Stretford Mall in Greater Manchester closed in February and will be demolished to create a new town centre with 248 homes and a public park
Us Brits don’t shop the way we used to a generation ago, and we’re witnessing the decline of traditional high streets and shopping centres across the country. One of the most notable developments in recent months has been the closure of Manchester’s Stretford Mall.
Previously known as Stretford Precinct throughout the 1970s and Eighties, the revamped shopping centre launched with considerable ceremony in 1969 as Stratford Arndale. The name Stratford Arndale persisted on bus timetables for numerous years after the centre’s name was changed to plain old Stratford Mall to differentiate it from the larger retail complex in Manchester Town centre.
However, as part of regeneration work to establish a “new town centre” in Stretford that’s being spearheaded by Trafford council and Bruntwood Holdings, Stretford Mall shut its doors for the last time on February 27.
Nearby King Street has already launched as a new high street and public square. But there’s little doubt the Mall will remain in locals’ memories for many years ahead.
Older residents will remember the day that boxing legend Muhammad Ali visited the Arndale as part of a promotion for Ovaltine. And many have been sharing recollections of “wagging it” from school and loitering around the mall – getting their ears pierced, purchasing records, or simply doing the kind of aimless larking around that teenagers have always done.
Developers have submitted preliminary plans for 248 new homes on the former shopping centre site. The proposals feature a mixture of apartments and houses, comprising 120 one-bed flats, along with 114 two-bed and 14 three-bed houses.
A new park is also planned for the land, with developer Bruntwood stating it envisions the space as a destination for ‘relaxation and social interaction’.
Rob Elsom, development director at Bruntwood, explained there would be a “big green public space going right into the heart of the town centre, which will be immediately adjacent to the high street and the new shops, creating a field of vision down to Saint Matthew’s Church at the bottom”. He went on to say: “It’ll create an interesting focal point, and be somewhere for people to be able to spend time.”
He further commented: “What would be great is to be able to have retail all the way down King Street, all the way down the park, and then back up Chester Road where we’ve got existing retail at the moment. So we create a retail loop as well as having the anchor of Aldi on the other side.”
It will be quite some time, however, before these new additions become as firmly ingrained in the public’s memory as Stretford Mall. Paying tribute to the mall on Facebook, local resident Wendy Austin recalled: “As a child if we were going to the precinct, we had to see the fountain. On the other side of the curve of the staircase were several fish tanks full of different fish. That was popular too.”
She recalls how numerous birthdays and other significant occasions had been celebrated with a trip to the mall. She fondly remembers: “My first roller boots. Barbie which I got because I had my appendix taken out. Twister too.”
It served as the workplace for many locals’ first jobs, with Saturday shifts at stores like Boots and WH Smith representing a traditional coming-of-age experience for Stratford teenagers.
The new emphasis will be on residential development, rather than shops. Eventually, Trafford council aims to construct more than 750 new homes in the surrounding area, with further development stages yet to emerge as part of establishing a “new town centre”.
Contractors are currently planning the subsequent phase of development, with demolition work scheduled to commence in June with an anticipated completion date sometime in September.
