£130m Carrington Relief Road scrapes through planning
Trafford Council voted seven to six to approve its own proposals for the 2.7-mile carriageway, which has been hailed as a crucial bit of infrastructure to enable the delivery of 5,000 homes and 3.8m sq ft of employment space.
The Carrington Relief Road has been part of Trafford Council’s development plans since 1996. Spanning a 115-acre stretch between the A6144 Manchester and in Carrington and the A6144 Carrington Lane/Carrington Spur in Sale, the road is estimated to cost £130m to build.
Helping the numbers stack up, Greater Manchester Combined Authority has awarded the project £89.1m from its Good Growth Fund. Additional support is expected to come from Section 106 agreements with developers. Two such agreements have been part of appeals and court cases.
Alongside the road itself, there will be a 2.5-metre-wide cycle lane a 2.5-metre-wide footpath on either side, encouraging active travel.
As part of the proposals, 25 acres of open grassland is proposed to help provide habitats for skylarks and other animals. Helping with biodiversity will be the planting of trees to make up for those felled during the construction of the road, as well as miles of hedgerows. Sustainable drainage systems, including attenuation ponds, will be dotted along as well.
Such measures failed to impress six councillors, who voted to reject the proposal at yesterday’s planning committee meeting because of the loss of habitat, endangerment to ecosystems, loss of agricultural land, and flooding concerns.
Their votes echoed the more than 800 letters of objection received from the public.
The Environment Agency offered no objection in principle to the scheme. Natural England also did not raise an objection to the road.
Those making the case for the road included planning committee chair Cllr Ben Hartley.
“For me, it’s an issue of social justice to make sure we build the housing we need for the borough,” he said.
“People need to be able to afford to be able to live here so we can remain an inclusive borough. I think this road is key to unlocking part of that development,” Hartley continued.
“Whenever we’re proposing new housing at scale, we’ve got to deliver the infrastructure. This isn’t the entire solution, but it’s an important part of that.”
After nearly two hours of debate and discussion, the Carrington Relief Road was approved seven votes to six.
Labour currently holds seven seats on the committee and controls the council. Conversative Party, Green Party, and Liberal Democrats hold two each.
The application for Carrington Relief Road can be viewed by using reference 118033/FUL/25 on Trafford Council’s planning portal. The project team includes Spawforths and Amey, with Balfour Beatty lined up to be the main contractor. Work is expected to commence in 2030.
