Trafford

The River Mersey flows through the borough, separating North Trafford from South Trafford, and the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. The seventh-most populous district in Greater Manchester. There is evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman activity in the area, two castles – one of them a Scheduled Ancient Monument – and over 200 listed buildings. In the late 19th century, the population rapidly expanded with the arrival of the railway. 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.

• Name — Borough of Trafford • Settlement Type — Metropolitan borough • Shield Link — Trafford#Coat of arms • Motto — Hold fast that which is good • Subdivision Type — Sovereign state • Subdivision Name — United Kingdom • Subdivision Type1 — Country • Subdivision Name1 — England • Subdivision Type2 — Region • Subdivision Name2 — North West • Subdivision Type3 — Ceremonial county and city region • Subdivision Name3 — Greater Manchester • Established Title — Incorporated • Established Date — 1 April 1974 • Seat Type — Administrative HQ • Seat — Trafford Town Hall • Government Type — Metropolitanborough • Governing Body — Trafford Council • Leader Title — Executive • Leader Name — Leader and cabinet • Leader Title1 — Control • Leader Title2 — Leader • Leader Name2 — Tom Ross (L) • Leader Title3 — Mayor • Leader Name3 — Jane Brophy • Leader Title4 — MPs • Unit Pref — Metric • Demographics Type1 — Ethnicity (2021) • Demographics1 Title1 — Ethnic groups • Demographics Type2 — Religion (2021) • Demographics2 Title1 — Religion • Timezone1 — GMT • Utc Offset1 — +0 • Timezone1 Dst — BST • Utc Offset1 Dst — +1 • Postal Code Type — Postcode area • Postal Code — * M • WA • Area Code Type — Dialling code • Area Code — 0161 • Iso Code — GB-TRF • Blank1 Name — GSS code • Blank1 Info — E08000009 • Website — trafford.gov.uk • Illustration — The boundary of the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire is marked along the River Mersey in Trafford.

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of six former districts which were abolished at the same time, as well as four civil parishes from a seventh abolished district: • Altrincham Municipal Borough • Bowdon Urban District • Carrington‡ • Dunham Massey‡ • Hale Urban District • Partington‡ • Sale Municipal Borough • Stretford Municipal Borough • Urmston Urban District • Warburton‡ ‡ Parishes from Bucklow Rural District Stretford and Urmston had been in the administrative county of Lancashire before 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. 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 association with Old Trafford cricket and football grounds, Trafford Park and the de Trafford baronets. 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, and there is evidence of Bronze Age habitation in Timperley. Fragments of Roman pottery have been found in Urmston, and Roman coins have been found in Sale. The Roman road between the legionary fortresses at Chester (Deva Victrix) and York (Eboracum) crosses Trafford, passing through Stretford, Sale, and Altrincham. The settlements in Trafford have been based largely around agriculture, although Altrincham was founded as a market town in the mid 13th century. Although the Industrial Revolution affected Trafford, the area did not experience the same rate of growth as the rest of Greater Manchester. 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). They have since declined, although Trafford Park still employs 40–50,000 people. 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.

The metropolitan boroughs of the City of Salford and the City of Manchester border Trafford to the north and east respectively; the Cheshire East area of Cheshire lies to the south. The geology of South Trafford is Keuper marl with some Keuper waterstone and sandstone, whilst the geology of North Trafford is Bunter sandstone. The River Mersey runs east to west through the area, separating North Trafford from South Trafford; other rivers in Trafford include the Bollin, the River Irwell, Sinderland Brook, and Crofts Bank Brook. The Bridgewater Canal, opened in 1761 and completed in 1776, follows a course through Trafford roughly north to south and passes through Stretford, Sale, and Altrincham. The Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894, forms part of Trafford's northern and western boundaries with Salford. Trafford is generally flat, with most of the land lying between 66 ft and 98 ft above sea level, apart from Bowdon Hill in South Trafford which rises 200 ft above sea level. The lowest point in Trafford, near Warburton, is 36 ft above sea level. There are areas of mossland in low-lying areas: Warburton Moss, Dunham Moss, and Hale Moss. Greenspace 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. 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.

The residents of Trafford Metropolitan Borough are represented in the British Parliament by Members of Parliament (MPs) for three separate parliamentary constituencies. Altrincham and Sale West is represented by Connor Rand MP (Labour). Stretford and Urmston is represented by Andrew Western MP (Labour). Wythenshawe and Sale East, which also covers parts of the City of Manchester, is represented by Mike Kane MP (Labour).

In 1974, Trafford Council was created to administer the newly formed Trafford Metropolitan Borough and is headquartered at Trafford Town Hall, which was previously named Stretford Town Hall. On its formation in 1974, the council was controlled by the Conservative Party; the Conservatives have been in control 1973–85, 1988–94, and 2004–2018. The only time the Labour Party was in control was 1996–2002, and 2019 to the present. The rest of the time were periods of no overall control. The council meets to decide policy and allocate budget. Its duties include setting levels of council tax, monitoring the health service in Trafford, providing social care, and funding schools. Cllr Tom Ross is the leader of the council and Cllr Amy Whyte is the current mayor. 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. 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%). Civil parishes form the bottom tier of local government; the parish councils are involved in planning, management of town and parish centres, and promoting tourism. In 2001, 8,484 people (4.0% of the borough's population) lived in Trafford's four civil parishes: 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. 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 • Party — Seats • 2015 — 2016 — 2017 — 2018 — 2019 — 2021 — 2022 — 2023 — 2024 • — 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

There are 21 electoral wards in Trafford, each with 3 councillors, giving a total of 63 councillors with one-third elected three years out of four. In the following table, which lists the wards before the boundary changes of 2023, the populations for each ward are based on 2013 population estimates from the Office for National Statistics. • Ward name — Localities covered (approximate) — Population — Ref. • Altrincham — Altrincham, Broadheath, and Oldfield Brow — 11,873 • Ashton upon Mersey — Ashton upon Mersey and Sale — 9,726 • Bowdon — Altrincham, Bowdon, Dunham Massey, and Warburton — 9,284 • Broadheath — Altrincham, Broadheath, Sale, Timperley, and West Timperley — 13,069 • Brooklands — Brooklands and Sale — 10,572 • Bucklow-St. Martins — Ashton upon Mersey, Carrington, and Partington — 10,540 • Clifford — Old Trafford — 12,003 • Davyhulme East — Davyhulme, The Trafford Centre and Urmston — 9,680 • Davyhulme West — Davyhulme and Flixton — 10,006 • Flixton — Flixton — 10,828 • Gorse Hill — Gorse Hill, Stretford and Trafford Park — 12,171 • Hale Barns — Hale, Hale Barns and Timperley — 9,812 • Hale Central — Altrincham and Hale — 10,543 • Longford — Firswood, Old Trafford, and Stretford — 12,163 • Priory — Sale — 10,917 • Sale Moor — Sale and Sale Moor — 10,508 • St. Mary's — Ashton upon Mersey and Sale — 11,795 • Stretford — Stretford — 11,318 • Timperley — Brooklands and Timperley — 11,201 • Urmston — Flixton and Urmston — 11,271 • Village — Brooklands and Timperley — 10,899

• Illustration — The coat of arms of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council The coat of arms of Trafford Council depicts a griffin on a shield flanked by two unicorns. The line bisecting the shield horizontally symbolises the River Mersey running through Trafford from east to west and the canals in the borough. The white legs of a lion on a red background represent the parts of Trafford previously controlled by the De Massey family, while the red body and head of an eagle on a white background represents the areas of Trafford previously controlled by the De Traffords. Both elements were taken from the coats of arms of the respective families. The fist holding bolts of lightning represents Stretford and the electrical industry; the cog on the arm represents Altrincham's engineering industry. The unicorns stand for Sale and Altrincham. The oak branches represent Urmston and the rural areas of Trafford.

Ethnic groups in Trafford • Ethnic Group — Year • 2021 • Number — % • White: Total — 182,761 — 77.8 • White: British — 169,550 — 72.1 • White: Irish — 4,884 — 2.1 • White: Roma — 134 — 0.1 • White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller — 46 — e is an indoor ski slope in Trafford Park. It features the UK's longest and widest real snow indoor slope, 100 m wide and 180 m long. • Illustration — The Imperial War Museum North in Trafford Park Dunham Massey Hall and Park is an 18th-century hall with a 250 acre 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. 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. Sale Water Park is a 152 acre area of countryside and parkland including a 52 acre artificial lake created when the M60 motorway was built. The water park is the site of the Broad Ees Dole wildlife refuge, a Local Nature Reserve that provides a home for migratory birds. Timperley Old 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 bailey was landscaped into the grounds of Dunham Massey Hall and its moat turned into an ornamental pond. 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.

• Illustration — The East Stand of Old Trafford football ground Trafford is the home of several major sports teams, including Manchester United Football Club and Lancashire County Cricket Club (LCCC). Manchester United began as Newton Heath L&YR F.C. in 1878. The team plays at Old Trafford football ground, which is sometimes used as a stadium for major football matches like the 2003 UEFA Champions League final. Manchester United have won the FA Cup 13 times and been the Premier League champions 13 times (since the league was formed 31 seasons ago) and were Football League champions seven times in the years prior to that. The club last won the Premier League in 2013. LCCC started as the Manchester Cricket Club, and represents the historic county of Lancashire. The club contested the original 1890 County Championship. Old Trafford Cricket Ground – Lancashire's home ground – stages international matches, including Test matches and One Day Internationals. The team has won the county championship eight times outright (with one shared) and were the county champions in 2011 – the county's first outright triumph since 1934, but were then relegated to the second division in 2012. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

There are 73 primary schools in Trafford, 17 secondary and grammar schools, and 6 special schools. Trafford maintains a selective education system, with grammar schools, assessed by the 11-plus exam. Trafford College, a £29M "super college" in Stretford, is the only college of further education in Trafford. It was officially opened in 2008, following a merger between South Trafford College and North Trafford College. Overall, Trafford was ranked 2nd out of all of the local education authorities in National Curriculum assessment performance in 2014. Indeed, in 2014 Trafford was the first in the United Kingdom for Key Stage 2 results, with 87% of Year 6 pupils achieving the expected standard of Level 4 or above in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Also in 2014 2nd for both GCSE and A-Level results, with 72.2% of Year 11 pupils achieving the expected standard or above of 5 GCSEs including English and Maths. For A-Level results 25% of students gained 3 A-Levels at grades A*-A, which is twice the national average, whilst 33% gained 3 A-levels at grades A*-B. Trafford has 7 Grammar schools and all 7 are in the top 10 best performing state schools in Greater Manchester.

Religion in Trafford • 2001 UK Census ||Trafford||North West England||England • Population — 210,145 — 6,729,764 — 49,138,831 • Christian — 75.8% — 78.0% — 71.7% • Muslim — 3.3% — 3.0% — 3.1% • Jewish — 1.1% — 0.4% — 0.5% • No religion — 12.0% — 10.5% — 14.6% At the 2001 UK census, 75.8% of Trafford's residents reported themselves as being Christian, 3.3% Muslim, 1.1% Jewish, 0.6% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist and 0.5% Sikh. The census recorded 12.0% as having no religion, 0.2% had an alternative religion and 6.4% did not state their religion. Trafford is covered by the Catholic Dioceses of Shrewsbury and Salford, and the Church of England Dioceses of Manchester and Chester. There are two Grade I listed churches in Trafford: St Werburgh's Church in Warburton, a timber-framed building dating back to at least the 14th century; and All Saints' Church in Urmston, constructed in 1868 by E. W. Pugin and considered to be one of his finest works. Of the eleven Grade II* listed buildings in Trafford, seven are churches: Hale Chapel in Hale; the Church of St John the Divine in Sale; the 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; and St George's Church in Carrington. In 2007 the Church of Scientology bought the Old Trafford Essence Distillery on Chester Road for a reported £3.6 million. The church stated that it had plans to turn the 51000 sqft 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.

• Illustration — Sale tram stop Manchester Metrolink runs north–south through Trafford, with its southern terminus in Altrincham. Trams run on two routes: Altrincham to Piccadilly and Altrincham to Bury. It serves Cornbrook, Trafford Bar, Old Trafford, Stretford, Dane Road, Sale, Brooklands, Timperley, Navigation Road and Altrincham. The line opened in 1992 and replaced the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway. The other railway in Trafford is the Liverpool – Manchester via Warrington Central line, built by the Cheshire Lines Committee. The 20 acre 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. 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; the group actively campaigns to raise money for cycling in the borough.

Sir Alex Ferguson and 207 (Manchester) Field Hospital, 2nd Medical Brigade, Royal Army Medical Corps (Army Reserve) received the Freedom of the Borough of Trafford on 14 October 2013 and 21 June 2011, respectively.