Trafford Centre sits at the heart of our local community.
We’re not just a shopping centre – we offer a social, cultural and educational space, employ over 10,000 people locally and fundraise each year for local and national causes.
Without our community, we wouldn’t be the centre that we are today.
We are dedicated to making a positive impact in our local community. Through collaboration, fundraising, and support, we aim to uplift those in need and create lasting change.
As a responsible business with a sustainable approach, we always look to minimise our environmental impact and continually source opportunities to support local businesses through donated goods. As well as being a popular shopping and leisure destination, we play a massive part in the local economy. We employ over 240 people directly, with a further 10,000 people working in stores and restaurants across the centre.
In 2025, we supported hundreds of local charities with over £550,000 of support through donations, fundraising and collections in our malls.
Throughout the year, keep your eyes peeled for Luke Sky Walker, Darth Vader, C-3PO, and the rest of our resident Star Wars costuming group who regularly visit, raising thousands for charities.
Trafford Centre was proud to give back to the community with our ‘Name A Star’ initiative, offering a meaningful way to celebrate loved ones while supporting local charities.
Last year, we hosted our FREE family friendly Emergency Services Day event! We saw record breaking numbers of visitors, raising over £6,000 for local causes.
We’ve been awarded ‘Bronze’ from the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, as part of our commitment to the armed forces community. Last year we raised over £25,000 through space, equipment, and donations for the Army Benevolent Fund, through our 80th VE Day celebrations.
We teamed up with Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital to help bring a little extra joy to young patients by running a Christmas Toy Appeal. Over £15,000 of gifts were collected in total.
The Parenting Collective are a local community group dedicated to supporting families through babywearing, infant feeding support, and postnatal wellbeing initiatives. Look out each month for the group outside of Boots as they offer families FREE access to professional guidance on safe and comfortable babywearing.
Every single coin dropped into the water by shoppers is washed, cleaned, and donated to a number of local charities. Last year, we collected over £15,000 for our charity partner Stockdales.
More than 400 children, including refugee families, low-income families, and looked-after children from across Manchester were supported through the Centre’s School Uniform Drive, helping to ensure that children across our community can return to school with confidence
Responding to the critical needs of the NHS for more blood donors, last year we partnered with the NHS Blood and Transport team for Greater Manchester in helping to save 564 adults or 1,128 babies through our pop-up registration events. Look out for more events this year.
In partnership with the One Love Manchester Project, the Centre revealed the Art for MCR mural made up of bee artwork submitted by people from all over the world to mark 8 years since the Manchester Arena attack. Each bee represents a voice, a heart, a commitment to never forget. The permanent display in the Orient honours the spirit of resilience and raises awareness of vital resources, including support services to all those impacted.
Our approach to running a responsible business is built on partnership, collaboration, and transparency. We’re all about making a positive contribution to our centre and the communities where we live, whilst minimising our impact on the environment.
We’re passionate about biodiversity have made significant improvements to our internal and external planting, as well as introducing bat boxes, bird boxes and beehives.
We now house our very own beehives and produce our very own Trafford Centre honey! 100 jars of the honey, along with additional breakfast bags, were delivered to a local school who gave them out to some of their children and families attending a regular foodbank in Eccles.
We also have a wormery, a hibernaculum, and a family of geese and goslings that return each year.
Known locally since 1794 as Wilderspool Woods, this woodland hideaway is a tranquil area of natural greenery that was preserved when The Trafford Centre was first built.
Did you know that this area has been a house, a cottage and later, a farm.
It’s a haven for lots of wildlife, trees, ponds, and plants as well as a lovely spot for families to explore and enjoy together. We especially like to encourage school trips to the woodland where children can learn whilst they play. You can find this located in Regent 13 car park.
As part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability and community engagement, this eco-friendly initiative not only supports biodiversity but also raises awareness about the small steps people can take in protecting our local ecosystem.
At 4.5m long and 1m tall, the Insect Inn spells out ‘Trafford’ and is strategically located on one of the centre’s many green spaces, opposite Marks & Spencer.
Constructed using regenerative timber, the structure provides a safe habitat for essential pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, as well as other insects like ladybirds and woodlice.
We’ve implemented a number of projects including enhanced plant health to all the trees in our planters, establishing a dedicated greenhouse and compost from the site as well as planting over 70,000 bulbs for seasonal displays. We’ve continued to grow our wildflower areas to increase our pollinators and support our butterflies and small insect friends.
We grow our own vegetables right here onsite and donate these to those in our local community.
Potatoes, carrots, cabbages, and onions have all been harvested and collected by Cracking Good Food, a fantastic initiative that campaigns against food waste, using surplus unwanted items to re-distribute to local causes. We’re building a new greenhouse for 2025 so we can grow and distribute more homegrown veg than ever before.
We understand that for some people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC), sensory or additional needs, a visit to a busy shopping centre can be a daunting experience. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive the world and interact with others. We first introduced a weekly quieter hour in 2018 to help make our customers visit as enjoyable as possible, offering families a more relaxed environment with low music, dimmed lights, and useful shopping guides. From autism to dementia, this hour is for anyone who prefers a quieter setting within Trafford Centre.
Trafford Centre want to the be known as the accessible destination of choice, providing world class service to everyone who passes through our doors. To support that, we’ve introduced the use of lanyards featuring the Sunflower Emblem for any visitor with a hidden disability to use. This will allow both The Trafford Centre and Retail staff to identify people who may need a little more help or just a little more time. These lanyards are available from our Guest Services desk located next to M&S.
In association with Association with Assistance Dogs UK, the charity, Hearing Dogs For Deaf People created a video at Trafford Centre showing best examples on how businesses can support our deaf communities and how to get assistance dog access right.
Need a little space? Our quiet room based at our Guest Services hub next to M&S provides a low sensory space for neurodivergent shoppers or anyone feeling overwhelmed, offering calm with features like dimmed lights and a private space. Our dedicated and trained staff are also on hand to support with any hidden disability support.
Our vision is to reduce Trafford Centre’s impact on the environment. We want to make a positive contribution to our communities, people and visitors – which is why we have an ongoing initiative to help make it happen.
SEE WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING TO DELIVER CHANGE THIS YEAR.
Planning a school trip or a corporate visit to the Centre?
Book in with our incredible Guest Services Team and marvel at the wonders of Trafford Centre as we bring back our popular free-of-charge bespoke services; ideal for education, corporate and private organisations who’d benefit from viewing Trafford Centre’s remarkable shopping, dining, leisure, and entertainment facilities.
Our dedicated team will be on-hand to both guide and accompany the tour, ensuring you get the very best out of the bespoke trip and information on the infamous chandelier, marble architecture, history, sustainability, staffing and overview of operations.
We work tirelessly to make sure visiting the Trafford Centre is both fun and safe for all our visitors, ensuring the wellbeing of all is paramount. We support a number of national campaigns all year including Time To Talk, Suicide Prevention and World Mental Health day. In addition to having a number of mental health first aiders, and initiatives with our retailers, we work with a number of community partners including Greater Manchester Suicide Prevention and Bereavement who throughout May, hosted a grief exhibition showcasing a range of photographs dedicated to those who have experienced loss and grief.
We are always looking to support local causes through fundraising opportunities, volunteering, and community partnerships.
At present, the Centre has a partnership with a local charity and as such, is unable to consider unsolicited requests on a financial capacity including gift card requests. Please do contact our individual stores who may be able to help.
Please contact Richa Patel, Community Development Manager on: