Trafford

Wikipedia contributors · CC BY-SA · EN · 04/10/2026

Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of in . It covers km2 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, 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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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.

Coat of arms

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.

Demography

At the 2001 UK census, the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford had a total population of 210,145.

Of the 89,313 households in the borough, 36.5% were married couples living together, 31.6% were one-person households, 7.8% were co-habiting couples and 9.7% were lone parents, following a similar trend to the rest of England.

The population density was 1982 /km2 and for every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. Of those aged 16–74 in Trafford, 24.7% had no academic qualifications, significantly lower than the 28.9% in all of England. 8.2% of Trafford's residents were born outside the United Kingdom, lower than the English average of 9.2%. The largest minority group was Asian, at 4.0% of the population.

In 1841, 12% of Trafford's population was middle class compared to 14% in England and Wales; this increased to 21% in 1931 (15% nationally) and 55% in 2001 (48% nationally). From 1841 to 1951, the working class population of Trafford and across the country was in decline, falling steadily from 43% to 18% (36% to 29% nationally). It has since increased to 27% (26% nationwide). The rest of the population was made up of clerical workers and skilled manual workers. In the 2008–2009 financial year, the crime rates in Trafford for violence against a person and sexual offences were below the national averages. However, the rate of robberies and burglaries were above the national average.

Population change

The table below details the population change since 1801. Although Trafford was formed as a Metropolitan Borough in 1974, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages, and civil parishes that would later be constituent parts of Trafford. The greatest percentage change in the population occurred between 1851 and 1871, and was a result of the construction of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway in 1849. The decrease in Trafford's population between 1971 and 2001 mirrors the trend for Greater Manchester, although on a smaller scale; this has been accounted for by the decline of Greater Manchester's industries, particularly those in Manchester and Salford but including those in Trafford, and residents leaving to seek new jobs.

Economy

Historically, the economy of the Trafford was dominated by agriculture. This continued during the Industrial Revolution because the textile industry in Trafford did not develop as much as it did in the rest of Greater Manchester. There are only two known 18th-century mill sites in Trafford, compared with 69 known in Tameside and 51 in Manchester. After reaching a high of 43% in 1812, employment in the textile industry in Trafford declined to 12% according to the 1851 census. The textile industry in Trafford could not compete with that in places such as Manchester, Oldham, and Ashton-under-Lyne, partly because of a reluctance to invest in industry on the part of the two main land owners in the area: the Stamfords and the de Traffords.

Source and attribution

Adapted from “Trafford” by English Wikipedia contributors. Main paragraphs and sections are retained; tables, reference markers and technical markup are omitted. This is an encyclopedic adaptation, not a personal review. Original revision and contributor history ↗. Text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗. Check current visitor access, tickets and transport with the relevant operator.