Trafford College withdraws plans to build on sports ground

The decision comes amidst public condemnation of the proposal to build up to 40 houses on the college’s sports pitch.

More than 600 people signed a petition to stop the plan to build on the 3.1-acre site on Stamford Brook Road, which includes the college’s football pitch, hard courts and overspill car park.

The car park and sports pitch are no longer needed, according to the plan’s 2019 design and access statement. The artificial grass sports pitch is deteriorating and is not open for community use.

The proposed homes would have been a mix of three- and five-bedroom houses. Full details were to be revealed in a subsequent Reserved Matters Application.

Trafford College also planned to have a replacement pitch at Clarendon Playing Fields in Sale. That new pitch would cost £560,000. That money would, in part, come from the Stamford Brook Road property development.

Still, it was not enough to woo community support. More than 80 letters of opposition came into the planning authority, with residents complaining about extra traffic and the loss of green space. They also complained over possible increases in pollution, although the impact on air quality from the new houses would be negligible, according to a report by Rachael Hall, the environmental health officer for Trafford Council.

Sir Graham Brady, MP for Altrincham and Sale West, joined with those opposing the scheme. “We have lost too many playing fields to development over the years, they are a vital resource that can never be replaced,” he wrote in his March newsletter. “With massive over-development threatened on green belt at Carrington Moss and the Timperley Wedge, this threatens still more congestion and pressure on local services.”

WSP acted as the agent in the deal for the Trafford College Group. Project 3 Architects in Altrincham designed the scheme.