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Trafford

Cultural strategy

Rewriting Trafford's cultural narrative within the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.

Trafford — Cultural strategy
Photo: Trafford Council
StrategyTrafford

Trafford = sport, right? But what about culture? A false perception of having low ‘need’ meant culture was a low investment priority across much of Trafford. But the reality was that the borough needed to support its diverse neighbourhoods and reposition its cultural identity.

Our data analysis revealed that 25% of Greater Manchester's creative professionals live in Trafford. That single statistic rewrote Trafford's cultural narrative.

Being the engine room of the region's creative and cultural economy, combined with an extraordinary grassroots cultural community offer, meant it was time for Trafford to focus on neighbourhood-level development. A new Cultural Transformation team activated the strategy, each town within Trafford has an ‘Our Cultural Lives’ hub to lead local activities and networks, and Trafford is now supported by Greater Manchester Combined Authority as new plans are developed. Trafford is now developing a new digital offer to support community activities, using the CultureHosts platform.

CTConsults are leaders in their field and are embedded in the cultural and creative industries, and have brought a lot of their own wisdom and insight to this process. This will unlock a whole sector, bringing cultural and economic benefits to the borough.
Leader, Trafford Council

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