Trafford
[3] It covers 106 square kilometres (41 sq mi)[5] and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Urmston, Partington and Sale.[3] There is evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman activity in the area, two castles – one of them a Scheduled Ancient Monument – and over 200 listed buildings.[8][9] As a place name, Trafford is an Anglo-French version of Stratford, deriving from the Old English words stræt (a street, more specifically a Roman road) and ford (crossing).The Roman road between the legionary fortresses at Chester (Deva Victrix) and York (Eboracum) crosses Trafford, passing through Stretford, Sale, and Altrincham.[12] The settlements in Trafford have been based largely around agriculture, although Altrincham was founded as a market town in the mid 13th century.[13] Although the Industrial Revolution affected Trafford, the area did not experience the same rate of growth as the rest of Greater Manchester.The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 as one of the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester.The Bridgewater Canal, opened in 1761 and completed in 1776, follows a course through Trafford roughly north to south and passes through Stretford, Sale, and Altrincham.[19] The Manchester Ship Canal, opened in 1894, forms part of Trafford's northern and western boundaries with Salford.Wythenshawe and Sale East, which also covers parts of the City of Manchester, is represented by Mike Kane MP (Labour).Its duties include setting levels of council tax, monitoring the health service in Trafford, providing social care, and funding schools.Overall the council was awarded "three star" status meaning it was "performing well" and "consistently above minimum requirements", similar to 46% of all local authorities.[30] In 2001, 8,484 people (4.0% of the borough's population) lived in Trafford's four civil parishes:[31] Carrington, Dunham Massey, Partington, and Warburton.The line bisecting the shield horizontally symbolises the River Mersey running through Trafford from east to west and the canals in the borough.[51] In the 2008–2009 financial year, the crime rates in Trafford for violence against a person and sexual offences were below the national averages.The greatest percentage change in the population occurred between 1851 and 1871, and was a result of the construction of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway in 1849.[16][17][56] The Trafford Centre, which opened on 10 September 1998,[57] is North West England's largest indoor shopping complex.[64] In 2001, of 99,146 residents of Trafford in employment, the industry of employment was 17.1% property and business services, 16.5% retail and wholesale, 12.3% manufacturing, 11.9% health and social work, 8.2% education, 8.0% transport and communications, 5.9% construction, 5.5% finance, 4.5% public administration and defence, 4.0% hotels and restaurants, 0.8% energy and water supply, 0.6% agriculture, and 4.6% other.[65] A study commissioned by Experian rated Trafford as the strongest and most resilient borough in North West England to dealing with sudden changes in the economy.Brookheys Covert is a semi-natural wood consisting mainly of ash, birch, and rowan, with a wetland habitat covering 5.8 acres (2.3 ha) in Dunham Massey.[70] Dunham Park is an area of "pasture-woodland or park-woodland" and has been since the Middle Ages, including many oak trees that date back to the 17th century, and covers 192.7 acres (78.0 ha).[77] The water park is the site of the Broad Ees Dole wildlife refuge, a Local Nature Reserve that provides a home for migratory birds.The club was formed in 2003 as the successor to Manchester Storm, and folded in early 2017 after playing home fixtures during 2015–2016 in Deeside [86] and Blackpool.[90] The Phoenix were replaced by a new team bearing the Manchester Storm name, who took a spot in the Elite Ice Hockey League for the 2015–2016 season[91] Rugby Union side Sale Sharks were formerly based in Trafford.Within Trafford their two clubs that enter teams in both the Men's and Women's England Hockey Leagues – Brooklands, based in Sale[94] and Bowdon.Indeed, in 2014 Trafford was the first in the United Kingdom for Key Stage 2 results, with 87% of Year 6 pupils achieving the expected standard of Level 4 or above in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.Also in 2014 2nd for both GCSE and A-Level results, with 72.2% of Year 11 pupils achieving the expected standard or above of 5 GCSEs including English and Maths.At the 2001 UK census, 75.8% of Trafford's residents reported themselves as being Christian, 3.3% Muslim, 1.1% Jewish, 0.6% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist and 0.5% Sikh.The original plans were rejected by Trafford Council, but the Church stated its intention to revise the proposals and resubmit.A range of bus services provide connections between various towns in the borough and links to the city centre, and other urban areas of Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
Trafford (disambiguation)Metropolitan boroughOld Trafford Cricket GroundTrafford Town HallOld Trafford Football StadiumAltrinchamDunham Massey HallGreater ManchesterSovereign stateUnited KingdomCountryEnglandRegionNorth WestCeremonial countycity region1 April 1974Metropolitan boroughTrafford CouncilExecutiveControlLabourTom RossConnor RandMike KaneAndrew WesternEthnic groupsReligionno religionHinduismJudaismSikhismBuddhismTime zonePostcode areaDialling codeISO 3166 codeGSS codehistoric countiesLancashireCheshireRiver MerseyOld TraffordStretfordUrmstonPartingtonNeolithicBronze AgeScheduled Ancient Monumentlisted buildingsManchester United F.C.Lancashire County Cricket ClubAltrincham F.C.Trafford F.C.Imperial War Museum NorthTrafford ParkTrafford CentreCity of Manchesterworking classmiddle classBowdonParliamentconstituenciesStretford and UrmstonAltrincham and Sale WestWythenshawe and Sale EastLocal Government Act 1972civil parishesAltrincham Municipal BoroughBowdon Urban DistrictCarringtonDunham MasseyUrban DistrictSale Municipal BoroughStretford Municipal BoroughUrmston Urban DistrictWarburtonBucklow Rural Districtadministrative countyborough statusMunicipal Borough of SaleRoman roadcricketfootballde Trafford baronetsAnglo-FrenchOld Englishford (crossing)TimperleylegionaryfortressesChesterDeva VictrixEboracumIndustrial RevolutionManchester, South Junction and Altrincham RailwayBroadheathCity of SalfordCheshire EastKeuper marlBunter sandstoneBollinRiver IrwellBridgewater CanalManchester Ship CanalSalfordmosslandGreenspaceCornbrookDavyhulmeFirswoodFlixtonGorse HillAshton-Upon-MerseyBrooklandsHale BarnsSale MoorWest TimperleyBritish ParliamentMembers of ParliamentTrafford Metropolitan Borough CouncilConservative PartyLabour Partycouncil taxAudit Commissionunparished