Trafford Town Hall

[Henry Mantell]

I can't see a thread on this, I think the previous one was on the other site Aidan?
The Town Hall has been listed, saved although future use is unclear one suggestion is an hotel.
Aidan I think an update from your involvement on the campaign to save it would be in order, you have my congratulations and appreciation as part of the movement to save it.
Now the tricky part how to adapt it to a viable future use. Restoration/conservation does'nt come cheaply. Once the council departs for modern accessible premises something viable has to be found to maintain the listed building. It is reassuring that Trafford have joined the local authorities to recognise conservation of older buildings is important. Trafford Town Hall is one of the younger buildings to be conserved isn't it? Relatively few post 1950's buildings are. I make that comment based on my knowledge of the Elephant and Castle London. i do know the era of Trafford by the way!

[aidanorourke]

As far as I know it's not clear what is happening yet with the building. I am waiting for information from various sources.

I contacted the Friends of Trafford Town Hall group and they acknowledged the actions of the 20th Century Society. They definitely played a key role.

I now no longer take breathe a sigh of despondency when I drive past the town hall on my way to the Trafford Centre,

By the way, I have a problem with the name 'Trafford Town Hall', since the building was built especially for Stretford when it was created a Borough in the 1930s. They should keep the name but use something like Trafford Council Offices, Stretford. Names are a big problem. The other name problem very close to ... The Town Hall is... The Quays, a compromise name intended to cover both the Salford Quays and Trafford Park sides of the Manchester Ship Canal, so the combined area can be marketed as a unified destination.

The only problem is that it doesn't have a placename identifier in it, so if you search for 'The Quays' you'll get the place of the same name in Newry Northern Ireland. If we didn't have all the local rivalries they would be called the 'Manchester Quays', just as the docks were called the 'Manchester Docks'. Another 'The' is 'The Bridge' alias Runcorn Bridge. Names are a funny thing.