Trafford

Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. With an estimated population of about 211,800 in 2006, it covers 41 square miles (106 km) and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 as a merger of the municipal boroughs of Altrincham, Sale, and Stretford, the urban districts of Bowdon, Hale, and Urmston and part of Bucklow Rural District. All were previously in Cheshire, apart from Stretford and Urmston which were in Lancashire. The River Mersey flows through the borough, separating North Trafford from South Trafford. Historically the Mersey also acted as the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.

The Trafford area has a long heritage, with evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman activity. Amongst the relics of the past are two castles – one of them a Scheduled Ancient Monument – and over 200 listed buildings. The area underwent change in the late 19th century and the population rapidly expanded with the arrival of the railway. Trafford is the home of Manchester United F.C. and Lancashire County Cricket Club and since 2002 the Imperial War Museum North.

Trafford has a strong economy with low levels of unemployment and contains both Trafford Park industrial estate and the Trafford Centre, a large out-of-town shopping centre. Apart from the City of Manchester, Trafford is the only borough in Greater Manchester to be above the national average for weekly income. Socially, the area includes both working class areas in the Labour held North, like Old Trafford and Stretford and middle class ones such as Bowdon and Hale in the Conservative South. Altrincham and Sale West is one of the two parliamentary constituencies in Greater Manchester to be held by the Conservative Party, the other being Bury North.