A plan designed to improve Hale village and help it fight back against the resurgence of Altrincham town centre has been approved by Trafford Council.
The local authority's Executive met last night to give the green light to a plan which was first launched back in 2019.
The Place Plan, produced by Nexus Planning, has since been updated to reflect the results of two public consultations.
It comes in response to a widely-held belief that Hale village has suffered in recent years due to the revival of the town centre.
The original document stated: "There can be no denying that the enhancement and improvement of Altrincham town centre, through the delivery of the Altrincham Market and wider public realm, retail and leisure improvements, has had an impact on Hale village both in terms of the types of operators who are now occupying units but also in terms of the footfall and volume of expenditure which is going through the tills."
The plan has identified various means of improvement and it's hoped it will now give the village a better chance of securing the funding in order to implement the changes.
The plan added: "This Place Plan is to be used as a tool for attracting investment to Hale, helping make it a high quality town centre and an attractive destination for daytime and evening activity and economy. But it is also a means of communicating a vision for Hale for both stakeholders and residents."
The vision is to make the village the "preferred choice" for local residents, "meeting both retail and leisure needs and promoting a thriving village centre".
One area identified for improvement related to the shortage of facilities for families.
"There is a lack of family orientated or family friendly destinations within the centre, and this needs to be rectified," the plan stated.
Hale Central has a population of approximately 11,200 residents, according to the 2021 Census, and is the least deprived ward in Trafford in terms of health, education, employment, and housing.
Owain Sutton, Green Party councillor for Hale, said: “We are relieved that the long-overdue Hale Place Plan has now been approved. We need to move on with this and not let Hale get left behind other areas in Trafford.
"Hale village has a strong, vibrant community. The Place Plan gives us an opportunity to apply for funding to make it an even better place to live. None of the proposals included in the plan are set in stone, but it’s a start, and there will still be further consultation before any changes happen on the ground.”
