Urmston is enjoying a growing reputation as a place to stop by and hang out – thanks to a thriving business community and calendar of events.
Love Urmston, the non-profit partnership promoting the town, is seeing increasing numbers of new shops, places to eat and drink, and other services opening in the vibrant centre, where national brands sit side by side with independent businesses.
Traders say as well as local custom, they are attracting people from much further afield.
Fred Davids, Chair of Love Urmston and owner of award-winning wine shop and wine bar Kelder on Station Road, said:
“We work hard to make sure there is always something interesting going on and that our town is a great place to live, work and play.
“Our first job this year will be putting up banners across Trafford, funded by the Council, to draw attention to what’s on offer in Urmston and M41, and to draw more people in.
“We’re also planning the return of our summer food and drink festival for the end of June and our long-running Scarecrow Parade will be back again in September. We’re already thinking about Christmas lights for 2026!”
Fred, who opened his business in 2017 with help from a Council business loan, said:
“I always wanted to create a space locally that I would want to go to and enjoy a glass of wine. Eight years on, we now have a 12-strong team, all local to M41.
“Urmston is a beautiful town with plenty of green spaces and well cared-for parks. As a local business, people are genuinely keen to get to know you. I love walking to work and chatting to people on the way. It really is a friendly and welcoming place.”
Irina Ruseva, pictured below, set up the Flour and Soul Bakery has also found an appreciative customer base in the town. After developing an interest in baking during lockdowns, Irina gave up her old job as a project manager in financial services to supply sourdough loaves by bike, around the community.
With a small team, she now delivers 150 loaves per week, and runs baking classes from her Belmain Road workshop, as well as selling bread, pastries and seasonal treats at events and a pop-up shop from her premises once a month. Irina said:
“I am from Bulgaria where the culture is all about cooking and feeding and showing love through food. We settled in Urmston because it was close to the motorway but we found a whole community here who care about how they spend their money and appreciate good quality, local produce.”
Fellow food business owner Emma Ball, pictured above, of Emma Lou Cakes, works with her sister Melissa at their Flixton Road store, making bespoke celebration cakes. Emma said:
“Every cake we make is different and people love this about us. We’ve done cakes for TV programmes, we do weddings, birthdays, baby showers, even the odd divorce cake!”
Melissa adds:
“Most of our custom comes from word of mouth and we’ve had people from Yorkshire and even Cornwall putting orders in. We say to people ‘we’ll make a cake with you’, it’s a collaboration. We grew up in Urmston and went to Urmston Grammar School. It’s a lovely place with a great shopping centre.”
Together, Fred, Irina, Emma and Melissa paint a picture of a town on the up, with plenty of reasons to visit and spend time in.
Cllr Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration said:
“Urmston is a great example of a town where retailers and other businesses work together to create a fantastic offer that appeals not just to local people, who are keen to support their high street, but visitors from further afield.
“One of the Council’s priorities is to make sure Trafford has a thriving economy and the success of Urmston, with its growing reputation, is a key part of that.”