Stamford Quarter, in Altrincham’s bustling town centre, is celebrating a successful year following even further investment into the retail, leisure, workspace and public realm from owners Bruntwood – a leading property developer – and Trafford Council.
The joint venture has reported that year-on-year footfall considerably increased throughout October and November by 16.5% and 23.9% respectively, boosted by a £1.7 million investment into the public realm which completed in August and the arrival of a number of new high-profile retail and leisure providers.
Footfall across the high street reached nearly 8.4m in 2024, up 6% year on year, reflecting the continued investment into the town which has seen its fortunes change to become one of the best high streets in the country. This investment has also seen average headline rents increase by 19% due to the reducing vacancy levels.
The ongoing investment has also seen the 367,000 sq ft Stamford Quarter attract a blend of national and independent brands, with the community’s diverse retailer mix now boasting 24 national operators alongside 14 independent traders, having welcomed seven new retail and leisure operators and three new workspace customers in 2024.
In 2024, Bruntwood agreed over 51,000 sq ft of retail and leisure lettings, equating to a 12% increase on the previous year, including LOOKFANTASTIC, which opened its first physical concept store in September, and Mountain Warehouse, which opened its first Greater Manchester store in November, alongside numerous high-profile pop-ups, including Prada which celebrated the launch of its beauty collection at LOOKFANTASTIC in tandem with the store’s opening.
Alongside this, Bruntwood and Trafford Council also completed the £13.7 million redevelopment of Foundation, the former House of Fraser store at the entrance to Stamford Quarter.
It was designed to bring a revitalised work and lifestyle offer to the town centre, with flexible workspace options in various sizes, appealing to both scale-ups and well-established businesses. It also recently launched coworking passes and memberships for workers wanting to switch up their working from home routine, and has extended this offer to neighbouring Station House due to high demand.
Since opening, it has attracted numerous national and independent leisure operators to its 25,000 sq ft of retail space, including national bowling brand Lane7 and renowned coffee brand, Starbucks, alongside local eateries Nell’s Pizza and Yum Cha.
This has been complemented by the global brands which have taken up residence in the 50,000 sq ft of market-leading workspace centre around collaboration and wellbeing, with global sports marketing brand, SPORTFIVE, and video game start-up, Forthstar, both taking space. Workspace lettings reached over 23,000 sq ft for the year, with a further 24,000 sq ft currently under offer.
Externally, the workspace is also boosting the health of the town with its 375 sq m HYVERT living wall. Working with I Want Plants, the green wall is wrapped around the building’s facade to enhance biodiversity net gain, reduce air pollution, and provide green space, contributing to sustainable living. It is the largest in south Manchester and provides a vertical solution where space is limited. I Want Plants is also using the wall as a testbed for new AI plant health tools set to tackle disease, heat stress and track biodiversity interactions automatically.
It is already proving its benefits, with a recent rapid biodiversity sampling of the wall recording approximately 56,000 invertebrates, showcasing a thriving food source for birds and bats.
Helping to connect the community to the Stamford Quarter throughout its redevelopment, Bruntwood has also invested heavily in its community engagement initiatives to bring local people together and make them feel that they have a place in the town centre. This included the creation of a community mural, sponsorship of Altrincham FC and a series of free local events such a Summer Street Party and Halloween parade. They have also sponsored Altrincham’s community Lantern Parade.
James Tootle, head of retail and leisure at Bruntwood, said: “Stamford Quarter is an example of what can be achieved when development is looked at through the lens of the needs and wants of the local community. We always knew we wanted any changes made here to be sustainable and for the long-term, and we have kept this ethos at the heart of our redevelopment plans.
“It’s been a big year for the Quarter with our significant public realm works coming to an end, which has truly brought the area to life and created a space where the community want to spend time, either shopping, socialising or working. It’s also opened up the high street to create a more welcoming experience for people coming out of the transport interchange and into the town – our vibrant town centre is no longer hidden from view!
“Our increased footfall figures and strong leasing stats are testament to the quality of what has been created here and we are looking forward to another year of growth and providing spaces for the people that live here that really deliver for them.”
Cllr Liz Patel, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, added: “The fact that footfall is up 24 per cent in November is fantastic news and I am delighted that Altrincham continues to go from strength to strength. High streets across the UK are continuing to struggle so this is obviously a huge achievement.
“Working with Bruntwood, we aim to continue this growth in the New Year and make Altrincham even more of a success story going forward.”
