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Coordinates: 53°28′06″N 2°20′56″W / 53.4684°N 2.3489°W / 53.4684; -2.3489
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{{short description|Shopping centre and entertainment complex in Trafford, Greater Manchester}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{infobox shopping mall|
{{infobox shopping mall
| shopping_mall_name = Trafford Centre
| image = Trafford-arial.jpg
| name = The Trafford Centre
| logo = TraffordCentreLogo.svg
| image_width = 300px
| logo_width = 300
| caption = The main Trafford Centre mall is pictured centre and the Barton Square extension is towards the top left.
| image = Trafford-arial.jpg
| location = [[Dumplington]], [[Trafford]],<br/>[[Greater Manchester]], England
| image_width = 300
| opening_date = 10 September 1998<ref name="info"/>
| caption = Trafford Centre, with Trafford Palazzo to the top left
| developer = [[The (MOB)Peel Group]]
| location = [[Dumplington]], [[Trafford]], [[Greater Manchester]], England<ref name="fact"/>
| manager =
| mapframe = no
| owner= [[Intu Properties]]
| opening_date = {{Start date and age|1998|09|10|df=yes}}<ref name="info"/>
| architect= [[Chapman Taylor]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Trafford Centre - Chapman Taylor |url=http://www.chapmantaylor.com/_uploads/images/47_fs.pdf |work=Chapman Taylor |accessdate=25 March 2012}}</ref><br/>Leach Rhodes Walker
| previous_names = Intu Trafford Centre 2012-2021<ref name="ink">{{cite news |title=Trafford Centre 25th anniversary - original map and ALL the stores that originally opened at the mall |date=30 September 2023 |publisher=[[Manchester Evening News]] |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/trafford-centre-25th-anniversary-original-27783104 |access-date=31 October 2023 |location=Manchester |first=Dianne |last=Bourne }}</ref>
| number_of_stores = 280
| developer = [[The Peel Group]]<ref name="pak" />
| number_of_anchors = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;
| manager = [[Savills]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.savills.co.uk/insight-and-opinion/savills-news/307936-0/savills-appointed-on-variety-of-advisory-roles-at-barton-square--trafford-park--manchester|website=Savills|title=Savills appointed on variety of advisory roles at Barton Square, Trafford Park, Manchester|date=2020-11-16|access-date=2022-11-07|archive-date=7 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107194013/https://www.savills.co.uk/insight-and-opinion/savills-news/307936-0/savills-appointed-on-variety-of-advisory-roles-at-barton-square--trafford-park--manchester|url-status=live}}</ref>
| title = 6
| owner = [[CPP Investment Board|Canada Pension Plan Investment Board]]<ref name="CPPIB-ownership">{{Cite news |title=New owners for Trafford Centre |url=https://aboutmanchester.co.uk/new-owners-for-trafford-centre |last=Barlow |first=Nigel |date=16 December 2020 |publisher=About Manchester |access-date=16 December 2020 |archive-date=16 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201216112905/https://aboutmanchester.co.uk/new-owners-for-trafford-centre/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
| [[British Home Stores|Bhs]] (1998-)
| architect = {{ubl|[[Chapman Taylor]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Intu Trafford Centre |url=http://www.chapmantaylor.com/_uploads/images/47_fs.pdf |website=Chapman Taylor |access-date=25 March 2012 |archive-date=23 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923202251/http://www.chapmantaylor.com/_uploads/images/47_fs.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>|Leach Rhodes Walker<ref name="pak" />}}
| [[Boots UK|Boots]] (1998-)
| number_of_stores = 200<ref name="fact"/>
| [[Debenhams]] (1998-)
| number_of_anchors = {{Collapsible list | titlestyle = font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;
| [[Selfridges]] (1998-)
| title = 5<ref name="fact"/>
| [[John Lewis (department store)|John Lewis]] (2005-)
| '''[[Boots (company)|Boots]]''' (1998–present)
| [[Marks & Spencer]] (2008-)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trafford extends Barton Square homewares offer |url=http://www.shopping-centre.co.uk/news/archivestory.php/aid/2591/Trafford_extends_Barton_Square_homewares_offer.html |work=www.shopping-centre.co.uk |date=19 May 2008}}</ref>
| '''[[Selfridges]]''' (1998–present)
| '''[[Marks & Spencer]]''' (2001–present)
| '''[[John Lewis & Partners|John Lewis]]''' (2005–present)
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trafford extends Barton Square homewares offer |url=http://www.shopping-centre.co.uk/news/archivestory.php/aid/2591/Trafford_extends_Barton_Square_homewares_offer.html |website=Shopping Centre |date=19 May 2008 |access-date=25 December 2012 |archive-date=23 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723101303/http://www.shopping-centre.co.uk/news/archivestory.php/aid/2591/Trafford_extends_Barton_Square_homewares_offer.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
| '''[[Primark]]''' (2020–present)<ref name="prim"/>
| }}
| }}
| floor_area = Retail: 185,000 m<sup>2</sup><ref name="overallsize">{{Cite news |title=Shopping Centres – Trafford Centre |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/shopping_centres/csc/the_trafford_centre/ |work=Capital Shopping Centres |accessdate=15 September 2011}}</ref><ref name="fact"/><br>
| floor_area = {{ubl|Retail: 185,000 m<sup>2</sup><ref name="overallsize">{{Cite web |title=Shopping Centres – Trafford Centre |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/shopping_centres/csc/the_trafford_centre/ |website=Capital Shopping Centres |access-date=15 September 2011 |archive-date=12 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111012110531/http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/shopping_centres/csc/the_trafford_centre/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="fact"/>|Leisure: 16,258 m<sup>2</sup><ref name="overallsize"/>|Dining: 13,935 m<sup>2</sup><ref name="overallsize"/>|'''Total''': {{convert|207000|m2|ft2|abbr=on}}<ref name="overallsize"/>}}
| parking = 11,500<ref name="brochure">{{Cite web |title=The Trafford Centre, Manchester |url=http://cscretail.co.uk/media/62721/thetraffordcentre_lr.pdf |website=Capital Shopping Centres |access-date=28 March 2012 |archive-date=19 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220419234819/http://cscretail.co.uk/media/62721/thetraffordcentre_lr.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
Leisure: 16,258m<sup>2</sup><ref name="overallsize"/><br>
| floors = 3
Dining: 13,935m<sup>2</sup><ref name="overallsize"/><br>
| website = {{url|https://traffordcentre.co.uk/}}
'''Total''': 207,000m<sup>2</sup><ref name="overallsize"/>
| parking = {{FORMATNUM:11500}}<ref name="brochure"/>
| floors = 4
| website = {{url|http://www.intu.co.uk/traffordcentre}}
}}
}}
The '''Trafford Centre''' is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex in [[Dumplington]], [[Greater Manchester]], England. Situated in the [[Metropolitan Borough of Trafford]], the centre is situated close to the [[Trafford Park]] industrial estate and lies approximately five miles west of [[Manchester city centre]]. The Trafford Centre opened in 1998 and is the [[List of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom by size|second largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom]] by retail size.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intu - Trafford Centre Key Facts |url=http://www.intugroup.co.uk/where-we-do-it/our-uk-centres/intu-trafford-centre/key-facts/ |work=Intu Properties |accessdate=29 November 2014}}</ref><ref name="csc">{{cite web | title=Portfolio&nbsp;– Our Centres | work=[[Capital Shopping Centres]] | url=http://cscretail.co.uk/our-centres.aspx | accessdate=17 June 2011}}</ref> It was developed by [[the Peel Group]] and is currently owned by [[Intu Properties]] following a £1.65&nbsp;billion sale in 2011<ref name="portfolio">{{Cite news |title=Portfolio |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/portfolio/ |work=Capital Shopping Centres |accessdate=17 June 2011}}</ref> - the largest single property acquisition in British history.<ref name="largest">{{Cite news |title=Capital Shopping Centres seals £1.6bn Trafford Centre deal despite Simon Property Group's concerns |last=Ruddick |first=Graham |quote=Capital Shopping Centres has sealed the UK's largest ever property transaction after 80pc of shareholders backed its £1.6bn acquisition of the Trafford Centre. |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8284524/Capital-Shopping-Centres-seals-1.6bn-Trafford-Centre-deal-despite-Simon-Property-Groups-concerns.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=27 January 2011 |accessdate=15 September 2011}}</ref> As of 2014, the centre has a market value of £1.9 billion.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intu Properties - Final Results |url=http://www.investegate.co.uk/intu-properties-plc--intu-/rns/final-results/201402280700491311B/ |work=Intu Properties |accessdate=20 December 2014}}</ref>


The '''Trafford Centre''' is a large indoor [[Shopping center|shopping centre]] and entertainment complex in [[Urmston]], [[Greater Manchester]], England. It opened in 1998 and is [[List of shopping centres in the United Kingdom by size|third largest in the United Kingdom]] by retail space.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Intu – Trafford Centre Key Facts|url=http://www.intugroup.co.uk/where-we-do-it/our-uk-centres/intu-trafford-centre/key-facts/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701181915/http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/media/Community/Information_pack_30.11.10.pdf|archive-date=1 July 2011|access-date=29 November 2014|website=Intu Properties}}</ref><ref name="csc">{{cite web | title=Portfolio – Our Centres | website=[[Capital Shopping Centres]] | url=http://cscretail.co.uk/our-centres.aspx | access-date=17 June 2011 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120315232206/http://cscretail.co.uk/our-centres.aspx | archive-date=15 March 2012}}</ref>
The site was owned by the [[Manchester Ship Canal Company]] until 1986, when the company was acquired by [[John Whittaker (businessman)|John Whittaker]] of Peel Holdings, who had planned to build an out-of-town shopping centre. The planning process was one of the longest and most expansive 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 centre's proximity to the [[M60 motorway]].<ref name="commonwealth">{{Cite web |title=The Shops – Trafford Centre |url=http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/shops/trafford-centre.html |publisher=www.manchester2002-uk.com |accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref> Ultimately the matter was decided by the [[House of Lords]] in 1996, which voted in favour of the development.<ref>House of Lords (1995) "Opinions of the Lords of Appeal for Judgment in the cause Bolton Metropolitan District Council and others (respondents) versus Secretary of State for the Environment and others (appellants)" 24 May, written by Lord Lloyd of Berwick.</ref><ref>Trafford Centre (1997) "From de Trafford to the House of Lords" Trafford Centre Insight, Brochure.</ref>


Originally developed by [[the Peel Group]], the Trafford Centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres, later to become [[Intu]], in 2011 for £1.65&nbsp;billion;<ref name="portfolio">{{Cite web|title=Portfolio |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/portfolio/ |website=Capital Shopping Centres |access-date=17 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522194515/http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/portfolio/ |archive-date=22 May 2010 }}</ref> it set a record as the costliest single property sale in British history.<ref name="largest">{{Cite news |title=Capital Shopping Centres seals £1.6bn Trafford Centre deal despite Simon Property Group's concerns |last=Ruddick |first=Graham |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8284524/Capital-Shopping-Centres-seals-1.6bn-Trafford-Centre-deal-despite-Simon-Property-Groups-concerns.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=27 January 2011 |access-date=15 September 2011 |archive-date=12 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110312150524/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8284524/Capital-Shopping-Centres-seals-1.6bn-Trafford-Centre-deal-despite-Simon-Property-Groups-concerns.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
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&nbsp;million - approximately £1 billion in 2014.<ref name="commonwealth"/> Two further extensions have since opened, Barton Square and the Great Hall in 2008 at a combined cost of over £100 million. Popularly known for its vivid and quirky [[rococo]]/late [[baroque]] architectural style - its architecture 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]].<ref name="award">{{Cite news |title=1999 European Shopping Centre Awards |quote=For acknowledging an area's past while providing retail and services for today. Trafford Centre's architecture is inspired by classicism, while the food court is anchored by a traveling steamship that acknowledges the Industrial Revolution development of the city. |url=http://www.icsc.org/srch/europeanawards1999/index.php |work=International Council of Shopping Centres |accessdate=25 March 2012}}</ref>


The battle to obtain [[planning permission|permission]] to build the centre was amongst the longest and most expensive in United Kingdom planning history.<ref name="pak" /> {{As of|2011}}, the Trafford Centre had Europe's largest [[food court]] and the UK's busiest [[Movie theater|cinema]].<ref name="fact"/>
Ten per cent of the UK population lives within a 45-minute drive of the shopping centre<ref name="fact">{{Cite web |title=Portfolio |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/portfolio/ |publisher=Capital Shopping Centres |accessdate=17 June 2011}}</ref> which attracts more than 35&nbsp;million visits annually.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tills ring at Trafford Centre |quote=Visitor numbers increased by 6.4 per cent year-on-year to more than 35m. |last=Bounds |first=Andrew |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/00102cbc-12ae-11e0-b4c8-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1S2Lrpmx7 |newspaper=Financial Times |date=29 December 2010}}</ref> It has Europe's largest food court in ''The Orient'' and the UK's busiest cinema, attracting more than 28,500&nbsp;visitors each week.<ref name="fact"/> There are over 11,500&nbsp;car parking spaces, and there are proposals to build a new [[Trafford Centre Metrolink station]] and a more speculative [[ferry]] system from the Manchester Ship Canal to the centre.


==History==
==History==
[[File:Aerial photograph of Salford and Trafford Park.jpg|thumb|right|Trafford Centre, located bottom of the image, was built on land previously owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Company]]
[[File:TraffordCentresat.png|thumb|right|Satellite image of the Trafford Centre]]
Manchester City Council{{#tag:ref|Manchester Corporation was subsumed into the newly created Greater Manchester County Council in 1974 until 1986, when the [[unitary authority]] of Manchester City Council was established.<ref>{{citation |title=Greater Manchester County Record Office (with Manchester Archives) Guide to Local Government Records |publisher=Manchester Library & Information Service |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/download/13442/local_government_records_guide |format=DOC |accessdate=7 August 2011}}</ref>|group=nb}} retained seats on the board of the Ship Canal Company until the mid-1980s. By then the arrangement had become "meaningless", as the majority of the company's shares were controlled by property developer, John Whittaker. Crucially the council were powerless and Peel held voting rights due to majority shareholding. In 1986 the council gave up all but one of its seats for a payment of £10&nbsp;million and extricated itself from a possible conflict of interest, as Whittaker was proposing to develop the large out-of-town shopping centre on company land at [[Dumplington]], which became the Trafford Centre.


===Genesis===
Manchester City Council opposed the development, believing it would impact negatively on the [[Manchester city centre|city centre]] economy, but accepted it was "obviously in the interests of the shareholders".<ref name=King98-100>{{Harvnb|King|2006|pp=98–100}}</ref> The company paid £7 million in cash and £3&nbsp;million was invested in a joint venture company, Ship Canal Developments, set up by Whittaker and the council to provide resources and development expertise for the regeneration of east Manchester.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Detonation: Rebirth of a City |pages=98–100 |first=Ray |last=King |year=2006 |publisher=Clear Publications |isbn=0-9552621-0-0}}</ref>


The site was owned by the [[Manchester Ship Canal|Manchester Ship Canal Company]] which [[John Whittaker (businessman)|John Whittaker]]'s Peel Holdings had been acquiring shares in since 1971.<ref name="Milestones">{{Cite web |title=Salford Quays Milestones: The Story of Salford Quays |url=http://www.salford.gov.uk/milestones_v2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327122642/http://www.salford.gov.uk/milestones_v2.pdf |website=Salford Council |access-date=21 August 2009 |archive-date=27 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Manchester City Council]] also had a stake, but by the mid 1980s Whittaker had a majority control and proposed building an out-of-town shopping centre, and other schemes.<ref name="bang">{{cite book|title=Detonation:Rebirth of a City|date=2006|last=King|first=Ray|publisher=Clear Publications|isbn=0955262100|location=Warrington}}</ref>
Peel Holdings submitted a planning application to [[Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council]] for a development on approximately 300 acres of land in 1986. The application was "called in" by the Secretary of State for the Environment and legal disputes ensued requiring two public enquiries before planning permission was granted. Issues involved congestion on the M60 orbital motorway,<ref name="malling">{{Cite news |title=Taking a malling |url=http://www.economist.com/node/164647 |work=economist.com |date=10 September 1998 |accessdate=13 September 2011}}</ref> and some believed the development would have adverse consequences on shopping centres throughout Greater Manchester region and beyond.<ref name="malling"/> Planning permission was granted in 1993<ref name="planning">{{Cite news |title=Slow net asset growth hits Peel |last=Stevenson |first=Tom |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/slow-net-asset-growth-hits-peel-1414017.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=15 July 1994}}</ref> before being rejected by the Court of Appeal.<ref name="planning"/> It was reinstated in 1995 when the [[House of Lords]] gave approval for the development.<ref>http://www.poptel.org.uk/trafford.park/7.HTM</ref>


The council faced a conflict of interest as both a local planning authority and shareholder. Its [[Minority interest|minority shareholding]] also no longer gave it any real control over the company. Accordingly, in 1986 it surrendered the right to appoint all but one of the Manchester Ship Canal's [[Director (business)|directors]], and sold its shares to Whittaker for £10&nbsp;million.<ref name="bang" />
Construction began in 1996 and the centre opened on 10 September 1998 becoming the UK's last "mega mall" which combined retail, dining and leisure facilities.<ref name="megamall">{{Cite news |title=Westfield Stratford – Britain's last mega-mall |last=Hall |first=James |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8010903/Westfield-Stratford-Britains-last-mega-mall.html |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=18 September 2010 |accessdate=16 September 2011}}</ref> On opening, the Trafford Centre was the largest shopping centre in the UK but lost the title to Bluewater in Kent in 1999.<ref name="megamall"/> However, due to numerous expansions since 2006, the Trafford Centre is now bigger than Bluewater.


Manchester City Council opposed Whittaker's proposal for retail development, stating it would impact negatively on the [[Manchester city centre|city centre]] economy, but accepted it was "obviously in the interests of the [[Shareholder|shareholders]]".<ref name="bang" />
The Peel Group sold the centre to [[Capital Shopping Centres]] (CSC) in January 2011 for £1.6&nbsp;billion<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester sold by Peel |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11841047 |work=BBC |date=25 November 2010}}</ref> and John Whittaker, chairman of Peel Group became deputy chairman of CSC.<ref>{{Cite news |title=About us – Non-Executive Directors |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/directors_and_management/non_executives/ |work=Capital Shopping Centres |accessdate=12 July 2011}}</ref> Peel owner John Whittaker later said the company could have sold the centre for over £2 billion if they had received cash<ref>{{Cite news |title=Capital Shopping Centres rejects call to abandon Trafford Centre deal with Peel |last=Hodgson |first=Neil |url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpbusiness/business-local/2010/12/13/capital-shopping-centres-rejects-call-to-abandon-trafford-centre-deal-with-peel-92534-27813952/ |newspaper=Liverpool Daily Post |date=13 December 2010 |accessdate=27 March 2012}}</ref> but the £1.6 billion deal remained the largest property transaction in British history,<ref name="largest"/><ref>{{Cite news |title=Investors agree CSC deal for Trafford Centre |last=Thomas |first=Daniel |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/71aca2dc-2989-11e0-bb9b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qH7iYrCB |quote=The deal is the largest-ever UK property transaction. Mr Whittaker, Peel chairman, told the shareholder meeting the sale had nothing to do with the amount of money, which would have been higher through a cash sale, but was related to the long-term future of his family business. |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=26 January 2011 |accessdate=27 March 2012}}</ref> and the biggest European property deal of 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Capital Shopping Earnings Rise as Trafford Centre Purchase Lifts Revenue |quote=The company’s 1.6 billion-pound purchase of the Trafford Centre in Manchester, England, in January 2011 was the biggest single property transaction in Europe last year, according to [[New York City|New York]]-based Real Capital Analytics Inc. |last=Packard |first=Simon |url=http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-23/capital-shopping-earnings-rise-after-trafford-centre-purchase.html |work=Bloomberg |date=23 February 2012 |accessdate=27 March 2012}}</ref>


[[The Peel Group]] submitted a [[Planning permission|planning application]] to [[Trafford Council]] for development of approximately {{convert|300|acres|ha}} of land in 1986. The application was [[Development management in the United Kingdom#Call-in by Secretary of State|called in]] by the [[Secretary of State for the Environment]] and legal disputes ensued requiring two [[public inquiries]] before planning permission was granted. Objections included congestion fears on the [[M60 motorway (Great Britain)|M60 motorway]],<ref name="malling">{{Cite news |title=Taking a malling |url=http://www.economist.com/node/164647 |work=economist.com |date=10 September 1998 |access-date=13 September 2011 |archive-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207124005/http://www.economist.com/node/164647 |url-status=live }}</ref> and adverse consequences for retailers across Greater Manchester.<ref name="malling"/> Planning permission was granted in 1993<ref name="planning">{{Cite news |title=Slow net asset growth hits Peel |last=Stevenson |first=Tom |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/slow-net-asset-growth-hits-peel-1414017.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=15 July 1994 |access-date=17 September 2017 |archive-date=12 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112054106/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/slow-net-asset-growth-hits-peel-1414017.html |url-status=live }}</ref> before being blocked by the [[Court of Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Appeal]],<ref name="planning"/> then reinstated in 1995 by the [[House of Lords]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.poptel.org.uk/trafford.park/7.HTM| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010218215642/http://www.poptel.org.uk/trafford.park/7.HTM| archive-date = 18 February 2001| title = TPDC – Catalogue: Other developments}}</ref><ref>{{cite report|publisher=House of Lords|date=1995-05-24|title=Opinions of the Lords of Appeal for Judgment in the cause Bolton Metropolitan District Council and others (respondents) versus Secretary of State for the Environment and others (appellants)|author=Lord Lloyd of Berwick}}</ref><ref>{{citation|publisher=Trafford Centre|date=1997|title=From de Trafford to the House of Lords}}</ref>
The Trafford Centre is valued at £1.7 billion by its owners, Capital Shopping Centres and has an annual income of £85.3 million, a £400 headline rent<ref name="fact"/> and has an ABC1 visitor percentage of 71%.<ref name="brochure">{{Cite news |title=The Trafford Centre, Manchester |url=http://cscretail.co.uk/media/62721/thetraffordcentre_lr.pdf |work=Capital Shopping Centres |accessdate=28 March 2012}}</ref> By comparison, the Metrocentre which is the second largest shopping centre in the United Kingdom (after the Trafford Centre) is valued at £864 million, an annual property income of £50.4m and an ABC1 visitor percentage of 57% of ABC1 customers.<ref name="fact"/>


Twelve years after being proposed, the Trafford Centre opened on 10 September 1998. Construction had taken 27 months at a cost of £600&nbsp;million.<ref name="commonwealth">{{Cite web |title=The Shops – Trafford Centre |url=http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/shops/trafford-centre.html |publisher=Manchester 2002 |access-date=3 November 2010 |archive-date=10 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210192338/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/shops/trafford-centre.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref> The [[#Trafford Palazzo (formerly Barton Square)|Barton Square]] and [[#Great Hall|Great Hall]] extensions opened in 2008, at a combined cost of over £100 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ICSC |url=http://www.icsc.org/srch/europeanawards1999/index.php |website=International Council of Shopping Centres |access-date=25 March 2012 |archive-date=24 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124133652/http://icsc.org/srch/europeanawards1999/index.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
The centre was re-branded as 'Intu Trafford Centre', in mid-February 2013 by parent group [[Capital Shopping Centres]], at a cost of £7 million and all remaining centers owned by that company followed suit.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Intu Trafford Centre - the new name for Manchester's shopping mecca |date=16 January 2013 |publisher=[[Manchester Evening News]] |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/the-intu-trafford-centre---the-new-1212689 |accessdate=3 February 2013 |location=Manchester |first=Amy |last=Glendinning}}</ref>


==Architecture==
===Intu===
[[File:Trafford Centre - geograph.org.uk - 104466.jpg|thumb|upright|Looking up into the main dome of the Trafford Centre, decorated at a cost of £5 million]]
The Trafford Centre's unorthodox style of architecture was prompted by the wish to offer a unique shopping experience. [[John Whittaker (businessman)|John Whittaker]], chairman of [[Peel Group|Peel Holdings]] had to convince architects that a lavish design would not alienate shoppers.


Peel Group sold the centre to [[Intu|Capital Shopping Centres]] (CSC) in January 2011 for £1.6 billion, in cash and shares,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester sold by Peel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11841047 |work=BBC |date=25 November 2010 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=30 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630211307/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11841047 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[John Whittaker (businessman)|John Whittaker]], chairman of Peel Group, became deputy chairman of CSC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About us – Non-Executive Directors |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/directors_and_management/non_executives/ |website=Capital Shopping Centres |access-date=12 July 2011 |archive-date=10 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910122332/http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/directors_and_management/non_executives/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He later claimed he could have sold the centre for over £2 billion if he had been prepared to accept just cash.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Capital Shopping Centres rejects call to abandon Trafford Centre deal with Peel |last=Hodgson |first=Neil |url=http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpbusiness/business-local/2010/12/13/capital-shopping-centres-rejects-call-to-abandon-trafford-centre-deal-with-peel-92534-27813952/ |newspaper=Liverpool Daily Post |date=13 December 2010 |access-date=27 March 2012 |archive-date=2 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602135655/http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ldpbusiness/business-local/2010/12/13/capital-shopping-centres-rejects-call-to-abandon-trafford-centre-deal-with-peel-92534-27813952/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Nevertheless the £1.6 billion deal remained the largest property transaction in British history,<ref name="largest"/><ref name="larger">{{Cite news |title=Investors agree CSC deal for Trafford Centre |last=Thomas |first=Daniel |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/71aca2dc-2989-11e0-bb9b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qH7iYrCB |quote=The deal is the largest-ever UK property transaction. Mr Whittaker, Peel chairman, told the shareholder meeting the sale had nothing to do with the amount of money, which would have been higher through a cash sale, but was related to the long-term future of his family business. |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=26 January 2011 |access-date=27 March 2012 |archive-date=25 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825033124/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/71aca2dc-2989-11e0-bb9b-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qH7iYrCB |url-status=live }}</ref> and the biggest European property deal of 2011.<ref name="bloom">{{Cite news |title=Capital Shopping Earnings Rise as Trafford Centre Purchase Lifts Revenue |quote=The company’s 1.6 billion-pound purchase of the Trafford Centre in Manchester, England, in January 2011 was the biggest single property transaction in Europe last year, according to [[New York City|New York]]-based Real Capital Analytics Inc. |last=Packard |first=Simon |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-23/capital-shopping-earnings-rise-after-trafford-centre-purchase.html |work=Bloomberg |date=23 February 2012 |access-date=27 March 2012 |archive-date=9 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309163332/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-23/capital-shopping-earnings-rise-after-trafford-centre-purchase.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Quote|text=When we first started the architects said, "you shouldn’t be doing all this and giving it all the razzmatazz and showbiz, leave that to the retailers. Make it plain, make it clinical, make it white and hospitalised and let them do the work". So then we put in the paintings, we put in the real gold leaf, we put artefacts everywhere, paintings. It is the people’s palace. It is something to attract shoppers&nbsp;... to give them the Dallas effect.|sign=John Whittaker.<ref name="interview"/>}}


[[Intu|Capital Shopping Centres]] was renamed [[Intu]] in 2013 and spent £7 million rebranding the "Intu Trafford Centre".<ref>{{cite news |title=The Intu Trafford Centre – the new name for Manchester's shopping mecca |date=16 January 2013 |publisher=[[Manchester Evening News]] |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/the-intu-trafford-centre---the-new-1212689 |access-date=3 February 2013 |location=Manchester |first=Amy |last=Glendinning |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113031940/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/the-intu-trafford-centre---the-new-1212689 |url-status=live }}</ref>
The design was a collaboration between the architectural practices of [[Chapman Taylor]] and Manchester-based Leach Rhodes Walker. The construction contractor was [[Bovis Lend Lease]],<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/1997/09/17/20855/bovis-reputation-is-cornering-the-shopping-market.html |title=Bovis' reputation is cornering the shopping market |journal=Contract Journal |date=17 September 1997}}</ref> with structural engineering services provided by the [[WSP Group]]. Architects on the scheme produced over 3,000 [[Architectural drawing|drawings]] and the construction process required twenty-four on-site architects to monitor the construction and interior design process.<ref name="twosevenfour">{{Cite book |last=Parkinson Bailey |page=274}}</ref>


{{As of|2017}}, Intu claimed a [[fair market value]] of £2.312 billion for the centre.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intu Properties PLC Final Results 2017 |url=http://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/intu-properties-INTU/share-news/Intu-Properties-PLC-Final-Results/73931726 |date=23 February 2017 |access-date=11 October 2017 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011233311/http://uk.advfn.com/stock-market/london/intu-properties-INTU/share-news/Intu-Properties-PLC-Final-Results/73931726 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the firm entered administration in June 2020 and the centre was placed into [[receivership]] by its creditors in November 2020.<ref name="traffordcentrelimited">{{Cite web |title=Investor Information – Trafford Centre |url=https://traffordcentre.co.uk/investor-information |website=Trafford Centre |date=10 November 2020 |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128160533/https://traffordcentre.co.uk/investor-information |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2020, the [[CPP Investment Board|Canada Pension Plan Investment Board]], who had loaned Intu £250 million in 2017, exercised their rights as creditors to take ownership of the complex.<ref name="CPPIB-ownership"/>
The centre has four main areas located across two floors: Peel Avenue, Regent Crescent, the Dome, and the Orient and was designed so that visitors enter on both main shopping floors in equal numbers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/downloads/traffinfo.pdf|title=intu Trafford Centre|work=traffordcentre.co.uk|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref> This avoids the problem where visitors do not visit the upper floors and retailers avoid upper floor units. The ODEON Cinema is located on the third floor along with other leisure facilities such as [[Laser Quest]]. The Trafford Centre was built to be "future-proof" in the words of developer John Whittaker with the infrastructure for an additional fourth floor built during construction.<ref name="interview">{{Cite news |title=Whittaker has more to offer than the rococo |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/22082e9e-360a-11e0-9b3b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Y3bh8CfT |newspaper=Financial Times |date=11 February 2011 |accessdate=15 September 2011}}</ref>


===Post Intu===
The Trafford Centre is [[Rococo]]/late [[Baroque]] in design, with eclectic elements of [[Art Deco]] and [[Egyptian Revival architecture|Egyptian Revival]]. It is decorated primarily in shades of white, pink and gold with ivory, jade and caramel coloured marble throughout. Three domed atria are located along the length of the mall, and Peel claim the middle dome is bigger than that at [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref name="construct">{{Cite news |title=The mall that ate Manchester |last=Swanton |first=Oliver |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-mall-that-ate-manchester-1195385.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=2 September 1998}}</ref> The central dome cost £5 million to construct.<ref name="interview"/> The Trafford Centre has 45,000 square metres of [[marble]] and [[granite]] flooring from Montignosa and Quarlata in Italy at a cost of £5.8 million (1996 value)<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre fact file |url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/archive/1997/12/19/Lancashire+Archive/6163976.Trafford_Centre_fact_file/ |newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph |date=19 December 1997 |accessdate=10 July 2011}}</ref> and [[gold leaf]] adorns the building's columns.<ref name="construct"/> The marble floors and handrails are polished nightly to maintain the centre's opulent appearance.<ref name="bbccomment">{{Cite web |title=Trafford Centre – shopping hell or heaven? |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2002/12/31/trafford_centre.shtml |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=31 December 2001 |accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref>


Construction of the [[Manchester Metrolink]]'s [[Trafford Park Line|Trafford Park tram line]] began construction in January 2017. Test trams began in November 2019, and the line opened from [[Pomona tram stop]] to [[The Trafford Centre tram stop|intu Trafford Centre]] on 22 March 2020. ''intu Trafford Centre'' tram stop had to be renamed to ''The Trafford Centre'' in late 2020 after [[intu]] ceased ownership.
The Trafford Centre has features which pay homage to the local area and [[North West England]] where the Peel Group are proactive and have the long-term objective of making the region the most economically successful and sustainable in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite news |title=History and vision - The Peel Group |url=http://www.peel.co.uk/aboutus/history-and-vision |work=The Peel Group |accessdate=25 March 2012}}</ref> ''The Orient'' food hall is themed around a steam ship, paying homage to the [[Industrial Revolution]] and the nearby [[Manchester Ship Canal]]. The [[Rose of Lancaster|Lancashire Rose]] also permeates the décor on window panes and interior [[cornice]]s. Mythical [[griffin]] statues adorn the exterior, the heraldic symbol of the [[de Trafford baronets]] who historically owned much of the land in modern-day [[Trafford]].<ref name="twoseventhree">{{Cite book |last=Parkinson-Bailey |page=273}}</ref>


==Building==
Others however have criticised the deception of the fake palm trees and neo-classical decorative pillars which are not made of marble but decorated [[medium-density fibreboard]].<ref name="bbccomment"/> Architecture critic John Parkinson-Bailey plainly described the Trafford Centre as a building which "will not appeal to purists" and go on to describe the range of interior architecture as "bewildering".<ref name="twoseventhree"/> [[The Peel Group]] say that the striking and extrovert architecture is aimed at providing visual delight, to make the visitor's shopping experience more vivid.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Design Statement&nbsp;– The Interior |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/information/pack/design |publisher=www.traffordcentre.co.uk |accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref>
{{multiple image|caption_align=center|perrow=2,1|total_width=250px|align = right| header = Inside the Trafford Centre
| image1 = Trafford Centre - geograph.org.uk - 104466.jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 = Looking up into the main dome
| image2 = Trafford Centre escalators.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = One of the Trafford Centre's three [[Atrium (architecture)|atria]]
| image3 = Trafford centre 6.jpg
| caption3 = Shops inside the centre
}}


[[John Whittaker (businessman)|John Whittaker]] chose a lavish, unorthodox style seeking to avoid the centre rapidly appearing dated and stale, a problem many shopping centres were susceptible to. Although the extravagant [[Rococo]] and [[Baroque]] design may be viewed as gaudy, he argued the prospect of the shopping centre rapidly ageing was mitigated and long-term less renovation work would be required.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is the dream over for the man who built the Trafford Centre? |quote=Whittaker looked to Las Vegas for inspiration, but the devout Roman Catholic also looked to the Vatican, with the domes and Romanesque frescoes included 'so it wouldn't date'. |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/dream-over-man-who-built-18473287 |work=Manchester Evening News |date=28 June 2020 |access-date=29 June 2020 |archive-date=29 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629003802/https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/dream-over-man-who-built-18473287 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Since it opened in 1998, advances have been made in lighting design and efficiency such as the growth of [[Light-emitting diode|LED lighting]]. Since 2009, [[incandescent light bulb]]s have been phased out in favour of LED lighting allowing different shades of [[hue]] as well as greater efficiency.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Dome in technicolour |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/news/article.aspx?ID=683 |work=Trafford Centre |date=9 March 2009 |accessdate=16 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Light fantastic at The Trafford Centre |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/blog/lightfantastic |work=Trafford Centre |date=28 November 2011 |accessdate=16 February 2012}}</ref>


{{Quote|text=When we first started the architects said, "you shouldn’t be doing all this and giving it all the razzmatazz and showbiz, leave that to the retailers. Make it plain, make it clinical, make it white and hospitalised and let them do the work". So then we put in the paintings, we put in the real [[gold leaf]], we put artefacts everywhere, paintings. It is the people’s palace. It is something to attract shoppers&nbsp;... to give them the [[Dallas (1978 TV series)|Dallas]] effect.|sign=John Whittaker – chairman of the [[Peel Group]]<ref name="interview"/>}}
Portraits around the walls of the mall depict members of the Whittaker family, founders of owner Peel Holdings. A [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] car belonging to the mother of Peel Holdings' chairman, John Whittaker, is displayed on the first floor mall outside {{nowrap|[[F. Hinds]]}}.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The man who built Peel Holdings |last=Barry |first=Chris |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/145/145056_the_man_who_built_peel_holdings.html |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=3 February 2005 |accessdate=20 April 2012}}</ref>


The design was a collaboration between the architectural practices of [[Chapman Taylor]] and Manchester-based Leach Rhodes Walker. [[Main contractor]] was [[Bovis Construction|Bovis]],<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/1997/09/17/20855/bovis-reputation-is-cornering-the-shopping-market.html |title=Bovis' reputation is cornering the shopping market |journal=Contract Journal |date=17 September 1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123134132/http://www.contractjournal.com/Articles/1997/09/17/20855/bovis-reputation-is-cornering-the-shopping-market.html |archive-date=23 January 2016 }}</ref> with structural engineering services provided by [[WSP Group]]. Such was the size and detailing of the building, architects ended up producing over 3,000 separate [[Architectural drawing|shop drawings]] and the construction process required 24 chartered architects to work on the project full-time to monitor progress.<ref name="pak" />
==Focal points==
{{wide image|Trafford Centre.jpg|1000px|align-cap=center|The Orient is Europe's largest food court, with seating for 1,600 and 31 restaurants, cafés and bars.<ref name="fact"/>}}


Peel Avenue, Regent Crescent, the Dome, and [[#The Orient|The Orient]], comprising the original centre were designed so that visitor flows split equally between their two floors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/downloads/traffinfo.pdf|title=intu Trafford Centre|website=Trafford Centre|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=16 July 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060716085537/http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/downloads/traffinfo.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The 20-screen [[Odeon Cinemas|Odeon Cinema]] and other leisure facilities are in the Dome area on the third floor, with the infrastructure for an additional fourth floor built ready during the initial construction.<ref name="interview">{{Cite news |title=Whittaker has more to offer than the rococo |url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/22082e9e-360a-11e0-9b3b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Y3bh8CfT |newspaper=Financial Times |date=11 February 2011 |access-date=15 September 2011 |archive-date=15 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110215075603/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/22082e9e-360a-11e0-9b3b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Y3bh8CfT |url-status=live }}</ref> There was a originally a market-style area at the end of Peel Avenue called Festival Village, playing host to a range of children's entertainment, independent retailers and restaurants.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre 25th anniversary - original map and ALL the stores that originally opened at the mall |date=30 September 2023 |publisher=[[Manchester Evening News]] |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/trafford-centre-25th-anniversary-original-27783104 |access-date=31 October 2023 |location=Manchester |first=Dianne |last=Bourne }}</ref> It was eventually closed in late 2003 to make way for a [[John Lewis & Partners|John Lewis]] store, which opened in May 2005.
===The Orient===
[[File:Inside the Trafford Centre.jpg|thumb|right|300px|<center>The Great Hall<center>]]
The Orient is located in a central hall-like spur and is primarily a {{FORMATNUM:1600}}-seat food court themed on a 1930s liner.<ref name="award"/> The Orient incorporates designs from around the world including China, New Orleans, Egypt, Italy, America and Morocco.<ref name="overview">{{Cite web |title=The development and its size |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/information/pack/Default.aspx?ID=994 |publisher=www.traffordcentre.co.uk |accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref> On two floors, it has restaurants and bars including the Exchange Bar & Grill, TGI Fridays, [[Starbucks]], Est Est Est, Ma Potter's, [[Nando's]] and Cathay Dim Sum. There are several fast food outlets – [[McDonald's]], [[KFC]], [[Subway (restaurant)|Subway]], [[Harry Ramsden's]] and [[Pizza Hut]] among others. [[Burger King]] moved into the Trafford Centre in November 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Whopper deals For Burger King as it expands on shopping centre presence |url=http://www.eatoutmagazine.co.uk/online_article/Whopper-deals-for-Burger-King-as-it-expands-on-shopping-centre-presence/14553 |work=eatoutmagazine.co.uk |date=4 October 2011 |accessdate=5 October 2011}}</ref> There is also a giant screen which is used for advertising and events.


There are three domed [[Atrium (architecture)|atria]] along the length of the [[shopping mall|mall]], and the developers claim its £5 million middle [[dome]] is bigger than [[St Paul's Cathedral]].<ref name="construct" /><ref name="interview"/>
===Great Hall===
The Great Hall, opened in March 2007, although a [[Costa Coffee]] outlet opened earlier in January 2007. This glazed structure houses five restaurants and cafes. Construction took 18 months at a cost of £26 million.<ref name="greathall"/>
It houses an elegant sweeping staircase featuring hundreds of metres of marble balustrade from China and what the centre claims to be the largest [[chandelier]] in the world.<ref name="greathall">{{Cite news |title=Biggest chandelier in the world? |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1001/1001939_biggest_chandelier_in_the_world.html |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=15 March 2007 |accessdate=10 July 2011}}</ref> It was designed by English lighting consultants and manufactured in China; assembly and installation was done by local contractors. The chandelier has three levels of plant walkways inside, is around 11&nbsp;m (36&nbsp;feet) wide and 15&nbsp;m (49&nbsp;feet) high, weighs around five&nbsp;tonnes.
{{clear}}


==Facilities==
===Decor===


The Trafford Centre also contains eclectic [[Art Deco]] and [[Egyptian Revival architecture|Egyptian Revival]] elements. It is decorated primarily in shades of white, pink and gold with ivory, jade and caramel coloured [[marble]] throughout.<ref name="construct">{{Cite news |title=The mall that ate Manchester |last=Swanton |first=Oliver |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-mall-that-ate-manchester-1195385.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=2 September 1998 |access-date=17 September 2017 |archive-date=20 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220092327/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-mall-that-ate-manchester-1195385.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="interview"/>
===Shopping===
;Peel Avenue
[[File:Trafford centre 6.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Shops inside the centre]]
Peel Avenue is home to high street shops such as an [[Apple Store (retail)|Apple Store]], [[H&M]], and [[Boots the Chemists|Boots]] and two department stores, [[John Lewis Partnership|John Lewis]] which opened in 2005 and the four-storey [[Marks and Spencer]]. The retail unit now occupied by John Lewis was previously a market-themed area for independent stores named the Festival Village.
Marks and Spencer has an outside entrance to the foodhall. The dome in the middle of the centre is home to more upmarket stores such as the first [[Selfridges]] outside London.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The development and its size – Regent Crescent |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/information/pack/Default.aspx?ID=994 |publisher=www.traffordcentre.co.uk |accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref>


{{As of|1996}} there were {{convert|45,000|m2|ft2}} or £5.8 million of [[Tuscany|Tuscan]] [[marble]] and [[granite]] flooring from [[Montignoso]] and [[Quarrata]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre fact file |url=http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/archive/1997/12/19/Lancashire+Archive/6163976.Trafford_Centre_fact_file/ |newspaper=Lancashire Telegraph |date=19 December 1997 |access-date=10 July 2011 |archive-date=13 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113022524/http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/archive/1997/12/19/Lancashire+Archive/6163976.Trafford_Centre_fact_file/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[gold leaf]] adorns the building's columns.<ref name="construct"/> The marble floors and handrails are polished nightly to maintain the centre's opulence.<ref name="bbccomment">{{Cite web |title=Trafford Centre – shopping hell or heaven? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2002/12/31/trafford_centre.shtml |publisher=bbc.co.uk |date=31 December 2001 |access-date=3 November 2010 |archive-date=9 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609093158/http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/have_your_say/2002/12/31/trafford_centre.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
;Regent Crescent
Regent Crescent is home to many high-end designer stores, including Karen Millen, Jane Norman, [[Gap (clothing retailer)|Gap]] and [[Mexx]]. It also houses [[Waterstones]] bookshop, [[British Home Stores|BHS]] and [[Debenhams]].Other lifestyle and fashion retailers include Reiss, Mango, Monsoon, Coast, [[French Connection]] and All Saints. The crescent leads to the dome.
;Barton Square


The Trafford Centre has decorative features such as [[Red Rose of Lancaster|red roses of Lancaster]] which pay homage to the local area and [[North West England]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=History and vision – The Peel Group |url=http://www.peel.co.uk/aboutus/history-and-vision |work=The Peel Group |access-date=25 March 2012 |archive-date=20 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720125836/http://www.peel.co.uk/aboutus/history-and-vision |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Griffin]] statues adorn the exterior, the heraldic symbol of the [[de Trafford baronets]] who historically owned much of the land in modern-day [[Trafford]].<ref name="pak" />
[[File:Entrance to Barton Square, Trafford Centre.JPG|thumb|left|Entrance to Barton Square]]


Elsewhere, fake [[palm trees]] and [[Neoclassical architecture |neo-classical]] decorative [[pillar]]s made of painted, [[medium-density fibreboard]] have received criticism.<ref name="bbccomment"/> [[Manchester]] [[Architecture criticism|architecture critic]] John Parkinson-Bailey described the Trafford Centre as a building which "will not appeal to purists" and the range of interior architecture as "bewildering".<ref name="pak">{{cite book | last = Parkinson-Bailey | first = John J | title = Manchester: an Architectural History | publisher = [[Manchester University Press]] | location = Manchester | isbn = 0-7190-5606-3 | pages=273–274|year = 2000}}</ref>
Planning permission was granted for further expansion in October 2005. Construction started in November 2006<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford development |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/228109_trafford_development |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=14 November 2006}}</ref> Barton Square covering {{convert|19000|m2|sqft}} cost £70 million, opened on 20 March 2008.<ref>{{Cite news |title=New Trafford Centre wing |last=Kirby |first=Dean |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1042404_new_trafford_centre_wing |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=26 March 2008 |accessdate=25 March 2012}}</ref> Its name relates to [[Barton-upon-Irwell]] and Peel's [[City Airport Manchester]], which was originally [[Barton Aerodrome]]. It is linked to the centre by a glazed bridge. Its architecture is based on an Italian square and includes a large fountain and a [[campanile]] tower.


Portraits around the walls of the mall depict members of the Whittaker family. A [[Mercedes-Benz|Mercedes]] car formerly belonging to John Whittaker's mother was initially displayed on the first floor mall outside {{nowrap|[[F. Hinds]]}} but is now in Trafford Palazzo.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The man who built Peel Holdings |last=Barry |first=Chris |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/145/145056_the_man_who_built_peel_holdings.html |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=3 February 2005 |access-date=20 April 2012 |archive-date=8 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808150319/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/145/145056_the_man_who_built_peel_holdings.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:The Trafford Centre - Barton Square - geograph.org.uk - 1380530.jpg|thumb|right|Within Barton Square]]


===Sculpture===
This section of the centre targets high-quality homewares market with units offering furniture, kitchens, bathrooms and home furnishings. Retailers operating are Next Home, BHS Home, Dwell, Laura Ashley and M&S Home. A further 630&nbsp;free parking spaces have been provided. Barton Square has struggled to be economically viable since its opening in 2008. In 2009, it made an accumulated loss of £512,000 and this worsened in 2010 to £1.3 million.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Barton Square Sees Losses Widen |last=Binns |first=Simon |url=http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/Property/Barton-Square-Sees-Losses-Widen |work=Manchester Confidential |date=11 October 2011 |accessdate=25 March 2012}}</ref> To entice shoppers from the main mall, new facilities such as a Legoland were built. Future plans include converting it to an indoor area and increasing retail space.

A feature of the centre, and particularly Trafford Palazzo, is the [[statuary]], fountains and other sculpture. There are over 100 figures, mainly in a classical [[Ancient Greek sculpture|Greek]] / [[Roman sculpture|Roman]], or [[Art Nouveau]] style.<ref name=sculptures>{{cite news |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/trafford-centre-naked-statues-sculptures-13065330 |title=Ever noticed something weird about all the naked statues at the Trafford Centre? |work=Manchester Evening News |publisher=Manchester Evening News |access-date=2 December 2017 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224539/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/trafford-centre-naked-statues-sculptures-13065330 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Altrincham]] [[sculptor]] Colin Spofforth created [[bronze]] figures of a jazz band for the [[New Orleans]] theme,<ref name=Public>{{cite book |last1=Wyke |first1=Terry |last2=Cocks |first2=Harry |date=2004 |title=Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester |url=https://archive.org/details/publicsculptureg00wyke|url-access=limited |publisher=Liverpool University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/publicsculptureg00wyke/page/n406 388] |isbn=9780853235675|location=Liverpool }}</ref> and the crest, above the main entrance.<ref name=Spofforth>{{cite news |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/mythical-monsters-to-tower-over-trafford-1044755 |title=Mythical monsters to tower over Trafford Centre |date=15 February 2007 |work=Manchester Evening News |access-date=2 December 2017 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203224605/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/mythical-monsters-to-tower-over-trafford-1044755 |url-status=live }}</ref> The latter assembles a [[griffin]], [[unicorn]] and [[centurion|Roman centurion]], once more referencing the arms of the de Trafford family.<ref name=Spofforth/> The centurion holds two [[Thunderbolt|lightning bolts]], a reminder of the [[power stations]] formerly on the site.<ref name=Webb5>{{cite web |url=https://thetraffordcentre.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/top-5-statues-at-the-trafford-centre/ |title=Top 5 Statues at The Trafford Centre |last=Webb |first=Justin |date=19 March 2009 |website=thetraffordcentre.wordpress.com |access-date=2 December 2017 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203013835/https://thetraffordcentre.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/top-5-statues-at-the-trafford-centre/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Trafford New Orleans sculpture Dec 2016.jpg|Spirit of New Orleans (1998) bronze
File:Trafford Centre Crest A Dec 2017.jpg|Trafford Centre Crest (2007)
File:Trafford Centre Sculpture F Dec 2016.jpg|The Lady with the Lamp in [[#The Great Hall|The Great Hall]]
File:Trafford Centre-Barton Square link (2).JPG|Greek and Art Nouveau style figures in the link to Trafford Palazzo
File:Barton Square, Trafford Centre, May 2013 (6).JPG|Lion sculptures in Trafford Palazzo
File:Trafford Centre sculpture A Dec 2017.jpg|Roman style sculpture in Trafford Palazzo
File:Dolphin fountain, Trafford Centre (2).JPG|Dolphin fountain
File:Mermaid Fountain Trafford Centre 28 Nov 2017.jpg|Mermaid fountain, Trafford Palazzo
</gallery>

===The Orient===
[[File:Trafford Centre.jpg|thumb|400px|The Orient]]

The Orient is Europe's largest food court with 1,600 seats and 35 retail outlets.<ref name="fact"/> It is decorated in the style of a 1930s ocean liner,<ref name="award">{{Cite web|url=http://europe.icsc.org/srch/europeanawards1999/ea01.php|title=1999 European Shopping Centre Awards|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128210751/http://europe.icsc.org/srch/europeanawards1999/ea01.php|url-status=live}}</ref> incorporating detail representing China, [[New Orleans]], Egypt, Italy, [[Americana (culture)|americana]] and Morocco.<ref name="overview">{{Cite web |title=The development and its size |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/information/pack/Default.aspx?ID=994 |website=Trafford Centre |access-date=3 November 2010 |archive-date=18 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118004714/http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/information/pack/Default.aspx?ID=994 |url-status=live }}</ref> The two floors incorporate restaurants, bars and fast food outlets in sight of a [[jumbotron|giant screen]].

===Great Hall===
[[File:Inside the Trafford Centre.jpg|thumb|right|Great Hall]]
The Great Hall opened 2007, its [[Glazing (window)|glazed]] structure housing five restaurants and cafes. Construction took 18 months at a cost of £26 million and incorporates a sweeping [[staircase]] with [[marble]] [[balustrades]]. The centre claims its Great Hall has the largest [[chandelier]] in the world at {{convert|11|metre|feet}} wide and {{convert|15|metre|feet}} high. The feature incorporates three internal maintenance walkways and weighs five ton.<ref name="greathall">{{Cite news|date=15 March 2007|title=Biggest chandelier in the world?|newspaper=Manchester Evening News|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/biggest-chandelier-in-the-world-985331|access-date=10 July 2011|archive-date=13 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113023058/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/biggest-chandelier-in-the-world-985331|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Trafford Palazzo (formerly Barton Square)===

The {{convert|19000|m2|sqft}}, covered Trafford Palazzo opened in 2008<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford development |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/228109_trafford_development |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421042818/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/228109_trafford_development |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=14 November 2006 }}</ref> and cost £70 million.<ref>{{Cite news |title=New Trafford Centre wing |last=Kirby |first=Dean |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1042404_new_trafford_centre_wing |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421024705/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1042404_new_trafford_centre_wing |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=26 March 2008 |access-date=25 March 2012 }}</ref> The former name referenced nearby [[Barton-upon-Irwell]].

Trafford Palazzo is linked to the main Trafford Centre by a glazed bridge and incorporates a mock [[Italian Renaissance]] square with fountain and [[campanile]] tower.{{cn|date=November 2022}} A £75 million renovation commenced in mid 2018<ref>{{Cite web |title=Two new floors of shops on way in £74m Trafford Centre extension |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/trafford-centre-barton-square-extension-13393734 |work=Manchester Evening News |date=27 July 2017 |access-date=28 December 2017 |archive-date=29 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229112144/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/trafford-centre-barton-square-extension-13393734 |url-status=live }}</ref> for Primark to open as an anchor tenant in 2020.<ref name="prim">{{Cite web |title=Primark confirmed to open in intu Trafford Centre's £74 million extension |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/primark-trafford-centre-manchester-open-13543128 |work=Manchester Evening News |date=28 December 2017 |access-date=28 December 2017 |archive-date=28 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228232111/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/primark-trafford-centre-manchester-open-13543128 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first floor extension created 110,000 sq ft of new retail floor space.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Trafford Centre owner to go ahead with £74m extension of Barton Square |url=http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/2007217-revempt |website=Business Desk |date=27 July 2017 |access-date=28 December 2017 |archive-date=29 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229112206/http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/northwest/news/2007217-revempt |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Entrance to Barton Square, Trafford Centre.JPG|Entrance to Trafford Palazzo
File:The Trafford Centre - Barton Square - geograph.org.uk - 1380530.jpg|Barton Square in 2009 before the new level & roof was added
File:Bartonsqnew.jpg|Barton Square in 2021 after the new level & roof was added
File:Bartonsqroof.jpg|Domed roof in 2021 after the addition of the second floor
</gallery>


===Leisure===
===Leisure===
Leisure facilities include a 20-screen [[Odeon Cinemas|Odeon]] multiplex cinema,<ref>{{Cite news |title=Auditorium information for Trafford Centre |url=http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/auditorium_information/s20/ |work=ODEON |accessdate=27 April 2012}}</ref> a [[Laser Quest]] arena, Paradise Island [[miniature golf]], a [[Namco|Namco Funscape]] with [[dodgems]], [[bowling]] and [[arcade games]]. The adjacent Trafford Quays Leisure Village has a [[Chill Factore]], Trafford golf centre, a skydiving centre, and an indoor football facility.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford Quays Leisure Village |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/tqlv |work=Trafford Centre |accessdate=27 April 2012}}</ref> A [[Sea Life Centre]] aquarium opened in Barton Square in June 2013.<ref>{{cite news |title=Capital Shopping Centres to open aquarium at Trafford Centre's Barton Square |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1492197_capital-shopping-centres-to-open-aquarium-at-trafford-centres-barton-square |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=25 April 2012 |accessdate=27 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/Entertainment/Events-and-Listings/Manchester-Sealife-Centre-Gets-Underway|title=Manchester Confidential your guide to city life, eating out, night life, food and drink, bars, and more|work=Manchester Confidential|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref>
Leisure facilities include a 20-screen [[Odeon Cinemas|Odeon]] cinema;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Auditorium information for Trafford Centre |url=http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/auditorium_information/s20/ |website=Odeon |access-date=27 April 2012 |archive-date=12 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512142429/http://www.odeon.co.uk/fanatic/auditorium_information/s20/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Laser Quest]] arena; [[miniature golf]]; [[dodgems]]; [[bowling]]; [[arcade games]] and a [[Sea Life Centre]] aquarium.<ref>{{cite news |title=Capital Shopping Centres to open aquarium at Trafford Centre's Barton Square |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1492197_capital-shopping-centres-to-open-aquarium-at-trafford-centres-barton-square |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=25 April 2012 |access-date=27 April 2012 |archive-date=27 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427090019/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1492197_capital-shopping-centres-to-open-aquarium-at-trafford-centres-barton-square |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/Entertainment/Events-and-Listings/Manchester-Sealife-Centre-Gets-Underway|title=Manchester Sealife Centre gets underway|work=Manchester Confidential|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=15 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615042723/http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/Entertainment/Events-and-Listings/Manchester-Sealife-Centre-Gets-Underway|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Play |url=https://traffordcentre.co.uk/play |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=The Trafford Centre |language=en-gb}}</ref>


==Transport==
==Future expansion==
[[Image:Trafford Centre escalators.jpg|thumb|200px|right|One of the Trafford Centre's three [[Atrium (architecture)|atria]] ]]
Developer John Whittaker, stated in 2011 that it is "[[future proof]]" with areas available on the third floor for possible new developments.<ref name="interview"/> After CSC's takeover in November 2010, chief executive, [[David Fischel]], signalled a desire to expand the centre.<ref name="expansion">{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre to get £50m makeover |last=Jupp |first=Adam |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1409101_trafford_centre_to_get_50m_makeover |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=24 February 2011 |accessdate=10 July 2011}}</ref> Immediate plans include constructing a roof over Barton Square and expanding the John Lewis and Marks & Spencer outlets, large [[Anchor tenant|anchor]] stores.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre stays buoyant – but difficult year ahead |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/enterprise/s/1421004_trafford-centre-stays-buoyant---but-difficult-year-ahead |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=17 May 2011}}</ref>


{{As of|2011}}, 10 percent of the UK population lived within a 45-minute drive of the Trafford Centre.<ref name="fact">{{Cite web |title=Portfolio |url=http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/portfolio/ |website=Capital Shopping Centres |access-date=17 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522194515/http://www.capital-shopping-centres.co.uk/about/portfolio/ |archive-date=22 May 2010 }}</ref>
Long-term plans include expanding Barton Square retail space, building retail areas on unused land and attracting retailers that currently do not have a presence such as [[House of Fraser]], [[Robert Dyas]] and [[Primark]].<ref name="expansion">{{Cite news |title=Going up: Trafford Centre plans extra floors to bring in Primark and House of Fraser |last=Jupp |first=Adam |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1378479_going_up_trafford_centre_plans_extra_floors_to_bring_in_primark_and_house_of_fraser |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=26 November 2010}}</ref> Plans include utilising vacant space on upper floors to create new retail opportunities.<ref name="expansion"/> CSC applied for planning application to increase retail space on the 3rd floor in Barton Square from 18,580m<sup>2</sup> to 28,966m<sup>2</sup> in September 2011 which would increase the Trafford Centre's retail size to approximately 195,000m<sup>2</sup> from 185,000m<sup>2</sup>.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Planning application for Barton Square |url=http://publicaccess.salford.gov.uk/publicaccess/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=LSC231NP06300 |work=salford.gov.uk |date=28 September 2011 |accessdate=15 October 2011}}</ref>


===Buses===
==Travel and transport==
[[File:Trafford Welcome.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Trafford Centre car entrance]]
[[File:Bus station at the Trafford Centre - geograph.org.uk - 4419929.jpg|thumb|The Trafford Centre Bus Station]]

There is a bus station at the west end of the Trafford Centre, with services to most towns in Greater Manchester.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/Pages/network-maps/network-map-Salford.html|title=Network Map Salford|work=tfgm|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002803/http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/Pages/network-maps/network-map-Salford.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Trafford Centre Bus Services |work=Bus Times |date=2023 |access-date=30 October 2023 |url= https://bustimes.org/localities/the-trafford-centre |quote=}}</ref>


===Road===
===Road===
[[File:Trafford Welcome.jpg|thumb|left|Vehicle entrance to the Trafford Centre]]
The Trafford Centre with over 10,122&nbsp;car spaces and 350&nbsp;coach spaces is situated off the [[M60 motorway|M60]] (Junctions 9 and 10). Its popularity has resulted in traffic congestion on the M60's Barton High-Level Bridge, requiring a link road adjacent to the M60 crossing the ship canal on a new swing bridge.


The Trafford Centre has 12,500&nbsp;car spaces and 350&nbsp;coach spaces; it is sited off the [[M60 motorway|M60]], at junctions 9 and 10. Its popularity has resulted in traffic congestion on the M60's Barton High-Level Bridge, requiring a link road adjacent to the M60 crossing the ship canal on a new lift bridge.{{cn|date=November 2022}}
All vehicles entering the centre have number plate details recorded via [[automatic number plate recognition]]. Since its introduction in 2003 at a cost of £220,000<ref name="info">{{Cite news |title=Trafford Centre information pack |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/media/Community/Information_pack_30.11.10.pdf |work=Trafford Centre |accessdate=10 July 2011}}</ref> the system has reduced the number of thefts of and from vehicles to a level described as "negligible".<ref>{{citation |first=John |last=Scheerhout |title=Spy in sky cure for car crime |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/117/117529_spy_in_sky_cure_for_car_crime.html |date=23 May 2004 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |accessdate=12 October 2009}}</ref> The ANPR tracks cars which have been used for serious offences and details of any car with such a [[Vehicle registration plate|number plate]] can then be passed to [[Stretford]] Police Station.<ref name="info"/>


All vehicles entering the centre have number plate details recorded via [[automatic number plate recognition]]. Since its introduction in 2003 at a cost of £220,000,<ref name="info">{{Cite web |title=Trafford Centre information pack |url=http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/media/Community/Information_pack_30.11.10.pdf |website=Trafford Centre |access-date=10 July 2011 |archive-date=1 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110701181915/http://www.traffordcentre.co.uk/media/Community/Information_pack_30.11.10.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> the system has reduced the number of thefts of and from vehicles to a level described as "negligible".<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Scheerhout |title=Spy in sky cure for car crime |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/117/117529_spy_in_sky_cure_for_car_crime.html |date=23 May 2004 |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |access-date=12 October 2009 |archive-date=10 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110132621/https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/spy-in-sky-cure-for-car-crime-1109639 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ANPR tracks cars which have been used for serious offences and details of any car with such a [[Vehicle registration plate|number plate]] can then be passed to [[Stretford]] Police station.<ref name="info"/>
===Bus===
There is a bus station at the west end of the Trafford Centre with services to most towns in Greater Manchester.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/Pages/network-maps/network-map-Salford.html|title=Network Map Salford|work=tfgm.com|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref>


===Trams===
The most frequent routes are:
{{multiple image
*[[Greater Manchester bus route X50|X50]]: [[Manchester city centre]] - Trafford Park - Trafford Centre
| align = right
*250: Manchester city centre - Hulme - Old Trafford - Trafford Park - Trafford Centre
| direction = vertical
Note: The [[Greater Manchester bus route 58|58]] provided service to the Trafford Centre until August 2008.
| header = Manchester Metrolink tram stops
| header_align = center
| header_background =
| footer =
| footer_align = left
| footer_background =
| caption_align = center
| total_width = 200px
| image1 = 02.06.21 The Trafford Centre 3046 (51231903250).jpg
| alt1 =
| caption1 = [[The Trafford Centre tram stop]]
| image2 = Barton Dock Road Tram Stop.jpg
| alt2 =
| caption2 = [[Barton Dock Road tram stop]]
}}


The centre is served by two stops on the [[Trafford Park Line]] of the [[Manchester Metrolink]] network. The terminus, [[Trafford Centre tram stop|The Trafford Centre tram stop]], serves the west of the centre, while the [[Barton Dock Road tram stop]] serves the east of the centre and Trafford Palazzo.<ref name="Trafford Park Line">{{Cite web |title=Trafford Park Line |url=https://tfgm.com/trafford-park-line |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213080046/https://www.tfgm.com/trafford-park-line |archive-date=13 February 2018 |access-date=28 December 2017 |work=TFGM}}</ref>
===Coach park===
There is a coach park adjacent to the John Lewis store.


From 1998 to 2020, a shuttle bus had connected [[Stretford tram stop]] and the Trafford Centre.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Transport chiefs 'lining up trams to Trafford Centre |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/transport/s/1315389_transport_chiefs_lining_up_trams_to_trafford_centre |work=Manchester Evening News |date=29 August 2010 |access-date=3 November 2010 |archive-date=27 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120527131740/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/transport/s/1315389_transport_chiefs_lining_up_trams_to_trafford_centre |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===Future transport===
The nearest [[Manchester Metrolink]] station is Stretford, with a bus link to the centre. There are plans for a Metrolink line to the Trafford Centre including a [[Trafford Centre Metrolink station|dedicated station]] – but resources are currently being focused on completing the current extension of the Metrolink by 2016. Metrolink and the local authorities have declared that the link must be at least in part privately funded by developers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transport chiefs 'lining up trams to Trafford Centre |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/transport/s/1315389_transport_chiefs_lining_up_trams_to_trafford_centre |publisher=menmedia.co.uk |date=29 August 2010 |accessdate=3 November 2010}}</ref>

Planning permission was granted for the construction of a {{convert|600|m|adj=on|sigfig=1}} canal linking the Trafford Centre with the [[Manchester Ship Canal]] in 2006, allowing the introduction of a water taxi service to and from [[Salford Quays]]. Construction could take a year, although the project has not yet started.<ref>{{cite web |title=Waterway to get the shops! |date=20 January 2006 |work=Manchester Evening News |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/199/199642_waterway_to_get_to_the_shops.html}} Retrieved on 29 January 2008.</ref>


==In popular culture==
==In popular culture==

<br>The Trafford Centre sponsors [[Salford Red Devils|Salford RLFC]].
<br>Shortly after its opening, it was the setting for ''Shopping City'', a [[BBC Two|BBC2]] daytime programme.
* The setting for ''Shopping City'' on [[BBC Two]].{{cn|date=November 2022}}
<br>The Trafford Centre and [[Trafford Park]] were featured in the 2008 BBC documentary series, ''[[Britain From Above]]'', which highlighted the transition from industry to services.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Story: Shopping Nation |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/people/shoppingnation.shtml |work=BBC |accessdate=9 September 2011}}</ref>
* Featured in 2008 BBC documentary series, ''[[Britain From Above]]'', highlighted a transition from industry to services.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Story: Shopping Nation |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/people/shoppingnation.shtml |website=BBC |access-date=9 September 2011 |archive-date=4 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904064724/http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/people/shoppingnation.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
<br>In 2008 the Orient food court was used as a location in the post-apocalyptic drama [[Survivors (2008 TV series)|Survivors]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmandtvlocations.co.uk/recentfilming/|title=Recent Projects at Peel Film and TV locations - Film & TV Locations - MediaCityUK|work=filmandtvlocations.co.uk|accessdate=14 June 2015}}</ref>
* The Orient food court was used as a location in the 2008 post-apocalyptic drama [[Survivors (2008 TV series)|Survivors]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmandtvlocations.co.uk/recentfilming/|title=Recent Projects at Peel Film and TV locations Film & TV Locations MediaCityUK|website=Film and TV Locations|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=16 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150616033311/http://www.filmandtvlocations.co.uk/recentfilming/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<br>In 2010, the shopping centre was the focal point of the [[BBC]]'s ''[[The Apprentice (UK TV series)|The Apprentice]]'' in which [[The Apprentice (UK series six)#Week 5|during week 5]] both teams had to sell designer clothes in the centre for one day.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Video: Apprentice teams set up shops in Trafford Centre |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/tv_and_showbiz/s/1364366_video_apprentice_teams_set_up_shops_in_trafford_centre |work=Manchester Evening News |date=4 November 2010 |accessdate=6 November 2010}}</ref>
* Focal point of [[BBC]]'s 2010 [[The Apprentice (UK series six)#Week 5|The Apprentice week 5]] when contestants sold clothes.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Video: Apprentice teams set up shops in Trafford Centre |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/tv_and_showbiz/s/1364366_video_apprentice_teams_set_up_shops_in_trafford_centre |work=Manchester Evening News |date=4 November 2010 |access-date=6 November 2010 |archive-date=5 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101105144808/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/tv_and_showbiz/s/1364366_video_apprentice_teams_set_up_shops_in_trafford_centre |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[The Lancashire Hotpots]] song ''Trafford Centre'' is about Christmas shopping at the centre.{{cn|date=November 2022}}


==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of shopping centres in the United Kingdom]]
* [[Trafford Waters]]
* [[List of shopping centres in the United Kingdom]]
*[[Manchester Arndale]] – 'In town' shopping centre in [[Manchester city centre]]
* [[Manchester Arndale]]
*[[Economy of Manchester]]
* [[Economy of Manchester]]


==References==
==References==
;Footnotes
{{Reflist|group=nb}}

;Citations
{{reflist|2}}


{{reflist|30em}}
;Bibliography
*{{cite book | last = Parkinson-Bailey | first = John J | authorlink = | title = Manchester: an Architectural History | publisher = [[Manchester University Press]] | location = Manchester | isbn = 0-7190-5606-3 | pages = | chapter = | quote = | year = 2000 |ref = harv}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Trafford Centre}}
{{Commons category|Trafford Centre}}
*{{official website}}
* {{official website}}
*[http://cscretail.co.uk/media/62721/thetraffordcentre_lr.pdf The Trafford Centre, Manchester] - brochure from [[Capital Shopping Centres|CSC]] Retail


{{Intu Properties}}
{{The Peel Group}}
{{The Peel Group}}
{{Shopping centres in Northwest England}}
{{Buildings and structures in Trafford Borough}}


{{Coord|53.4684|-2.3489|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}
{{Coord|53.4684|-2.3489|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title}}

Latest revision as of 18:43, 23 December 2024

The Trafford Centre
The Trafford Centre logo
Trafford Centre, with Trafford Palazzo to the top left
LocationDumplington, Trafford, Greater Manchester, England[1]
Opening date10 September 1998; 26 years ago (1998-09-10)[2]
Previous namesIntu Trafford Centre 2012-2021[3]
DeveloperThe Peel Group[4]
ManagementSavills[5]
OwnerCanada Pension Plan Investment Board[6]
Architect
No. of stores and services200[1]
No. of anchor tenants
Total retail floor area
  • Retail: 185,000 m2[10][1]
  • Leisure: 16,258 m2[10]
  • Dining: 13,935 m2[10]
  • Total: 207,000 m2 (2,230,000 sq ft)[10]
No. of floors3
Parking11,500[11]
Websitetraffordcentre.co.uk

The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Urmston, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space.[12][13]

Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford Centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres, later to become Intu, in 2011 for £1.65 billion;[14] it set a record as the costliest single property sale in British history.[15]

The battle to obtain permission to build the centre was amongst the longest and most expensive in United Kingdom planning history.[4] As of 2011, the Trafford Centre had Europe's largest food court and the UK's busiest cinema.[1]

History

[edit]

Genesis

[edit]

The site was owned by the Manchester Ship Canal Company which John Whittaker's Peel Holdings had been acquiring shares in since 1971.[16] Manchester City Council also had a stake, but by the mid 1980s Whittaker had a majority control and proposed building an out-of-town shopping centre, and other schemes.[17]

The council faced a conflict of interest as both a local planning authority and shareholder. Its minority shareholding also no longer gave it any real control over the company. Accordingly, in 1986 it surrendered the right to appoint all but one of the Manchester Ship Canal's directors, and sold its shares to Whittaker for £10 million.[17]

Manchester City Council opposed Whittaker's proposal for retail development, stating it would impact negatively on the city centre economy, but accepted it was "obviously in the interests of the shareholders".[17]

The Peel Group submitted a planning application to Trafford Council for development of approximately 300 acres (120 ha) of land in 1986. The application was called in by the Secretary of State for the Environment and legal disputes ensued requiring two public inquiries before planning permission was granted. Objections included congestion fears on the M60 motorway,[18] and adverse consequences for retailers across Greater Manchester.[18] Planning permission was granted in 1993[19] before being blocked by the Court of Appeal,[19] then reinstated in 1995 by the House of Lords.[20][21][22]

Twelve years after being proposed, the Trafford Centre opened on 10 September 1998. Construction had taken 27 months at a cost of £600 million.[23] The Barton Square and Great Hall extensions opened in 2008, at a combined cost of over £100 million.[24]

Intu

[edit]

Peel Group sold the centre to Capital Shopping Centres (CSC) in January 2011 for £1.6 billion, in cash and shares,[25] and John Whittaker, chairman of Peel Group, became deputy chairman of CSC.[26] He later claimed he could have sold the centre for over £2 billion if he had been prepared to accept just cash.[27] Nevertheless the £1.6 billion deal remained the largest property transaction in British history,[15][28] and the biggest European property deal of 2011.[29]

Capital Shopping Centres was renamed Intu in 2013 and spent £7 million rebranding the "Intu Trafford Centre".[30]

As of 2017, Intu claimed a fair market value of £2.312 billion for the centre.[31] However, the firm entered administration in June 2020 and the centre was placed into receivership by its creditors in November 2020.[32] In 2020, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, who had loaned Intu £250 million in 2017, exercised their rights as creditors to take ownership of the complex.[6]

Post Intu

[edit]

Construction of the Manchester Metrolink's Trafford Park tram line began construction in January 2017. Test trams began in November 2019, and the line opened from Pomona tram stop to intu Trafford Centre on 22 March 2020. intu Trafford Centre tram stop had to be renamed to The Trafford Centre in late 2020 after intu ceased ownership.

Building

[edit]
Inside the Trafford Centre
Looking up into the main dome
One of the Trafford Centre's three atria
Shops inside the centre

John Whittaker chose a lavish, unorthodox style seeking to avoid the centre rapidly appearing dated and stale, a problem many shopping centres were susceptible to. Although the extravagant Rococo and Baroque design may be viewed as gaudy, he argued the prospect of the shopping centre rapidly ageing was mitigated and long-term less renovation work would be required.[33]

When we first started the architects said, "you shouldn’t be doing all this and giving it all the razzmatazz and showbiz, leave that to the retailers. Make it plain, make it clinical, make it white and hospitalised and let them do the work". So then we put in the paintings, we put in the real gold leaf, we put artefacts everywhere, paintings. It is the people’s palace. It is something to attract shoppers ... to give them the Dallas effect.

— John Whittaker – chairman of the Peel Group[34]

The design was a collaboration between the architectural practices of Chapman Taylor and Manchester-based Leach Rhodes Walker. Main contractor was Bovis,[35] with structural engineering services provided by WSP Group. Such was the size and detailing of the building, architects ended up producing over 3,000 separate shop drawings and the construction process required 24 chartered architects to work on the project full-time to monitor progress.[4]

Peel Avenue, Regent Crescent, the Dome, and The Orient, comprising the original centre were designed so that visitor flows split equally between their two floors.[36] The 20-screen Odeon Cinema and other leisure facilities are in the Dome area on the third floor, with the infrastructure for an additional fourth floor built ready during the initial construction.[34] There was a originally a market-style area at the end of Peel Avenue called Festival Village, playing host to a range of children's entertainment, independent retailers and restaurants.[37] It was eventually closed in late 2003 to make way for a John Lewis store, which opened in May 2005.

There are three domed atria along the length of the mall, and the developers claim its £5 million middle dome is bigger than St Paul's Cathedral.[38][34]

Decor

[edit]

The Trafford Centre also contains eclectic Art Deco and Egyptian Revival elements. It is decorated primarily in shades of white, pink and gold with ivory, jade and caramel coloured marble throughout.[38][34]

As of 1996 there were 45,000 square metres (480,000 sq ft) or £5.8 million of Tuscan marble and granite flooring from Montignoso and Quarrata,[39] and gold leaf adorns the building's columns.[38] The marble floors and handrails are polished nightly to maintain the centre's opulence.[40]

The Trafford Centre has decorative features such as red roses of Lancaster which pay homage to the local area and North West England.[41] Griffin statues adorn the exterior, the heraldic symbol of the de Trafford baronets who historically owned much of the land in modern-day Trafford.[4]

Elsewhere, fake palm trees and neo-classical decorative pillars made of painted, medium-density fibreboard have received criticism.[40] Manchester architecture critic John Parkinson-Bailey described the Trafford Centre as a building which "will not appeal to purists" and the range of interior architecture as "bewildering".[4]

Portraits around the walls of the mall depict members of the Whittaker family. A Mercedes car formerly belonging to John Whittaker's mother was initially displayed on the first floor mall outside F. Hinds but is now in Trafford Palazzo.[42]

Sculpture

[edit]

A feature of the centre, and particularly Trafford Palazzo, is the statuary, fountains and other sculpture. There are over 100 figures, mainly in a classical Greek / Roman, or Art Nouveau style.[43]

Altrincham sculptor Colin Spofforth created bronze figures of a jazz band for the New Orleans theme,[44] and the crest, above the main entrance.[45] The latter assembles a griffin, unicorn and Roman centurion, once more referencing the arms of the de Trafford family.[45] The centurion holds two lightning bolts, a reminder of the power stations formerly on the site.[46]

The Orient

[edit]
The Orient

The Orient is Europe's largest food court with 1,600 seats and 35 retail outlets.[1] It is decorated in the style of a 1930s ocean liner,[47] incorporating detail representing China, New Orleans, Egypt, Italy, americana and Morocco.[48] The two floors incorporate restaurants, bars and fast food outlets in sight of a giant screen.

Great Hall

[edit]
Great Hall

The Great Hall opened 2007, its glazed structure housing five restaurants and cafes. Construction took 18 months at a cost of £26 million and incorporates a sweeping staircase with marble balustrades. The centre claims its Great Hall has the largest chandelier in the world at 11 metres (36 ft) wide and 15 metres (49 ft) high. The feature incorporates three internal maintenance walkways and weighs five ton.[49]

Trafford Palazzo (formerly Barton Square)

[edit]

The 19,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft), covered Trafford Palazzo opened in 2008[50] and cost £70 million.[51] The former name referenced nearby Barton-upon-Irwell.

Trafford Palazzo is linked to the main Trafford Centre by a glazed bridge and incorporates a mock Italian Renaissance square with fountain and campanile tower.[citation needed] A £75 million renovation commenced in mid 2018[52] for Primark to open as an anchor tenant in 2020.[9] The first floor extension created 110,000 sq ft of new retail floor space.[53]

Leisure

[edit]

Leisure facilities include a 20-screen Odeon cinema;[54] Laser Quest arena; miniature golf; dodgems; bowling; arcade games and a Sea Life Centre aquarium.[55][56][57]

Transport

[edit]

As of 2011, 10 percent of the UK population lived within a 45-minute drive of the Trafford Centre.[1]

Buses

[edit]
The Trafford Centre Bus Station

There is a bus station at the west end of the Trafford Centre, with services to most towns in Greater Manchester.[58][59]

Road

[edit]
Vehicle entrance to the Trafford Centre

The Trafford Centre has 12,500 car spaces and 350 coach spaces; it is sited off the M60, at junctions 9 and 10. Its popularity has resulted in traffic congestion on the M60's Barton High-Level Bridge, requiring a link road adjacent to the M60 crossing the ship canal on a new lift bridge.[citation needed]

All vehicles entering the centre have number plate details recorded via automatic number plate recognition. Since its introduction in 2003 at a cost of £220,000,[2] the system has reduced the number of thefts of and from vehicles to a level described as "negligible".[60] The ANPR tracks cars which have been used for serious offences and details of any car with such a number plate can then be passed to Stretford Police station.[2]

Trams

[edit]

The centre is served by two stops on the Trafford Park Line of the Manchester Metrolink network. The terminus, The Trafford Centre tram stop, serves the west of the centre, while the Barton Dock Road tram stop serves the east of the centre and Trafford Palazzo.[61]

From 1998 to 2020, a shuttle bus had connected Stretford tram stop and the Trafford Centre.[62]

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Portfolio". Capital Shopping Centres. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Trafford Centre information pack" (PDF). Trafford Centre. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  3. ^ Bourne, Dianne (30 September 2023). "Trafford Centre 25th anniversary - original map and ALL the stores that originally opened at the mall". Manchester: Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Parkinson-Bailey, John J (2000). Manchester: an Architectural History. Manchester: Manchester University Press. pp. 273–274. ISBN 0-7190-5606-3.
  5. ^ "Savills appointed on variety of advisory roles at Barton Square, Trafford Park, Manchester". Savills. 16 November 2020. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b Barlow, Nigel (16 December 2020). "New owners for Trafford Centre". About Manchester. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  7. ^ "The Intu Trafford Centre" (PDF). Chapman Taylor. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  8. ^ "Trafford extends Barton Square homewares offer". Shopping Centre. 19 May 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Primark confirmed to open in intu Trafford Centre's £74 million extension". Manchester Evening News. 28 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d "Shopping Centres – Trafford Centre". Capital Shopping Centres. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  11. ^ "The Trafford Centre, Manchester" (PDF). Capital Shopping Centres. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Intu – Trafford Centre Key Facts" (PDF). Intu Properties. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  13. ^ "Portfolio – Our Centres". Capital Shopping Centres. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Portfolio". Capital Shopping Centres. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  15. ^ a b Ruddick, Graham (27 January 2011). "Capital Shopping Centres seals £1.6bn Trafford Centre deal despite Simon Property Group's concerns". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 March 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Salford Quays Milestones: The Story of Salford Quays" (PDF). Salford Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2009.
  17. ^ a b c King, Ray (2006). Detonation:Rebirth of a City. Warrington: Clear Publications. ISBN 0955262100.
  18. ^ a b "Taking a malling". economist.com. 10 September 1998. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  19. ^ a b Stevenson, Tom (15 July 1994). "Slow net asset growth hits Peel". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  20. ^ "TPDC – Catalogue: Other developments". Archived from the original on 18 February 2001.
  21. ^ Lord Lloyd of Berwick (24 May 1995). Opinions of the Lords of Appeal for Judgment in the cause Bolton Metropolitan District Council and others (respondents) versus Secretary of State for the Environment and others (appellants) (Report). House of Lords.
  22. ^ From de Trafford to the House of Lords, Trafford Centre, 1997
  23. ^ "The Shops – Trafford Centre". Manchester 2002. Archived from the original on 10 December 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  24. ^ "ICSC". International Council of Shopping Centres. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  25. ^ "Trafford Centre in Greater Manchester sold by Peel". BBC. 25 November 2010. Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  26. ^ "About us – Non-Executive Directors". Capital Shopping Centres. Archived from the original on 10 September 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
  27. ^ Hodgson, Neil (13 December 2010). "Capital Shopping Centres rejects call to abandon Trafford Centre deal with Peel". Liverpool Daily Post. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  28. ^ Thomas, Daniel (26 January 2011). "Investors agree CSC deal for Trafford Centre". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 27 March 2012. The deal is the largest-ever UK property transaction. Mr Whittaker, Peel chairman, told the shareholder meeting the sale had nothing to do with the amount of money, which would have been higher through a cash sale, but was related to the long-term future of his family business.
  29. ^ Packard, Simon (23 February 2012). "Capital Shopping Earnings Rise as Trafford Centre Purchase Lifts Revenue". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2012. The company's 1.6 billion-pound purchase of the Trafford Centre in Manchester, England, in January 2011 was the biggest single property transaction in Europe last year, according to New York-based Real Capital Analytics Inc.
  30. ^ Glendinning, Amy (16 January 2013). "The Intu Trafford Centre – the new name for Manchester's shopping mecca". Manchester: Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  31. ^ "Intu Properties PLC Final Results 2017". 23 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  32. ^ "Investor Information – Trafford Centre". Trafford Centre. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  33. ^ "Is the dream over for the man who built the Trafford Centre?". Manchester Evening News. 28 June 2020. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020. Whittaker looked to Las Vegas for inspiration, but the devout Roman Catholic also looked to the Vatican, with the domes and Romanesque frescoes included 'so it wouldn't date'.
  34. ^ a b c d "Whittaker has more to offer than the rococo". Financial Times. 11 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 February 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  35. ^ "Bovis' reputation is cornering the shopping market", Contract Journal, 17 September 1997, archived from the original on 23 January 2016
  36. ^ "intu Trafford Centre" (PDF). Trafford Centre. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 July 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  37. ^ Bourne, Dianne (30 September 2023). "Trafford Centre 25th anniversary - original map and ALL the stores that originally opened at the mall". Manchester: Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  38. ^ a b c Swanton, Oliver (2 September 1998). "The mall that ate Manchester". The Independent. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  39. ^ "Trafford Centre fact file". Lancashire Telegraph. 19 December 1997. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
  40. ^ a b "Trafford Centre – shopping hell or heaven?". bbc.co.uk. 31 December 2001. Archived from the original on 9 June 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
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  42. ^ Barry, Chris (3 February 2005). "The man who built Peel Holdings". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 8 August 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  43. ^ "Ever noticed something weird about all the naked statues at the Trafford Centre?". Manchester Evening News. Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  44. ^ Wyke, Terry; Cocks, Harry (2004). Public Sculpture of Greater Manchester. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 388. ISBN 9780853235675.
  45. ^ a b "Mythical monsters to tower over Trafford Centre". Manchester Evening News. 15 February 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
  46. ^ Webb, Justin (19 March 2009). "Top 5 Statues at The Trafford Centre". thetraffordcentre.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
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  50. ^ "Trafford development". Manchester Evening News. 14 November 2006. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013.
  51. ^ Kirby, Dean (26 March 2008). "New Trafford Centre wing". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  52. ^ "Two new floors of shops on way in £74m Trafford Centre extension". Manchester Evening News. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  53. ^ "Trafford Centre owner to go ahead with £74m extension of Barton Square". Business Desk. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  54. ^ "Auditorium information for Trafford Centre". Odeon. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  55. ^ "Capital Shopping Centres to open aquarium at Trafford Centre's Barton Square". Manchester Evening News. 25 April 2012. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  56. ^ "Manchester Sealife Centre gets underway". Manchester Confidential. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  57. ^ "Play". The Trafford Centre. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  58. ^ "Network Map Salford". tfgm. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  59. ^ "The Trafford Centre Bus Services". Bus Times. 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  60. ^ Scheerhout, John (23 May 2004). "Spy in sky cure for car crime". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  61. ^ "Trafford Park Line". TFGM. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  62. ^ "Transport chiefs 'lining up trams to Trafford Centre". Manchester Evening News. 29 August 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  63. ^ "Story: Shopping Nation". BBC. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  64. ^ "Recent Projects at Peel Film and TV locations – Film & TV Locations – MediaCityUK". Film and TV Locations. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  65. ^ "Video: Apprentice teams set up shops in Trafford Centre". Manchester Evening News. 4 November 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
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53°28′06″N 2°20′56″W / 53.4684°N 2.3489°W / 53.4684; -2.3489