Former Homes England executive appointed to drive Greater Manchester town’s regeneration
A former Homes England executive has been named the new boss of Stockport’s mayoral development corporation (MDC) to oversee the town’s ongoing regeneration.
Catherine Chilvers, whose most recent role was development director at real estate firm Network Space Developments (NSD), has been been appointed managing director of the agency.
Prior to NSD, Ms Chilvers spent four-and-a-half years at Homes England as a senior development manager.
At Stockport MDC, she will take over from Paul Richards, who has led the organisation since its inception in 2019. He will become a strategic advisor to the MDC’s board and is also currently deputy chief executive of Stockport Council.
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Stockport MDC was created by Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester. It lays claim to being the UK’s first town-centre MDC, which are set up by England’s metro mayors to deliver regeneration schemes.
Ms Chilvers said she was “thrilled” to join the organisation at an “important moment for the town”.
She added: “There’s still so much more to come – between developing the masterplan for Town Centre East and the healthy pipeline of developments in Town Centre West, the next five years are shaping up to be just as impactful as the first.”
The town is “on track” to deliver 2,500 new homes by 2030, according to Ms Chilvers.
Last week, Stockport Council published plans to expand the MDC’s boundary, which will allow it to oversee the housing-led regeneration of the entire town centre.
A consultation on the plans will run next month, subject to them being signed off by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
Since its launch, the MDC has overseen the start and completion of around 1,000 homes and a major overhaul of Interchange, the Stockport bus station, which includes a two-acre rooftop park.
Last summer, the MDC unveiled plans for a 4,000-home regeneration scheme east of the town centre.
Mr Richards said Ms Chilvers’ “wealth of experience coupled with her track record of delivering high-quality urban regeneration schemes ensures she will effectively lead the MDC at a crucial time in Stockport’s own regeneration”.
In 2023, the MDC appointed Eamonn Boylan, then chief executive of the GMCA, as its interim chair following the death of Lord Kerslake. Mr Boylan, who is also a former chief executive of Stockport Council, is currently interim chief executive of Homes England.
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