Stretford Town Centre – Project Management

We provided a traditional Project Management service, procuring and managing a design team on behalf of Trafford Council, to re-design, the town centre of Stretford. Like Altrincham Town Centre the town had suffered a general decline in occupancy rates with the retail market suffering again leading to a very negative perception of the Town Centre. This is in part due to its proximity to the Trafford Centre, but also to the tired look and feel of the area.

Our role on Phase 1 was similar to that of Altrincham, however the nature of the A56 and the number of vehicles across the area called for a more engineering- lead design team.

Consequently, we appointed Amey as part of the partnership programme that existed with Trafford Council. As part of this appointment, and to ensure continuity in the project and an extra level of impartiality in the team, we negotiated with Amey to include the appointment of a third-party Architect that provided the original feasibility study.

We provided a detailed and robust programme of work, including a thorough consultation strategy and a simplified, fast-track design sign-off procedure that allowed the project to swiftly progress on the project.

Despite the challenges that existed with funding, we were in a position to commence works ahead of time and to also meet a tight programme of nine months to complete detailed traffic modelling and achieve buy-in from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

Works commenced in April 2017 and the programme of works completed in October 2017. We have acquired extensive knowledge and understanding of how Trafford Council operates, giving us the advantage of swiftly ‘fitting in’ to the project and maximising the goals that the client wishes to achieve, such as a tight programme. This was key in the Stretford Public Realm Project as we were able to maximise the deliverables for Trafford Council despite the budgetary constraints for this project.

As part of the project, we were heavily involved with public and business consultation. One of the key businesses in the area is M&M, the owner of Stretford Mall. M&M also owns the Stamford Quarter in Altrincham and as we have learned, the key to a successful Public Realm project is communication. As we already have existing relationships with these businesses and stakeholders, we will be able to quickly and effectively communicate the aspects of the project and what, if Stretford Mall Public Realm, impacts it will have on their businesses.