ensure value for money and work with partners. The list of priorities was based on the views of local people through consultation, and on other major factors, such as: the Council's 'cleaner, greener, safer, stronger' principles, the results of last year's performance, the Local Area Agreement, and responses to national issues.

Key facts about Stockport
Stockport has a population of 284,000 - the third biggest district in Greater Manchester. There are over 123,000 households in the borough. A high proportion, nearly 8 out of every 10 homes, are 'owner-occupied'

Stockport is a major economic player as it is home to 9,000 businesses including 70 international firms

The Town Centre is dominated by the immense railway viaduct built in the 1840s over the River Mersey - the biggest brick structure in Western Europe