Transforming our town centre through community-centred development

Our Why
Stretford Town Centre and our neighbourhood as a whole is undergoing a significant transformation as part of a broader regeneration strategy. Generally, this is seen as a positive development given the historic lack of investment. However there is a challenge in ensuring that the redevelopment and use of spaces, buildings, housing and resources reflect the needs and aspirations of local residents, community organisations and the growing independent business base. There has been positive progress in convening these actors alongside the key stakeholders behind the town centre regeneration - Trafford Council and the developer Bruntwood - through a new Town Centre Forum. However there is even more opportunity to harness community-level input into longer-term plans.

Our Idea
While the Town Centre Forum provides a mechanism for boosting communication and collaboration between community-facing organisations, we recognise the value in developing more meaningful opportunities to take on under-used assets and influence wider development plans. In Stretford there is a pressing need to ensure that the community is not left out of decision-making processes and retains ownership of key assets. Our idea is to establish a Development Agency / Community Land Trust that will serve as a community-driven entity, working with the major stakeholders. Our goal is to ensure that local residents have meaningful ownership, access, and influence over the assets that shape their neighbourhood—be it buildings, public spaces, or housing.

Our hope is to ensure that spaces remain accessible and beneficial for local residents, community groups and independent businesses, rather than being repurposed solely for the benefit of larger commercial entities that displace opportunities for creating valuable community wealth building across the neighbourhood.