A new fly-through video shows what TraffordCity will look like over the coming years, including a surfing lagoon and a huge wellness resort.
The area is set to undergo a major upgrade, with £2.6 billion earmarked for investment over the next 20 years.
Projects in the pipeline include the creation of the £250m ThermeManchester Wellbeing Resort, which will feature 35 water slides, 25 pools, 30 saunas and stream rooms, an on-site urban farm and botanical gardens.
Work has already started on the site, with Peel L&P submitting plans to demolish the 28,000 sq metre EventCity conference and exhibition space on Barton Dock Road.
When it’s complete, the Therme site will span 28 acres and create more than 500 permanent jobs.
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Another major development coming to TraffordCity is Modern Surf Manchester, an in-land surfing lagoon set to open by 2025.
Therme at TraffordCity. Credit: Therme Manchester
The £60m attraction will feature technology that will create consistent waves for all abilities, alongside a cafe, restaurant terrace, surf shop, beach bars, bouldering space and fitness zone.
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TraffordCity already attracts some 44 million visits each year, and is hoping to attract another 2.5 million visitors a year over the next five years.
Fives Soccer Centres is also set to launch a next-generation football centre, with world class facilities across eight larger-than-standard pitches.
The future of TraffordCity. Credit: TraffordCity
The five-a-side pitches offer individual player tracking, as well as video replays and highlights.
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The family-friendly attractions at TraffordCity continue with the NERF Action Xperience at Trafford Palazzo, which will take over a 35,000 sq ft space next summer and will include a branch of Archie’s burger and shake restaurant.
Other food and drink openings include high-end Italian restaurant Matterello, and Tim Hortons with its largest drive-thru in the UK.
You can watch a fly-through of the future of TraffordCity here:
Plans include a new development called Trafford Waters, which will create new affordable housing, retail and office opportunities, hotels, schools and a 20-acre public park.
It’s set to take around 20 years to complete in full, creating 5,000 jobs.
This month, plans were submitted for a new care facility to support older people and those living with dementia by Montpelier Estates – it will include facilities like a hair salon, cinema, rooftop garden and community event space.
Work on the first 350 new homes at Trafford Water has been funded by a grant of £4.08m from Homes England’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, match-funded by Peel L&P.
Phase one will include tree-lined footpaths and cycleways and the first acre of public green space at the development.
Trafford Housing Trust has submitted proposals for 83 homes on Trafford Waters that will be affordable homes for shared ownership.
Featured image: Therme Manchester
Trafford
Man City to open latest Greater Manchester club shop at Trafford Centre
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club are set to open another brand-new store at the Trafford Centre, and just in time for Christmas.
With the festive period approaching, plenty of people will be looking to buy the latest shirts and merch of their beloved team, and with the Blues now a bigger brand than ever, they’ve put plenty of time into levelling up the club shop experience.
Their third in Greater Manchester, all told, it’s also set to be one of their largest to date.
Credit: The Manc Group
Although confirmation of the plans came back in October, City have officially announced themselves in the Trafford Centre this month.
With the hoardings going up over on Peel Avenue – the section of the huge mall arguably most well-known for its multi-storey John Lewis department store – they’ll be opening their doors just next to the branch of Waterstones.
In fact, you definitely can’t miss it because not only is there a giant MCFC badge plastered over the windows, but it also happens to be right next to the big Christmas tree.
A big blue moon, if you will.
This comes after sports and streetwear franchises like Gymshark and Urban Outfitters joined the North West tourist attraction, not to mention the massive Zara and Bershka sites that opened recently, as well as other global names like Pop Mart.
An idea of what the new Man City store in the Trafford Centre could look like, based on the Arndale shop. (Credit: The Manc)
Put simply, there’s been plenty of new arrivals this year, and there are several others to come.
Although we’ve not got an exact opening date just yet, the posters displayed across the window simply read “Coming November”, so Cityzens won’t have to wait long.
Furthermore, job vacancies for retail roles working within the upcoming location are already listed on the official Trafford Centre careers page.
Last but not least, there are scheduled be a number of other new openings in the shopping arcade, leisure and entertainment destination, so keep your eyes peeled on socials for more info soon.
Example announces new headline tour with just a handful of UK shows
Danny Jones
British rapper Example is back for another headline tour and just a handful of UK dates, including what is sure to be a bouncing gig right here in Manchester.
We’re going to say it: it’s the perfect venue for him, too.
The UK rap, dance and pop musician (real name Elliot John Gleave) was a regular chart-topper throughout the 2010s and has still been plenty busy in the time since then.
Although he has gradually pivoted more towards the production side of the music industry in recent years, he’s not lost any energy when it comes to performing – as seen by his most recent run of festival appearances. With that in mind, we can’t wait to see Example back playing live in Manchester.
The 43-year-old is known for his high-octane live shows, and has always had a particular flair for anything EDM-related, smashing sets at pretty much every major music event in Europe, from Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Creamfields, Bestival, Latitude, Benicassim, TRNSMT and many more.
Announcing his aptly-titled ‘Hits & Bits’ tour for 2026, Example wrote on Instagram: “If the last tour is anything to go by, these shows will sell out.
“I’m playing every single one of my songs that charted in the Top 20 (that’s 14 hits), plus some album favourites and a few new bits; plus huge unique visuals, laser and FX show, which will level up once again, as we always do. Things are about to get very ravey. Don’t sleep on this. El x”
In terms of the ‘bits’ side of things, we reckon he’ll include a little more of his newer material, the most recent of which is his collab with Local, having also worked with the likes of YouTube cult favourite Elro and fellow digital garage, grime, bassline artist, as well as TikTok personality, Window Kid, of late.
You can hear his newest crossover, ‘Head’s Gone’, in full down below.
Bit of a banger, to be fair; hope it’s on the selist.
Here are all the shows he has confirmed for next year, including that sure-to-be-electric gig at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester next spring:
Example UK tour dates 2026
Wed 13 May 2026 – Newcastle NX
Fri 15 May 2026 – Birmingham O2 Academy
Sat 16 May 2026 – London O2 Academy Brixton
Fri 22 May 2026 – Nottingham Rock City
Sun 24 May 2026 – Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse
Pre-sale is set to go live this Wednesday, 12 November, and general admission for the Example Hits & Bits UK Tour will be available on the following Friday (14 Nov) at 10am; you can get ready to grab your tickets for his Manchester gig right HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
15th December 2022 
