We’d like to thank everyone who has taken part in the various community consultation and engagement events to date. Since our first event in November 2019, we’ve received a huge range of really insightful feedback about the future of Stretford and what you imagine it to be. We’ve used this feedback to develop detailed proposals for Stretford Mall and the surrounding area, which are being showcased on this website for the first time. We’re still listening – and once you’ve had a chance to review this website you can provide further comment by clicking on ‘Feedback’.
The above image shows the approximate areas, within the pink lines, which are the focus for this stage of the consultation.
A hybrid planning application is now being prepared, on behalf of the joint venture partnership of Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works, which will seek full planning permission for new access points and the demolition of a number of existing buildings; and outline planning permission for up to 800 homes and up to circa 19,000 sqm of floorspace under a mix of commercial and community uses. This application is being heavily informed and influenced by the previous rounds of consultation on the vision for the site.
Further detailed planning applications, setting out the design and layout of the buildings will be submitted at a later stage.
Before submitting a planning application, Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works would like to consult with the local community.
Usually we would hold a public consultation event, but unfortunately the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak makes this impossible at this stage. Therefore, to have your say on these proposals, please complete an online feedback form here or contact us by telephone or email, details can be found in the footer of this website.
As this is a hybrid planning application, further detailed planning applications setting out the design and layout of specific buildings, will be open to consultation at a later stage.
Please note that this is pre-planning application consultation which is being undertaken to inform the draft proposals. As the Local Planning Authority, Trafford Council’s planning officers will undertake formal consultation on the submitted applications in accordance with the Council’s statutory duties.
Stretford Mall is the commercial centre of the town. Opened in 1969, it replaced the traditional shopping district centred around the former King Street. At the time of its opening, it was the sixth largest indoor shopping mall in the country. Although this modern, covered shopping complex thrived for many years, changing shopping habits, competition and latterly, online retailing, have altered the requirements of both shoppers and retailers.
Images : Courtesy of the Trafford Local Studies Centre, Trafford Council.
In 2018, faced with reduced footfall and unlettable empty retail units, the previous owners of Stretford Mall demolished a section of the Mall to reduce the footprint of the site, however the Mall still remains too large to function sustainably as the shopping, leisure and commercial centre of Stretford. We believe that the Mall has become an ‘island’, physically separated from the rest of the town. This separation, along with other competitive pressures, has led to lower footfall, limited office and other commercial use, while hindering the ability of Stretford to develop a varied day and night-time leisure economy.
In 2019 Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works formed a Joint Venture company to drive forward change to revive the heart of Stretford. Based on community feedback from three rounds of engagement and consultation, we are delighted to be able to share for the first time proposals for the future of Stretford town centre.
Over three rounds of engagement, your feedback has been consistent. In summary, we have been told:
At the heart of these plans is a desire for the town centre to embrace Stretford’s valuable key assets, and maximise them by better connecting them together.
To deliver better connections in and around Stretford and to provide enhanced ‘green’ spaces, we need to rethink and reconfigure the centre to better connect the town.
We’ve also given much consideration to our ‘green’ assets and how a ‘green route’ can be created through Stretford.
We have taken community feedback on board and the proposals aim to deliver:
This drawing gives an overview of how we think the new Stretford town centre should provide new places to play, work, shop and live. If you click on each of the green 
buttons below you can find more information about the proposals for each area. You will also see that we are proposing a phased redevelopment and replacement of the Mall, and:
Select for more information
King Street will retain its commercial nature but with the adaptation of the Mall, will be restored as the bustling centre of Stretford. The recently completed threshold space will lead onto a vibrant new hight street which ends in King Street Square.
King Street Square will become a dynamic new public space at the centre of Stretford, supporting a wide range of comercial and community activities.
Objectives
The proposed central park will unify the new and existing communities of Stretford and introduce green infrastructure into the town centre. The linear park and surrounding streets will enliven the town centre, accommodating wildlife alongside human activity. The central location makes it a unifying element within the masterplan which aims to ensure the park is visible from all of the surrounding streets as well as a neighbourhood asset with doorstep access to nature and play.
Objectives
The St Matthew’s neigbourhood will bring the church and church hall into the town centre, knitting together the existing community with the new residential element at the southern end of the town centre. Church Square will become the centrepiece at this key junction, holding together the surrounding streets and providing a space for community events.
Objectives
The Lacy Street area will unlock the connection between the town centre and the canal – an important green infrastructure and recreational route. A series of new interlinked public realm spaces will interact with the canal and bring people into Stretford from the wider area.
Objectives
Library Square will become a key gateway into the town centre for people approaching from the west. The square is defined by Kingsway to the north, new mixed-use development to the west and Aldi to the east. The success of this space relies on responding to these various uses whilst becoming a clear landmark on the pedestrian jouney into the centre with the opportunity to pause and rest at a key location on many wider journeys.
Objectives
The Makers Yards character area includes three separate spaces leading off King Street Square. These are conceived as secondary retail and commercial streets with a range of businesses and initiatives, including creatives and independents, influencing the programming of the streetscape.
Objectives
There is an opportunity to push forward the greening of Chester Road within the outline application through the restructuring of the western footway and reclaiming the existing pull-in to create an improved environment for pedestrians, cyclists and the units which face the road.
Objectives
The reduction in lanes along Kingsway will reduce the dominance of the car and create a more pedestrian friendly environment that can become a linear park spanning the highway. Improved pedestrian linkages along Kingsway and between the town centre and Victoria Park will increase pedestrian footfall, whilst soft landscape can be introduced to soften the environment and improve the biodiversity network
Objectives
Outline planning permission will be sought for up to 800 new homes on sites created by the reduction/removal of the Mall, close to St Matthews and on Lacy Street car park.
This plan shows where we anticipate new homes would go and the types of properties which could be provided in each place.
We welcome your thoughts on these proposals for new homes in Stretford, in particular the types of houses needed.
Plan shows where we anticipate the new homes to be located. 
This is a large-scale and long-term development. These plans show how the proposed replacement of the Mall and the new heart of Stretford will be delivered in phases over the next few years.
To give feedback click here
Existing
Phase 1 : A new King Street
The first phase will see the reinstatement of King Street to provide an appropriate amount of new retail space, through the reconfiguration and modernising of existing buildings, including the multi-storey car park and Arndale House, and selective demolitions to create King Street Square. We will also remove the roof from this part of the Mall to create a new King Street.
Phase 2 : Opening up the canal, new housing and public spaces
The second phase of works will focus on opening up access to the Canal, providing mixed-use development at Lacy Street and providing new housing between the Mall and St Matthew’s Church. Low-level development is intended in this area to enhance the setting of the church, which will also from the creation of a new ‘Church Square’ and public open space.
Phase 3 : Creating a new leisure and employment area
Phase three will see reconfiguration of existing buildings and new construction to create Maker’s Yard, a new employment and leisure area behind Arndale House. This phase also features removal of a further section of the Mall roof. Maker’s Yard is intended to be a place for independent small businesses and the evening economy.
Phase 4 : Stretford’s new Central Park
The fourth phase sees the replacement of the remaining section of the Mall to create ‘Central Park’, new public realm and new apartments and duplexes. Aldi will remain in the same place.
Phase 5 : A new ‘Library Square’
The final phase of works replaces the surface car parking between the Mall and Barton Road, with a new ‘Library Square’, apartments and a small number of townhouses.
A hybrid planning application is now being prepared, on behalf of the joint venture partnership of Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works. The application is expected to be for ‘Full planning permission for the demolition of specified buildings; and outline planning permission with all matters reserved except for access for a mixed-use development comprising: up to 13,000sqm of commercial, business and service floorspace (Use Class E); up to 800 residential units (Use Class C3); up to 2,800sqm of drinking establishment/takeaway and assembly/leisure uses (Sui Generis); up to 720sqm of learning and non-learning institutions (Use Class F1); up to 2,400 sqm of local community uses (Use Class F2); public realm and landscaping; and other associated infrastructure.
Further detailed planning applications, setting out the design and layout of the buildings will be submitted at a later stage.
The proposed master plan for Stretford is aligned to the feedback we’ve received through the consultation process and the benefits are outlined below:
We have taken on board the comments and suggestions made by consultees over the last rounds of consultation and incorporated them into the current proposals for the heart of Stretford.
At this consultation, we are sharing a proposed masterplan for a planning application needed to begin making these changes to the heart of Stretford, including details about the new King Street, new open space and plans for the future of the Mall. Although much of the proposals are still in an outline planning stage, we have progressed from the concept and ideas shown previously to show more detailed proposals for some elements of the town centre.
This a pre-planning public consultation on a hybrid planning application for the new heart of Stretford. Further consultations will follow in due course, on the detailed planning applications and on the wider Stretford ‘Area Action Plan’ will follow in due course.
All feedback received will be passed to the development team (Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works and their advisers) and will be used to inform the planning application, where possible and appropriate.
Please be assured that your feedback will be treated confidentially and will be anonymous.
You do not need to provide any further details to provide feedback. However, Trafford Council is keen to monitor these consultations to ensure that we are reaching the wider community. If we’re not, then we will look to adjust the consultation to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard.
We are asking for name and contact details so that we can provide you with further updates in the future. If you don’t wish to provide your name and address, you don’t have to.
Yes of course. We are looking to organise some online consultation seminars or some Messenger-style conversations in due course, subject to local demand. So if you’re interested in taking part please let us know by email or by calling the freephone number.
You can also speak directly with a member of the team by calling the Freephone number 0800 907 8677.
We are currently looking at all options to make Stretford Mall and the town centre attractive and sustainable. We need to make sure that we do our best to future-proof the town centre, by creating footfall and demand but also we must avoid having units that we can’t let.
You may recall that this area was created when disused areas of the Mall were demolished. From previous consultations, we know that this area is underutilised at the moment. We propose to include some low-level residential development in this area to enhance the setting of the church, which will also form the creation of a new ‘Church Square’ and public open space.
We need to consider what will make the town centre economically sustainable and how we can generate footfall. Things we are looking at include more housing and more commercial space, such as leisure uses, which bring people into the area.
Yes. We are currently assessing the amount of affordable housing to be provided alongside the other benefits of the scheme.
Once finalised and approved, the Stretford Area Action Plan (AAP) will become part of the planning policy guidance for the area. This means that any landowner or developer that puts forward a planning application within the AAP area must adhere to the policy and guidance within it. Trafford Council, along with many local residents, want to see improvements in the area and we are determined to drive these improvements for everyone. We will work with landowners and developers to enable the AAP to be achieved.
Landscaping and significant tree planting will help to ensure that the residential amenity of neighbours is maintained. In addition, a restrictive zone is included in the parameters plan which would restrict building heights in the most sensitive areas of the site.
The outline planning application will consider a range of issues, including noise and visual impacts and set out how these will be mitigated.
Precise access points for pedestrians, cyclists and motorised vehicles will all be decided at the detailed planning stage in due course. However, the multi-storey car park will remain in place and car parking for housing will be conveniently located close to housing.
A Construction Management Plan will be agreed with Trafford Council at a later stage. This will consider various aspects of construction works, including deliveries, contractor parking and construction traffic.
A Construction Management Plan will be agreed with Trafford Council at a later stage. This will consider various aspects of construction works, including deliveries, contractor parking and construction traffic.
Subject to planning permission , we hope to begin Phase 1 of the development by the end of 2021. This is a long-term project and we anticipate this exciting regeneration to be complete will take a number of years to complete.
Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works will explore various public and private funding streams to deliver the regeneration of Stretford. In the summer, Trafford Council applied for funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s £830m Future High Streets Fund and we’re delighted that Stretford was one of only four areas selected in the North West to receive the full allocation of £17.6 million. This funding will go some way in kick starting the project.
Before we submit a planning application, we would like to know what you think of these proposals. Please complete the online feedback form here.
All comments received will be reviewed by the development team and incorporated into the proposals where possible.
A planning application will be submitted to Trafford Council shortly. The Council will assess the proposals and conduct their own formal consultation process, before making a decision on whether to approve the plans.
Should you have any questions, please contact us on 0800 907 8677 or email scott@royalpilgrim.com.
