Trafford has received a new funding package of £113 million to supercharge development leading to thousands of new homes and jobs, and better transport.
A bumper allocation from the Manchester Mayor’s Good Growth Fund announced today, will pump prime ambitious road improvement and house building schemes that will transform neighbourhoods.
£89.1 million will go towards transport investment in New Carrington that will provide a primary highways connection needed for 5,000 new homes, 350,000 square metres of employment floor space and 4,000 to 5,300 new jobs by the 2040s.
The money will also pay for better buses – including a more frequent the 255 service between Partington and Manchester city centre – and active travel routes.
Another £23.9m will kickstart the building of new homes in Stretford town centre as part of the redevelopment of the former shopping mall.
Following the King Street transformation, a total of 248 rental apartments will be delivered as part of a longer-term masterplan for up to 800 homes.
Together this investment will support Trafford Council’s priorities, particularly to foster a thriving economy and homes for all, and to address climate change.
Cllr Tom Ross, leader of Trafford Council said:
"Trafford has become a real engine of development and regeneration in Greater Manchester and we welcome this investment which will further fuel our ambitions to go bigger and better.
"From our heartlands in the primary growth corridor area of the Western Gateway, we are unlocking strategic land, connectivity and large-scale sustainable communities, to benefit the whole city region and beyond.
"We are already renowned as a borough of opportunity and delivery and we have clear long-term plans for infrastructure improvements to provide thousands of homes, jobs and commercial spaces where people and businesses can thrive.”
The news follows a £26m funding boost for housebuilding in Old Trafford from the first wave of allocations from the Good Growth Fund back in November.
That money provided the first major investment for the Old Trafford Regeneration area, enabling work on 382 new homes to get underway at Trafford Wharf.
Cllr Ross continued:
"Our success in Trafford is down to effective partnership working and a focus on inclusive prosperity. Anyone visiting us will see cranes on our skylines, multi-million pound schemes under construction and high-quality town centres and public services serving the needs and aspirations of the communities we serve.
"The projects highlighted as part of today's announcements – the rebirth of Stretford town centre, plans forging forward for Carrington Relief Road and better public transport for our neighbourhoods - are an important part of the whole picture."
Carrington Relief Road is a key part of the infrastructure necessary to support future development under the Places for Everyone New Carrington Plan.
This includes the newly-named Energy Campus green cluster around Carrington, where Highview Power is constructing the world’s largest liquid air energy storage plant to sit alongside a new green hydrogen production facility, a battery storage plant and the existing Carrington Power Station.
The new road will be approximately 4km in length and will link Partington and Carrington with the M60, and adjacent areas of Sale. It is designed with active travel at its heart, with a typical cross section devoting 10m of road space to walking and wheeling and 7.3m for powered vehicles.
The route will improve accessibility to Partington, a community that has long suffered from poor transport links – as will the more immediate measure of increasing the 255 bus between Partington and Manchester city centre from a 30 to a 20-minute frequency.
A new 263 night bus connecting Altrincham, Sale and Stretford with Manchester city centre is also planned for later in the year, alongside further improvements to the 263 and later 132 journeys from the Trafford Centre.
A planning application for Carrington Relief Road was submitted in December and is expected to be determined during the summer.
Trafford Council’s executive committee this week heard details of the Council’s joint venture in Stretford with developer Bruntwood and an imminent planning permission for 248 homes for market rent. Another 178 affordable homes in the area will follow, subject to further funding.