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Trafford Centre

Trafford Centre
Trafford-arial.jpg
The main Trafford Centre mall is pictured centre and the Barton Square extension is towards the top left.
Location Dumplington, Trafford,
Greater Manchester, England
Opening date 10 September 1998
Developer The Peel Group
Owner Intu Properties
Architect Chapman Taylor
Leach Rhodes Walker
No. of stores and services 280
No. of anchor tenants
Total retail floor area

Retail: 185,000 m2
Leisure: 16,258m2
Dining: 13,935m2

Total: 207,000m2
No. of floors 4
Parking 12,500
Website www.intu.co.uk/traffordcentre

Retail: 185,000 m2
Leisure: 16,258m2
Dining: 13,935m2

The Trafford Centre (also known as the intu Trafford Centre) is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex in Greater Manchester, England. In the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, the centre is close to the Trafford Park industrial estate and approximately five miles west of Manchester city centre. The Trafford Centre opened in 1998 and is the second largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom by retail size. It was developed by the Peel Group and is owned by Intu Properties following a £1.65 billion sale in 2011 - the largest single property acquisition in British history. As of 2016, the centre has a market value of £1.9 billion.

The site was owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Company until 1986, when the company was acquired by John Whittaker of Peel Holdings, who had plans to build an out-of-town shopping centre. The planning process was one of the longest and most expensive in the history of the United Kingdom; concerns surrounded the effect the shopping centre might have on retailers in the smaller towns and villages in the Greater Manchester conurbation and potential traffic problems caused by the its proximity to the M60 motorway. Ultimately, the matter was decided by the House of Lords in 1996, which voted in favour of the development.

Twelve years after the Trafford Centre was first conceptualised by the Peel Group, it opened on 10 September 1998. Construction took 27 months at a cost of £600 million - approximately £1 billion in 2016. Two further extensions have since opened, Barton Square and the Great Hall in 2008, at a combined cost of over £100 million. Its vivid and quirky rococo/late baroque architectural style pays homage to the history of the area. The Orient food hall is themed as a steam ship, reflecting the centre's proximity to the Manchester Ship Canal.


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