Trafford ramps up effort to stop the rot in ‘deteriorating’ neighbourhood
Placed on Historic England’s heritage at risk register more than 13 years ago, the blighted Empress Conservation Area in Old Trafford is now the subject of attempts to “stimulate investment”.
In 2023, Trafford Council said it was exploring options to turn things around in the area between Chester Road and the A56, which is plagued by defective schemes and stalled sites.
At the time, the authority highlighted a clutch of projects and buildings that were blighting the area.
These included Empress Mill, Trafford Press and Veno Building – which were earmarked for a redevelopment project that never materialised – and Aura Court and Browning Street, a pair of residential buildings deemed uninhabitable due to fire safety concerns.
In order to tackle the issue, Trafford Council, in partnership with Historic England and Homes England, commissioned Donald Insall Architects and LDA Design to draft a regeneration plan setting out possible interventions to improve the area.
This plan, which runs to more than 300 pages, will now be the subject of a public consultation.
The hope is that it will ultimately be adopted as a supplementary planning document that will guide future development in the area.
The aim of the strategy is to “address the complex causes of decline, vacancy and erosion of character” in area, and “stimulate investment and facilitate sensitive redevelopment”, according to a Trafford Council report.
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A good plan for an area with a LOT of potential to be Manchester’s answer to somewhere like Hackney Wick. I’d invite councillors to try crossing the road from this masterplan site to Cornbrook tram stop. Currently involves crossing FOUR very busy roads which are terribly designed by highways engineers who have evidently rarely experienced the outside world. Step one should be re-developing this junction to enforce pedestrian priority with wide pavements and high quality public realm to enable people to access Cornbrook tram stop with ease. This would also help residents at Botanica and other new developments in the area. Looking forward to seeing how this develops.
By Anonymous
Bit too long that…
By Nice... but 300 pages‽!!!!
This area is a hidden gem. There are nice houses here ten minutes from Deansgate, sadly some have been ruined by conversion to offices but this could be a village within the city. With Manchester’s meteoric renaissance, why is this area still so under-utilised?
By Elephant
Two in a row: another fine example of our broken system.
How much has that 300 page report cost and how many people are going to read it?
Who in the general public has the time and/or intelligence to read a 300-page report?
By Anonymous
Make the pub’s that have been left to rot into small hotels I believe there is a shortage of small hotels in the Chester road airea . Places like the Robin hood and the old cock would be very handy for the motorway and the Trafford centre.the old cock used to have a lovely cocktail bar year’s ago and was very popular .the Robin hood is a lovely building that is just being left to rot .we all know what is going to happen ,it will be knocked down to be replaced by FLA TS . The builder only wants to make as much money as possible , they don’t care about the way everything looks just concrete jungles.
By Anonymous
Another area that is just outside Manchester city centre that is ripe for development – but how joined up is the strategy and thinking? Same goes for much of Salford – areas that are de facto just outside Manchester city centre and that in most other cities would be under one authority.
Are the local authorities joined up in their thinking – should these areas all come under one local authority?
By G
This area has enormous potential, lodged between the expanding Regional Centre, Trafford’s civic centre, Old Trafford, Salford Quays and next to Cornbrook tram. However there is not a lot to stimulate or attract potential investment in the 300 pages. Mainly a conservation report. There seems to be very little if any economic or market rationale behind the unambitious proposals. Very low density shown for such a well located site (plenty of opportunity for density away from the historic buildings next to A56 Bridgewater Way).
Combine this with the most difficult to work with planning department in Greater Manchester and it unfortunately seems like a major missed opportunity.
By Underwhelming
An area with bags of potential, given how well located this is and the mixed nature of uses, but TMBC seem blinkered by the heritage rather than a balance of the opportunity the area presents – their choice to give the key appointment to Donald Insall rather than another who would maximise the potential highlights this.
By Anonymous
I’ve got an idea,stop putting money into stupid cycle paths that no one wants and put it into the community
By Davelidd
Trafford Councillors are a constant failure. They ignore neighbours’ opinions, raised the council tax 7.5%, charge us now for the green bins and only show care for their roads and not the rest of the council.
It is sad to have such selfish Councillors.
By Trafford Neighbour