 | |
| Formation | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | 1998 |
| Headquarters | Trafford Park |
Chair | Bill Morgan |
Key people | Mike Shields |
The Trafford Park Development Corporation was established by the Second Thatcher ministry as part of an initiative to develop land in the Trafford Park area of Trafford and Salford.
The corporation was established as part of an initiative by the future Deputy Prime Minister, Michael Heseltine, in February 1987 during the Second Thatcher ministry. [1] Board members were directly appointed by the minister and overrode local authority planning controls to spend government money on infrastructure. This was a controversial measure in Labour strongholds such as East London, Merseyside and North East England. [2] [3]
The work of the corporation included transforming an extensive area of outdated, semi-derelict industrial property. Its area included Trafford Park and also parts of Stretford, Salford Quays, and the former steelworks at Irlam, now known as Northbank. [4] [5] The corporation developed a strategy to develop the area, where no strategy had previously existed. [6]
Its flagship developments included the Quay West office development at Wharfside, Trafford Park Village, Northbank Industrial Park and Hadfield Street, as well as the Trafford Centre at Dumplington. [7] Wharfside included 200 acres (81 ha) of land at the eastern end of the Trafford Park as well as part of the ship canal docks and the area around Manchester United F.C.'s Old Trafford football ground to the east of the Bridgewater Canal. The corporation revived the Trafford Park area after a period of decline and loss of employment from the mid-1960s. [8] It also achieved significant physical transformation of the area in the late 1980s and early 1990s. [9] [10]
In December 1994, Queen Elizabeth II visited the area to see the progress and, accompanied by the chairman of the corporation, she opened the new lift bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal, which had been funded by the corporation. [11]
During its lifetime 8.3m sq.ft. of non-housing development and 461 housing units were built. Around 25,618 new jobs were created and some £1,560 million of private finance was leveraged in. About 497 acres (2.01 km2) of derelict land was reclaimed and 27 miles (43 km) of new road and footpaths put in place. [12] The chairman was Bill Morgan [13] and the chief executive was Mike Shields. [14] [15] The life of the corporation was intended to end on 31 March 1997, but was extended until 31 March 1998, when the responsibility for Trafford Park's development passed to Trafford Council. [16]
The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long (58 km) inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey and Irwell through the historic counties of Cheshire and Lancashire. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 ft (18 m) to the canal's terminus in Manchester. Landmarks along its route include the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the world's only swing aqueduct, and Trafford Park, the world's first planned industrial estate and still the largest in Europe.
Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 236,301 in 2022. It covers 106 square kilometres (41 sq mi) and includes the area of Old Trafford and 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.
Salford Quays is an area of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it faces Trafford across the canal.
Manchester docks were nine docks in Salford, Stretford and Manchester, at the eastern end of the Manchester Ship Canal in North West England, which formed part of the Port of Manchester from 1894 until their closure in 1982. They marked the upper reaches of the ship canal, and were a destination for both coastal and ocean-bound vessels carrying cargo and passengers, often travelling to and from Canada.
The River Irwell is a tributary of the River Mersey in north-west England. It rises at Irwell Springs on Deerplay Moor, approximately 1+1⁄2 miles north of Bacup and flows southwards for 39 mi (63 km) to meet the Mersey near Irlam Locks. The Irwell marks the boundary between Manchester and Salford, and its lower reaches have been canalised and now form part of the Manchester Ship Canal.
Stretford is a market town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, sited on flat ground between the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal; the Bridgewater Canal bisects the town. The town is located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Manchester, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Salford and 4 miles (6.4 km) north-east of Altrincham. Stretford borders Chorlton-cum-Hardy to the east, Moss Side and Whalley Range to the south-east, Hulme to the north-east, Urmston to the west, Salford to the north and Sale to the south. In 2011 it had a population of 46,910.
Old Trafford is an area of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, which borders the cities of Manchester and Salford. It is located two miles (3.2 km) south-west of Manchester city centre in the historic county of Lancashire. The area represents the north-eastern tip of the parliamentary constituency of Stretford and Urmston. It is roughly delineated by two old toll gates: Brooks' Bar and Trafford Bar, to the east and west.
The Merseyside Development Corporation was a central government-appointed Development Corporation set up in 1981 by Margaret Thatcher's government to regenerate the Mersey docks of Liverpool, Bootle, Wallasey and Birkenhead.
The Leeds Development Corporation was established in 1988 to develop South Central Leeds and the Kirkstall Valley.
The Tyne and Wear Development Corporation (TWDC) was established in 1987 to develop land on the banks of the River Tyne and the River Wear in England.
The Teesside Development Corporation was a government-backed development corporation that was established in 1987 to fund and manage regeneration projects in the former county of Cleveland in North East England.
The Black Country Development Corporation was an urban development corporation established in May 1987 to develop land in the Metropolitan Boroughs of Sandwell and Walsall in England.
The Bristol Development Corporation was established in 1989 to develop parts of eastern Bristol, England.
The Central Manchester Development Corporation was established in 1988 to develop parts of eastern Manchester.
Trafford Park is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, opposite Salford Quays on the southern side of the Manchester Ship Canal, 3.4 miles (5.5 km) southwest of Manchester city centre and 1.3 miles (2.1 km) north of Stretford. Until the late 19th century it was the ancestral home of the Trafford family, who sold it to the financier Ernest Terah Hooley in 1896. Occupying an area of 4.7 square miles (12 km2), it was the first planned industrial estate in the world, and remains the largest in Europe, well over a century later.
Trafford Bar is a tram stop on Greater Manchester's light rail system, Metrolink, at the junction of Talbot Road and Seymour Grove in Old Trafford. It opened on 15 June 1992 as part of Phase 1 of Metrolink's expansion, before which it was a mainline railway station.
MediaCityUK is a 200-acre (81 ha) mixed-use property development on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The project was developed by Peel Media; its principal tenants are media organisations and the Quayside MediaCityUK shopping centre. The land occupied by the development was part of the Port of Manchester and Manchester docks.
Barton Road Swing Bridge is a swing bridge for road traffic in Greater Manchester that crosses the Manchester Ship Canal between Trafford Park in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford to Barton-upon-Irwell in the City of Salford. The bridge is a Grade II* listed building, and is part of a surrounding conservation area. It runs parallel to the Barton Swing Aqueduct which carries the Bridgewater Canal. The bridge opens regularly for traffic along the Manchester Ship Canal, which can cause delays for road traffic.
Wharfside is a tram stop on the Manchester Metrolink's Trafford Park Line. It is located on Trafford Wharf Road, close to Old Trafford football stadium. It was originally proposed that the station be named Manchester United. It opened on 22 March 2020.
The Eccles Line is a tram line of the Manchester Metrolink in Greater Manchester running from Manchester to Eccles via Salford Quays, with a short spur to MediaCityUK. It was opened in phases during 1999–2000 as part of the second phase of the system's development. The spur to MediaCityUK was opened in 2010. The line contains a mixture of reserved track beds and a street running section.