Trafford developments set to take step forward

Two major property schemes in Trafford which will comprise hotels, thousands of homes and almost two million sq ft of office space look set to take an important step forward.The two projects concerned are Trafford Waters and Future Carrington.The former – the site of which is owned by Peel Holdings – secured outline planning permission in December 2018 for up to 3,000 homes, 861,000 sq ft of office space, 72,100 sq ft of commercial accommodation, hotels, a care-home and a primary school.The site of the latter is owned by HIMOR. Outline approval for the first phase – known as Carrington Village – was granted in August 2017.This will comprise 725 homes and one million sq of employment space. The more detailed proposals for future phases are currently being progressed as part of the Greater Manchester Spatial Framework.Both are subject to a funding allocation from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF); a £5bn government capital grant programme designed to invest in council-led projects where there is such demand and the potential to build new homes.In 2018, Trafford Council secured a cash boost of £19.2m via three bids. Of this total, £4.08m has been earmarked for Trafford Waters, £8.4m has been put aside for the first phase of Future Carrington and £6.7m was sourced for Partington Canalside. In addition, an allocation of £6m via a Growth Deal has been identified to support the Future Carrington scheme.However, Homes England advised the authority on 29 January 2019 that following the HIF clarification process, its investment panel had not approved the allocation for the Partington Canalside scheme. As such, the council is continuing to seek alternative funding sources.Trafford Council’s executive is now being asked to approve the inclusion of the Trafford Waters and Future Carrington funding allocations.The Trafford Waters HIF money would support the first phase of the Trafford Waters development thorough the provision of new junctions to Redclyffe Road and Trafford Way, kickstarting the project. The Future Carrington HIF funding would support the delivery of a new link road through Carrington. This would accelerate the wider scheme.The report to the authority’s Executive noted that if the council does not drawdown the HIF and Growth Deal funding, alternative sources would need to be identified.Trafford Council’s executive will meet on 15 July.