Major shopping centre to get huge upgrade as plans to demolish it shelved

Plans to redevelop the Grafton Centre in Altrincham have been shelved.

Instead of developing the site as part of the wider regeneration of Altrincham, a total of £400k is set to be invested by Trafford council, funded through borrowing, to breathe new life into it.

The council’s executive is set to vote on the plans tonight (Monday January 24) to pump the cash into the shopping centre to secure its long term future, however any proposals for a major redevelopment has been paused for now.

Trafford council bought the shopping centre and hotel in 2018 for £10.8m and brought property experts CBRE on board in 2020 to assess options for the site.

Altrincham Town Centre (©2015 Graham Douglas)

The firm carried out an appraisal of all options to help the council decide what the centre’s future will look like.

Trafford council had already begun the procurement process looking for developers to work on the site before coronavirus hit, but had to put this on hold during the pandemic.

Now, redevelopment plans for the site remain paused and the immediate plan for the building is for the council to manage existing tenants and work to re-let vacant units in the shopping centre.

The report updating the council on the situation said: “The council still has clear ambitions to redevelop the centre; deliver a regenerative benefit to the wider Altrincham area and produce further income to the council.

“Options for the redevelopment of the centre are to be produced and the council will work up proposals to bring back to executive for consideration.”

Altrincham town centre (M.E.N.)

Possible future options for the site include:

• Reconfiguration/part new build – alternate uses where possible such
  as residential or workspace
• Major redevelopment – a wholesale redevelopment of the whole site
• Masterplan of the Upper George Street area – the report said: “Whilst the council own the Grafton Centre, there are also pockets of land in the surrounding vicinity which could form part of any redevelopment and therefore provide a greater regeneration benefit.”

But for now, while redevelopment is off the cards, the council wants to bring new tenants into the centre’s empty units, put on an events programme there and investing in repairs for the centre to try and breathe new life into it.

The council hopes that increased rent from filling vacant units will bring in an extra £84,000 over two years.

Trafford council’s executive are set to vote on the plans from 6.30pm this evening.