Stockroom, a 135,000-square-foot cultural, learning and community hub inside the 520,000-square-foot Merseyway Shopping Centre, has been a catalyst for footfall and economic uplift in Stockport town centre, winning it a CoStar Impact Award, handed out by a panel of independent judges.
The project repurposed disused retail units, converting them into a major civic anchor, with a new town‑centre library, a children’s creative learning space, a year‑round events and performance venue called Stockroom Studios, a café bar, archives, and cutting‑edge digital learning and IT facilities.
Stockroom is a pillar of Stockport’s £1 billion regeneration programme, boosting local business activity through increased visitor numbers, cultural programming and community engagement. Merseyway recorded its busiest period in years to see footfall top 10 million in 2025, a 40% year-on-year increase.
By January, Stockroom was averaging 100,000 visitors a month, with new library membership rising by 79% and 190 events attracted nearly 4,000 participants, the majority free of charge.
The lease diversified Merseyway’s tenant mix by introducing a major non‑retail civic use in a traditional shopping centre.
Judges of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Building of the Year 2025 award presented it with a Highly Commended Award
About the project: The development was delivered through the government Future High Streets Fund, championing adaptive reuse, sustainability, and high quality public design in a retail environment.
These innovations make Stockroom a model for mixed-use transformation of under-performing shopping centres nationwide.
Delivering the Stockroom lease required repurposing multiple vacant large-format retail units, requiring extensive redesign, integration and structural reconfiguration.
In a high-inflation construction environment, initial cost projections rose significantly, requiring contractor negotiation and supplementary council-led funding before the scheme could proceed.
There were also sensitive heritage and community considerations: Stockroom partially replaces services from the existing Central Library, requiring careful public engagement, service continuity planning and phased operational transition.
The judges said: John Nash, director, Canning O'Neill said: "Merseyway was clearly under-utilised so this pivot to a use which was designed with the aim of a positive impact [for] Stockport at its core, stood out when putting [it] against the criteria."
Andrew Dickman, chairman, Tritax Big Box Developments, said the project "revitalises a failing town centre and brings the opportunity for significant community impact".
Bill Addy, chief executive of the Liverpool BID Company, added: "This letting is a transformational repurposing of retail units into a community facility which breathes life into the high street."
They made it happen: Dan Oliver, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council.