The economic impact of TraffordCity has revealed the 500 acre business, retail and leisure destination boosts the Greater Manchester economy by a gross annual GVA of £808 million each year, according to new analysis.

Commissioned by Peel L&P, the first economic study of its kind for TraffordCity, was carried out by AMION Consulting. Home to over 300 retail and leisure outlets as well as a large number of commercial businesses, the report calculates that the total amount of business rates raised in TraffordCity is worth over £58 million each year to the local economy.

TraffordCity is a vibrant destination within the Manchester City Region attracting more than 40 million visits each year. It already comprises one of the most important clusters of retail and leisure activities within the North of England, including The Trafford Centre, Chill Factore and the AJ Bell Stadium, which lies within the Salford City Gateway.

To date, Peel L&P has invested £1.6 billion into TraffordCity which started with the development of The Trafford Centre in 1998.

The £350 million Trafford Park Metrolink line, which opened in 2020, now has six new tram stops, offering sustainable transport links between Manchester Waters, MediaCityUK and TraffordCity as well as some of Greater Manchester’s busiest visitor destinations.


With a further £2.6 billion earmarked for investment over the next 15 years, there’s an abundance of projects in the pipeline including the creation of a new £250 million health and wellbeing resort, Therme Manchester. Further pipeline projects include the £60 million surf park, Modern Surf plus eight new all-weather football pitches. Both Therme Manchester and Modern Surf have received planning approval.

Peel L&P is launching plans to create a mixed-use community in the area named Trafford Waters. Set to bring 3,000 homes, local amenities and 80,000 sq m of office space as well as 6,700 sq m of commercial floorspace, plus a 300-bedroom hotel, a two-form entry primary school and a 150-bed/unit care home. The scheme has the potential to generate more than 5,000 jobs. Trafford Waters will transform the currently derelict land on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal.

Building on the concept of a City within a City, investment plans led by Peel L&P will see the further expansion of the TraffordCity destination, alongside integrated development proposals for Trafford Waters and Port Salford.

Port Salford is proposed to be the UK's first tri-modal inland waterway port which will be served by ship, rail and road. This ground-breaking development is to include an inland port, rail link, container terminal facility and 1.5m sq ft of logistics floor space. It will support 16 trains a day and has the capacity to support full European 775m-long trains. It will have good rail access to the Port of Liverpool and to the West Coast Main Line north and south.  

These proposals will firmly establish TraffordCity as a strategically significant focus for economic growth within Greater Manchester and the Northern Powerhouse.

With employment expected to rise from 17,400 to 37,700 over the 15-year development period, it is also estimated throughout the future construction process, 1,600 jobs will be created.