Trafford’s biggest park set for a huge £6m ‘total transformation’

A £6m plan to totally transform Longford Park in Stretford includes a BMX new pump track and improvements to tennis courts and football pitches.

Longford Park in Stretford

There will also be improvements to the children’s play equipment, Pets Corner, the cafe and Firswood Community Centre, and upgrades to cricket and disk golf.

Included in the project will be the repair and conversion of Long Barn into a volunteering, training and skills hub.

Funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund

The three-year scheme for Longford Park in Stretford will get started after Trafford council,’s cabinet agreed to accept a £3.1m contribution from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), with the rest of the money coming in ‘matched funding’ by the council from various sources.

A report to the cabinet said that the project complements the transformation of Stretford town centre – currently under construction – and The Civic Quarter, providing a ‘major public park to meet the needs of planned residential growth’.

Councillor Liz Patel

Coun Liz Patel said: “This is a project of borough-wide significance for Trafford. Longford Park is our biggest park and draws visitors from across the borough and beyond.

“We have made good progress on securing matched funding and will continue those efforts, looking for any possible funding sources from partners, external grants and Section 106 contributions.”

The plan included improvements to lighting, footpaths, roads, entrances and access points across the park.

Restoring Longford Park’s Art Deco heritage

Meanwhile, art deco shelters, formal gardens – including a toilet block – walled gardens and community allotment, and Longford Hall will also be restored.

Shared space for Scouts and community use will be created at the Shippon building and there will be new furniture, seating, signage, litter bins and cycle parking.

Longford Brook will also be ‘de-culverted’ (opened up).

Now that the NLHF grant has been approved, the council must begin work within six months of the grant offer, which means by March 24.

A £389,596 shortfall

The cabinet was told that there is currently a £389,596 shortfall in its contribution to the work, but executive member for Economy and Regeneration Coun Liz Patel said she was confident the money could be raised by Section 106 agreements (contributions from developers carrying out schemes in Trafford).

However, she said the cabinet need to agree to apply a capital grant allocation to the scheme ‘should the need arise’, but she said she was ‘genuinely confident’ the council would make up the matched funding.

The long history and heritage of Longford Park

Council leader Tom Ross described Coun Patel’s report as ‘another exciting paper’.

“Longford Park has got a very long history and heritage connected to Stretford and the wider borough,” he said. “There are some very exciting proposals here to enhance and celebrate the heritage, and ways of supporting nature and ecology within the park and bringing people together.”

Coin Stephen Adshead said: “I absolutely welcome this. It’s been a long time in coming. There have been times in the past when we wondered if we’d ever get the NLHF grant.

“It’s been successful this time and that’s actually amazing. I’m really excited about this.”

Coun Jane Slater said the scheme would ‘future proof’ the park for residents of the borough.