Consultants on alert for £4.2bn Trafford masterplan
Trafford Council is searching for a project team to draw up an overarching vision for the redevelopment of almost 400 acres around Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, arguably the highest profile regeneration project in the country.
Much has been made of the redevelopment potential of the area dubbed Wharfside, which is located in the middle of Trafford Civic Quarter, Trafford Park, and Media City.
Oxford Economics recently said the land around the ageing football ground could generate more than £7bn for UK plc and £4.2bn locally. The plan is for around 15,000 homes as part of a wider mixed-use development.
While Manchester United looks set to plump for building a 100,000-capacity stadium to replace Old Trafford – and the wheels turn on the formation of a mayoral development corporation to assemble land and deliver infrastructure within Wharfside – Trafford Council has begun its search for a team of consultants to devise a strategic masterplan to map out how the regeneration project might look.
Interested parties have until 24 February to submit their bids to win the £150,000 brief and a project team is expected to be appointed later this year. The masterplan could be adopted early in 2026.
Some 212 acres of Wharfside were the subject of a masterplan recently drawn up by Hawkins\Brown, Avison Young, LDA Design, and Civic. An updated masterplan that will sit above that document and cover 372 acres is now required to fully take advantage of the area’s regeneration potential.
The earlier masterplan set out plans for around 5,000 homes while the new one will map out a vision for three times that.
Cllr Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s executive member for economy and regeneration, said: “The Trafford Wharfside masterplan offers a regeneration vision for a hugely important area within Trafford which takes in the world-famous sporting institution that is Manchester United as well as other major sites including the Imperial War Museum and the Manchester Ship Canal.
“We are now on the lookout for a world-class consultant team to shape the vision for the area.”
She added: “This is a hugely exciting project and working with our partners and private developers, we will be looking to create thousands of new homes, new neighbourhoods and help create a world-class setting for the Manchester United stadium.”
There’s a few of these huge Masterplans scheduled around Manchester over the next 20 yrs or so. Trafford Wharfside , Salford crescent, The Northern Gateway, Atom valley and the whole Cheetham Hill redevelopment. I thought it would get to the point where I can ride around without the place looking like a giant building site but it looks as if it’s going to outlive me.
By Adam Adamant
@Adam let’s not forget about Holt Town as well! Surprised they need to build on green belt with all this brownfield land!
By Tomo
An earlier masterplan study from years agon, no doubt costing thousands of tax payers money, now discarded so that Trafford can presumably waste more money on a new masterplan. Last materplan was in 2022! Dig deep council tax payers.
By Anonymous
It’s difficult to get excited about this as Trafford has a consistent track record of not delivering on denser masterplans. Developers want a bit of density to make it viable but Trafford say no – it’s too tall, too dense etc. Everyone knows the planning department at Trafford is stuck in the dark ages compared to Manchester or Salford.
By Anonymous
If Trafford are involved it’ll never happen
By TJL
it may well be the highest profile regeneration scheme in the country – but you’d never know that thanks to the BBC and other national media obsessing about expanding Heathrow (it’ll never happen BTW) and the Oxford-Cambridge corridor becoming a so-called Silicon Valley.
By Justin Strong
This is it ? this will bring prosperity and growth to manchester and the North West ? it defies logic, thousands of new homes that will bring economic expansion ?Ha ! why are your taking away the reason people move to an area in the first place ?
The wharfside, the manufacturing and service infrastructure, that already supports thousands of jobs and should be developed and modernised. But no build more apartments houses where once the the white heat of production and trade flourished. That then brought waves and waves of people to the area and a need for housing.
This is a simple case of putting the cart before the horse ! It doesnt need explaining any further. But commercial ,industrial, transport and trade infrastructure and its potential has to exist before sizeable numbers of self supporting people come. The industrial revolution did not happen because random developers got together to build streets and streets of houses, the houses were built to accommodate the people coming to find work in the factories and mills of Ancoats and Salford that preceded them …and these are the so called educated elites planning for our nations future!
By don draper
This has not been thought through properly. I know people need jobs and places to live, but what about the lack of immenities like Hospitals, Dr’s, schools etc. What about creating more of those and modernising them first. Why not make the place nicer, better roads, not unnecessary & wrong layouts. High rise modern Flats or Appartments. No room for houses. Better parks and of course more land for Funeral burials!!! All those are the right thing to do folks.
By Linda
Don draper 👏 Well said, totally agree & I couldn’t have put it better myself.
By Sue lawson
That’s a great point Don.
Business – and agriculture – first. Then houses.
By Anonymous
what’s the point of coming up with plan after useless plan that never gets built. Add to that the fact that tfgm have bolloxed the roads up with all the cycle lanes and less lanes everywhere,how will the roads cope with the extra 15,000 homes and extra capacity at old Trafford?
By Darren
I agree with Don Draper almost to the word, However, when housing followed industry in the past, we were left with cheap, poor quality homes, thrown up for convenience, and lack of thought for those living in them. Let’s not do a modern version of that.
By Elephant