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Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sale. The borough was formed in 1974 as a merger of six former districts and part of a seventh. The River Mersey flows through the borough, separating North Trafford from South Trafford, and the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. Trafford is the seventh-most populous district in Greater Manchester.
There is evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman Empire activity in the area, two castles – one of them a Scheduled Ancient Monument – and over 200 . In the late 19th century, the population rapidly expanded with the arrival of the railway. Trafford is the home of Manchester United F.C. and Lancashire County Cricket Club, as well as Altrincham F.C. and Trafford F.C.. The Imperial War Museum North, opened in 2002, is located in the borough.
Trafford has a strong economy with low levels of unemployment and contains both Trafford Park industrial estate and the Trafford Centre, a large out-of-town shopping centre. Apart from the City of Manchester, Trafford is the only borough in Greater Manchester to be above the national average for weekly income. Socially, the area includes both working class and middle class areas like Bowdon and Hale. In Parliament, Trafford is represented by three constituencies: Stretford and Urmston; Altrincham and Sale West; and Wythenshawe and Sale East, which mainly covers neighbouring Manchester.
Stretford and Urmston had been in the administrative county of Lancashire prior to the 1974 reforms, whilst all the others had been in the administrative county of Cheshire. The new district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chairman of the council to take the title of mayor.
The choice of the name Trafford for the borough was a "compromise between Altrincham, Stretford and Sale", and "seemed to have wide support". A Liberal councillor for the Municipal Borough of Sale suggested "Crossford ... whilst "Watlingford" was suggested by councillors in Hale, after the supposed name of an ancient Roman road in the district. Those names were rejected in favour of Trafford, because of the district's "famous sports venue, a major employer as well as historic associations", referring to Old Trafford (cricket and Old Trafford), Trafford Park and the de Trafford baronets respectively..
As a place name, Trafford is an Anglo-French version of Stratford, deriving from the Old English words stræt (street, more specifically a Roman road) and ford (crossing). The Metropolitan Borough of Trafford has existed since 1974, but the area it covers has a long history. Neolithic arrowheads have been discovered in Altrincham and Sale,Nevell (1997), pp. 12–13. and there is evidence of Bronze Age habitation in Timperley.Faulkner (2004), pp. 1–5. Fragments of Roman Britain pottery have been found in Urmston, and Roman coins have been found in Sale. The Roman road between the legionary castra at Chester (Deva Victrix) and York (Eboracum) crosses Trafford, passing through Stretford, Sale, and Altrincham.Nevell (1997), pp. 17, 20, 75. The settlements in Trafford have been based largely around agriculture, although Altrincham was founded as a market town in the mid 13th century.Nevell (1997), p. 51. Although the Industrial Revolution affected Trafford, the area did not experience the same rate of growth as the rest of Greater Manchester.Nevell (1997), pp. 90–91. A 100% increase in population in the Trafford area between 1841 and 1861 was a direct result of an influx due to the construction of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway, which allowed residents to commute more easily from Trafford into Manchester. The area developed its own centres of industry in Broadheath (founded in 1885) and Trafford Park (founded in 1897).Nevell (1997), pp. 127, 131. They have since declined, although Trafford Park still employs 40–50,000 people. Retrieved on 4 May 2009. Retrieved on 12 December 2007. Today, Trafford is mostly a commuter area. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 as one of the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester.HMSO. Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70
Trafford is generally flat, with most of the land lying between and above sea level, apart from Bowdon Hill in South Trafford which rises above sea level. The lowest point in Trafford, near Warburton, is above sea level.Bayliss (1996), p. 2. There are areas of bog in low-lying areas: Warburton Moss, Dunham Moss, and Hale Moss. Green belt accounts for 51.8% of Trafford's total area, domestic buildings and gardens comprise 25.6%, the rest is made up of roads and non-domestic buildings. Retrieved on 13 February 2008.
Localities within the boundaries of Trafford include:
North Trafford: Cornbrook, Davyhulme, Firswood, Flixton, Gorse Hill, Lostock, Old Trafford, Stretford, Trafford Park and Urmston.
South Trafford: Altrincham, Ashton-Upon-Mersey, Bowdon, Broadheath, Brooklands, Carrington, Dunham Massey, Hale, Hale Barns, Oldfield Brow, Partington, Sale, Sale Moor, Timperley, Warburton and West Timperley.
In 2007 the Audit Commission judged Trafford Council to be "improving strongly" in providing services for local people. Overall the council was awarded "three star" status meaning it was "performing well" and "consistently above minimum requirements", similar to 46% of all local authorities. Retrieved on 11 April 2008. In 2008–09, Trafford council had a budget of £150.5 million. This was collected from council tax (57%) and government grants (43%). The council spent £31.8 million on children and young people's services (21%); £60.1 million on community services and social care (40%); £34.4 million on "prosperity, planning, and development" (23%); and £33.8 million on customer and corporate services (22%).
form the bottom tier of local government; the parish councils are involved in planning, management of town and parish centres, and promoting tourism. Retrieved on 2 March 2014. In 2001, 8,484 people (4.0% of the borough's population) lived in Trafford's four civil parishes:
• Retrieved on 14 September 2007.
• Retrieved on 25 September 2007.
• Retrieved on 31 August 2007. Carrington, Dunham Massey, Partington, and Warburton. They were all previously part of Bucklow Rural District. A rural district was a type of local government district for the administration of predominantly rural areas. The rest of Trafford is unparished area. The unparished areas are: Altrincham (Municipal Borough), Bowdon (Urban District), Hale (Urban District), Sale (Municipal Borough), Stretford (Municipal Borough), and Urmston (Urban District). The status of each area prior to 1974 is shown in brackets. An urban district was a type of local government district which covered an urbanised area.
Following the 2018 local elections, the council, which was previously Conservative-held, came under Labour control in the form of a minority administration supported by the Liberal Democrats in a confidence and supply administration. There were a few shock results, such as in Altrincham (ward), where the Green Party gained seats from the incumbent Conservative councillors. After gaining seats in the 2019 local elections, the Labour Party was in a position to form a majority-controlling administration.
| + Party political make-up of Trafford Council ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | Party ! colspan="9" | Seats | ||||||||
| Labour | 26 | 25 | 26 | 30 | 36 | 40 | 41 | 41 | 43 | |
| Conservative | 34 | 35 | 33 | 29 | 20 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | |
| Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Altrincham | 11,873 | |
| Ashton upon Mersey | 9,726 | |
| Bowdon | 9,284 | |
| Broadheath | 13,069 | |
| Brooklands | 10,572 | |
| Bucklow-St. Martins | 10,540 | |
| Clifford | 12,003 | |
| Davyhulme East | 9,680 | |
| Davyhulme West | 10,006 | |
| Flixton | 10,828 | |
| Gorse Hill | 12,171 | |
| Hale Barns | 9,812 | |
| Hale Central | 10,543 | |
| Longford | 12,163 | |
| Priory | 10,917 | |
| Sale Moor | 10,508 | |
| St. Mary's | 11,795 | |
| Stretford | 11,318 | |
| Timperley | 11,201 | |
| Urmston | 11,271 | |
| Village | 10,899 |
| + Ethnic groups in Trafford ! rowspan="3" | Ethnic Group ! colspan="2" | Year |
| White: White British | 169,550 | 72.1 |
| White: White Irish | 4,884 | 2.1 |
| White: Roma | 134 | 0.1 |
| White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 46 | <0.1 |
| White: Other White | 8,147 | 3.5 |
| Asian or Asian British: British Indians | 10,208 | 4.3 |
| Asian or Asian British: Pakistani | 11,479 | 4.9 |
| Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi | 634 | 0.3 |
| Asian or Asian British: British Chinese | 4,813 | 2.0 |
| Asian or Asian British: Other Asian | 2,454 | 1.0 |
| Black or Black British: African | 3,636 | 1.5 |
| Black or Black British: Caribbean | 3,442 | 1.5 |
| Other Black | 1,008 | 0.4 |
| Mixed: White and Black Caribbean | 3,091 | 1.3 |
| Mixed: White and Black African | 1,068 | 0.5 |
| Mixed: White and Asian | 2,443 | 1.0 |
| Mixed: Other Mixed | 2,232 | 0.9 |
| Other: British Arab | 2,457 | 1.0 |
| Other: Any other ethnic group | 3,327 | 1.4 |
| +Religion affiliation in Trafford |
| 48.4 |
| 8.7 |
| 1.0 |
| 2.0 |
| 0.8 |
| 0.4 |
| 0.4 |
| 33.1 |
| 5.1 |
| 100.0 |
At the 2001 UK census, the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford had a total population of 210,145. Retrieved on 13 December 2007. Of the 89,313 households in the borough, 36.5% were married couples living together, 31.6% were one-person households, 7.8% were cohabitation couples and 9.7% were lone parents, following a similar trend to the rest of England. Retrieved on 13 December 2007.
The population density was Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and for every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. Of those aged 16–74 in Trafford, 24.7% had no academic qualifications, significantly lower than the 28.9% in all of England. 8.2% of Trafford's residents were born outside the United Kingdom, lower than the English average of 9.2%. Retrieved on 13 December 2007. The largest minority group was Asian, at 4.0% of the population. Retrieved on 13 December 2007.
In 1841, 12% of Trafford's population was middle class compared to 14% in England and Wales; this increased to 21% in 1931 (15% nationally) and 55% in 2001 (48% nationally). From 1841 to 1951, the working class population of Trafford and across the country was in decline, falling steadily from 43% to 18% (36% to 29% nationally). It has since increased to 27% (26% nationwide). The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers. Retrieved on 21 December 2007. In the 2008–2009 financial year, the crime rates in Trafford for violence against a person and sexual offences were below the national averages. However, the rate of robberies and burglaries were above the national average. Retrieved on 2 March 2014.
| + Population in Trafford since 1801 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: A Vision of Britain through Time | |||||||||||||||||||||
Trafford Park was founded in 1897, and at its peak in 1945 employed 75,000 people.Nevell (1997), pp. 130–131 As well as being the world's first planned industrial estate,Nicholls (1996), p. xiii. it is Europe's largest business park. More than 1,400 companies are within the park, employing between 40,000 and 50,000 people. The Trafford Centre, which opened on 10 September 1998, Retrieved on 12 December 2007. is North West England's largest indoor shopping complex. The centre has over 30 million visitors annually, Retrieved on 2 March 2014. and contains 235 stores, 55 restaurants, and the largest Odeon Cinemas cinema in the UK. Retrieved on 12 December 2007.
| +Trafford compared |
| 35,532,091 |
| 40.8% |
| 11.8% |
| 8.3% |
| 3.3% |
| 13.5% |
At the 2001 UK census, Trafford had 151,445 residents aged 16 to 74. 2.5% of these people were students with jobs, 5.7% looking after home or family, 5.4% permanently sick or disabled and 2.8% economically inactive for other reasons. Trafford has a low rate of unemployment (2.7%) compared with Greater Manchester (3.6%) and England as a whole (3.3%). Trafford has the lowest number of unemployment benefit claimants compared to all the other boroughs in Greater Manchester (3.7%).
In 2001, of 99,146 residents of Trafford in employment, the industry of employment was 17.1% property and business services, 16.5% retail and wholesale, 12.3% manufacturing, 11.9% health and social work, 8.2% education, 8.0% transport and communications, 5.9% construction, 5.5% finance, 4.5% public administration and defence, 4.0% hotels and restaurants, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.6% agriculture, and 4.6% other. This was roughly in line with national figures, except for the proportion of jobs in agriculture which is less than half the national average, reflecting Trafford's suburban nature and its proximity to the centre of Manchester. Retrieved on 3 November 2007.
A study commissioned by Experian rated Trafford as the strongest and most resilient borough in North West England to dealing with sudden changes in the economy. Trafford's low reliance on vulnerable businesses in the current recession and its high proportion of multinational companies were two factors which give the borough its high ranking.
Chill Factore is an indoor ski slope in Trafford Park. It features the UK's longest and widest real snow indoor slope, wide and long. Retrieved on 17 December 2007.
Dunham Massey is an 18th-century hall Retrieved on 2 February 2007. with a deer park, both now owned by the National Trust and previously owned by the Earls of Stamford. The hall is early Georgian in style. The hall and grounds are open to the public and are a popular tourist attraction, with nearly 200,000 visitors in 2010. Retrieved on 20 September 2007. Retrieved on 29 February 2012.
Imperial War Museum North is a war museum in Trafford Park and was opened in 2002. The museum won the 2003 British Construction Industry Building Award, and the title of Large Visitor Attraction of the Year at the 2006 Manchester Tourism Awards. Retrieved on 2 March 2014.
Sale Water Park is a area of countryside and parkland including a artificial lake created when the M60 motorway was built. Retrieved on 27 April 2007. The water park is the site of the Broad Ees Dole wildlife refuge, a Local Nature Reserve that provides a home for migratory birds. Retrieved on 27 April 2007.
Timperley Hall is a medieval moated site in Timperley near Altrincham Municipal Golf Course. Excavation on the site over a period of 18 years has shown Timperley to be inhabited since the Bronze Age. A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been made to develop the site into a community project.
Trafford has two medieval castles. Dunham Castle is an early medieval castle in Dunham Massey. It belonged to Hamon de Massey, and was probably still standing in the early 14th century. The motte-and-bailey was landscaped into the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall and its moat turned into an ornamental pond.Nevell (1997), p. 33. Watch Hill Castle is an early medieval motte-and-bailey castle on the border of Dunham Massey and Bowdon. It is listed as a Scheduled Ancient Monument. The motte and surrounding ditch still survives, although it had fallen out of use by the 13th century.Nevell (1997), pp. 34–35.
From 2006 until 2015, the borough was home to the Manchester Phoenix, who played their home games at the Altrincham Ice Dome, and were active in both the Elite Ice Hockey League and the English Premier Ice Hockey League. The club was formed in 2003 as the successor to Manchester Storm, and folded in early 2017 after playing home fixtures during 2015–2016 in Deeside and Blackpool. They were one of the founder members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Retrieved on 29 July 2009. Retrieved on 29 July 2009. In 2008–09 they finished sixth in the Elite Ice Hockey League. The Trafford Metros were the Phoenix's junior side and are also based at the Altrincham Ice Dome. Retrieved on 15 September 2009. The Phoenix were replaced by a new team bearing the Manchester Storm name, who took a spot in the Elite Ice Hockey League for the 2015–2016 season.
Rugby Union side Sale Sharks were formerly based in Trafford. They now play at the Salford Community Stadium in Salford, although their former home ground at Heywood Road in Sale is still used for training. Retrieved on 7 May 2007. Sale Sharks won the Guinness Premiership in 2006; in 2008–09 they finished fifth.
As well as being home to several clubs in the top echelon of their sports, Trafford plays host to smaller clubs, including Altrincham F.C., Flixton F.C., and Trafford F.C. Both Flixton F.C. and Trafford F.C. play in the North West Counties Football League Division One. Flixton F.C. was formed in 1960 and earned promotion to NWCFL Division One at the end of the 2006–07 season. Trafford F.C. was formed in 1990 and finished fifth in the 2006–07 season. Retrieved on 2 March 2014. Altrincham F.C. was founded in 1903 and plays in the Football Conference.
Within Trafford their two clubs that enter teams in both the Men's and Women's England Hockey Leagues – Brooklands, based in Sale and Bowdon.
In 2017, Trafford Pétanque became Trafford's first ever officially registered Pétanque club. Trafford Pétanque currently plays within the Northern Region of Pétanque England.
Trafford has 7 Grammar schools and all 7 are in the top 10 best performing state schools in Greater Manchester.
| + Religion in Trafford |
| 49,138,831 |
| 71.7% |
| 3.1% |
| 0.5% |
| 14.6% |
There are two Grade I listed building churches in Trafford: St. Werburgh's Church, in Warburton, is a church and dates back to at least the 14th century;Nevell and Hradil (2005), pp. 87–8. All Saints' Church, in Urmston, was constructed in 1868 by E. W. Pugin, and is considered to be one of his best works. Retrieved on 22 December 2007. Of the 11 Grade II* listed buildings in Trafford, seven are churches: Hale Chapel in Hale; the Church of St John the Divine in Sale; Church of St Mary the Virgin in Bowdon; St. Martin's Church in Sale; St. Michael's Church in Flixton; St. Margaret's Church in Altrincham; St. George's Church in Carrington.
In 2007, the Church of Scientology bought the Old Trafford Essence Distillery on Chester Road for a reported £3.6M. The Church stated that it had plans to turn the Victorian building into a place of worship and religious instruction. The original plans were rejected by Trafford Council, but the Church stated its intention to revise the proposals and resubmit.
The other railway in Trafford is the Liverpool – Manchester via Warrington Central line, built by the Cheshire Lines Committee. The Trafford Park Euroterminal rail freight terminal was opened in 1993. It cost £11 million and has the capacity to deal with 100,000 containers a year.Nicholls (1996), p. 161.
The council is responsible for the maintenance of Trafford's public roads and pavements. Part of the M60 orbital motorway passes through Trafford, from junctions 6–10 inclusive.
A range of bus services provide connections between various towns in the borough and links to the city centre, and other urban areas of Greater Manchester and Cheshire. Operators include Stagecoach Manchester, Arriva North West, First Greater Manchester and some smaller operators, who generally run services under contract to Transport for Greater Manchester. Trafford Cycle Forum was established to promote cycling in Trafford; Retrieved on 13 February 2008. the group actively campaigns to raise money for cycling in the borough. Retrieved on 13 February 2008.
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