About Trafford Council

Our vision

In recent years we have approached the budget position positively and transformed

and reshaped our services. Our long-term vision for the future is that:

“No one will be held back and no one left behind”

and our future strategy holds this at its core. A new place based strategy is under

development guided by two key principles around:

• People – The Council will help residents to help themselves and each other
• Place – To create a place where people want to live, stay, learn, work & relax

A number of key work streams will be developed over the next few years to ensure Trafford is able to meet the challenge with our partners and create a sustainable borough. We’ll be in regular conversation with the residents of the borough, customers and partners about how we can further transform the services our communities rely on and provide them in different ways.

The Council

Trafford Council employs 2405 people directly (not including school staff), and serves a population of around 233,000 (2015).

In addition, ‘One Trafford’ – our commercial partnership with Amey Plc. – provides council services such as collecting bins, maintaining roads and pavements as well as parks and grounds maintenance.

In 2016 we were a national finalist in the MJ Awards for 3 categories, Local Authority of the Year, Senior Leadership Team and for our Locality Working programme which is supporting behaviour change amongst our residents. Also the Council received a commendation in the North of England Excellence Awards.

Trafford was also announced joint winner of the NHS Health Education England Learning Together in Health and Social Care Projects Award for its innovative integrated working project called i-Care. The award recognises the bold and ambitious journey the authority took to re-shape itself and change the way its people work, including how it operates with key partners from the NHS and other agencies.

As a Council, we have also been recognised at a national level for our employment and equality initiatives, employee relations and quality of apprentices.

Our Children’s Services were rated by OFSTED as good with outstanding features citing ‘many examples of innovation, hard work and determination demonstrated by elected members, officers and workers at all levels to ensure that vulnerable children and families get the best possible service’.

The Council has a leader and member structure with 63 elected councillors representing 21 wards. The political balance is:

Conservative 33, Labour 26, Liberal Democrat 3, Independent 1

There are three directorates:

• Transformation and Resources – providing resources support and leadership services to support effective working in the council. The main service areas are Finance, Human Resources, Performance and Improvement, Legal and Democratic Services, IT, Communications, Customer Services, Communities & Partnerships and Transformation.
• Economic Growth and Environmental Infrastructure  – providing services relating to the maintenance and improvements of highways, parks, sustainability and street cleaning. A further three services deal with Public Protection, Waste Management and Transport, Catering and Cleaning. In addition, the Growth, Planning and Enforcement services work to bring investment and visitors to the Borough to ensure the sustainable growth of Trafford and improve prosperity and employment opportunities
• Children, Families and Wellbeing – developing health, education and social care support services across all ages.  This includes commissioning and managing care services for adults and providing education, development and care services for children, young people and families

Economic Growth and Development

There are 23,000 homes to be built by 2031 in Trafford alongside 1.12m square metres of new employment space. We are also at the heart of the commuter belt with Manchester Airport, Manchester Piccadilly train station and major UK motorway networks on our doorstep.

High profile developers are already keen to invest here, reinforcing our belief that we are the first choice for investment in the region.

We have several key developments underway including Carrington, which is creating 7,500 homes and 750,000sq.m of employment space alone within the next 20 years (and even more beyond).  Likewise, and just a stone’s throw away from Trafford Town Hall, is Trafford Waters which has already seen a multi-million pound refurbishment in recent years, and is set to generate a further 3,000 homes and 87,000sq.m of employment space.

Altair, a major £70m shopping, entertainment and residential complex in the south of the borough, is another example of key developments underway. When complete this will seamlessly blend the quaint and traditional with the modern market town image we are becoming known for. Each of Trafford’s vibrant town centres offers its own unique character and business opportunities, which we are keen to capitalise on.

The £350m Metrolink extension through Trafford Park – one of Europe’s largest industrial parks – is acknowledged as vital for investment and employment in the area, opening up greater commuter links in the park. In addition, the promise of HS2 on our doorstep will only make us more appealing.

A very recent project is University Academy 92 UA92 – led by Trafford Council and Lancaster University, in partnership with Microsoft, Bruntwood and Trafford College. University Academy 92 is an idea first conceived by the Class of ’92 – former Manchester United teammates Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Phil Neville. UA92 will make a strong contribution towards regeneration of the Old Trafford and Stretford areas, with the new campus and student accommodation featuring as key elements of a refreshed masterplan to transform and regenerate the area, and is the key driver for Trafford’s involvement.  It is a long-held priority for Trafford Council to see the north of the borough revitalised and become a key location in the city region.

UA92 will be a catalyst to wider benefits for the local community which include skills development, new employment opportunities, the rejuvenation of Stretford town centre, development of a new leisure centre for Stretford, the opportunity to engage in sports and healthy living, supporting our physical activity ambitions and helping to reduce demand on the health and social care economy.

Skills and Employment

We are proud that our schools are amongst the best in the country and our young people achieve the best exam results – 49% of our population is educated to degree level or equivalent.

We’re acutely aware of the need for a skilled and available workforce and are making strides supporting employers and potential investors with the skills they need for their workforce – through the ‘Trafford Pledge’ we help them to recruit the people they need locally, and we work closely with our local College to ensure we have effective Apprenticeship opportunities and support in place.  Our Chief Executive and Leader are driving the Employment and Skills agenda for Greater Manchester and have already demonstrated the value of working with Further Educational establishments.