Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers and includes 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 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. 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.
History 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,Nevell (1997), pp. 12–13. and there is evidence of Bronze Age habitation in Timperley.Faulkner (2004), pp. 1–5. 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.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
Geography 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.Nevell (1997), pp. 3, 10, 94. 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.Nevell (1997), p. 125.
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 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. 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.
Governance
Representation 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).
Council
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. Retrieved on 2 March 2014. 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. Retrieved on 6 January 2008. 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. Retrieved on 2 March 2014. Retrieved on 4 May 2009. 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. 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%).
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. 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. 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
Electoral wards 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 nameLocalities 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
Coat of arms