Altrincham’s Lantern Parade

🎅🏻 On Saturday 1st December Altrincham Unlimited will host Altrincham’s town-wide Lantern Parade, one of the most magical events of the festive season.  The parade starts from Goose Green at 4pm and will finish with a Christmas singalong in Stamford Square at 4.45pm.

Local primary schools including Stamford Park Junior School, Navigation Primary School and Altrincham CofE Primary School have been busy preparing lanterns and will take part in the parade. Throughout the day families who would also like to take part in the parade are invited to drop-in to one of the FREE lantern making workshops at Total Fitness on Denmark Street (10am-12noon or 1-3pm).

Those taking part in the parade will start to gather from 3.15pm in Goose Green where a brass ensemble from Aura Music Academy will get everyone in the festive mood with carols.  The parade will leave Goose Green at 4pm and will include the children from local primary schools, dancers from Cardwell Dance School and skaters from Altrincham Synchro Club, who will be joined by spectacular illuminated puppets and street performers led by artist Russell Kirk and a Samba band.

The parade route will take in Moss Lane, Stamford New Road, Regent Road and George Street and will culminate in Stamford Square.  It’s guaranteed to add a touch of Christmas magic to Altrincham with Moss Lane and Stamford New Road recommended as the best viewing points for spectators. Rolling road closures will be in place, and motorists are advised to avoid the route of the parade between 4-5pm if possible.

Also, in Goose Green on Saturday will be Santa’s pop-up Grotto in the Ivy League, Kings Court, between 11am-4pm. There is no charge to visit Santa, but donations are welcome to Altrincham Rotary charity.

The afternoon build-up will see local dance schools and singers take to the Stamford Square community stage from midday, where the parade will also finish at 4.45pm with a festive singalong finale led by The Music Place.

Businesses along the route are encouraged to take advantage of this fabulous opportunity to promote themselves to a new, family audience!

🎅🏻Let us know what offers you have on and we will promote them on social media

🎅🏻 If you’re on the route, why not host a special event?

Record Footfall on Switch-on Day

🎅🏻 Altrincham’s Christmas Lights Switch-On, organised and funded by Altrincham Unlimited, officially gave Altrincham its busiest day since records began.

Independent footfall data provided by Springboard showed that the town welcomed an incredible 47,883 visitors on Saturday – 12.8% up on last year.

That’s the biggest number since Altrincham began officially monitoring footfall back in 2014.

The whole town was buzzing with shops, restaurants and bars in areas other than George Street and Stamford Square reporting record trading days.

Pamela Macauley, from Vintage Angel Design on Moss Lane, said her shop had enjoyed its busiest November trading day ever.

“There was a real buzz around the town with lots of customers visiting the independent retailers on Moss Lane saying how excited they were about the show,” she said. “We’re now looking forward to the town’s Lantern Parade which coincides with Small Business Saturday on 1st December.”

David Vanderhook, owner of The Con Club, said: “Saturdays are always a fantastic day for us, the restaurant is constantly busy, and the bar is always bustling, but this was quite possibly one of our busiest afternoons of the year so far.”

Peter Luby from Costello's in Goose Green, confirmed: “The Saturday of the Christmas lights switch-on was my busiest November day ever.”

Altrincham named England’s Champion High Street

Altrincham has been named England's Champion High Street in the Great British High Street Awards.

The Great British High Street Awards attracted 240 entries across a number of categories. 26 locations were short-listed for the Champion award. The short-listed entrants were all visited by teams of judges who were experienced in what makes a successful town centre. The judges were responsible for 70% of the marks allocated. The final 30% was based on online voting by the public.

Ewen Miller, who is the Chairman of Altrincham Unlimited’s BID Board explained:

“We’re delighted that Altrincham has won best high street in England in the Great British High Street Awards, the town is so very deserving of this amazing accolade!

We know what a fabulous place Altrincham is and this award will now help to demonstrate this nationally.

The town’s success is all down to its incredible community and this award has been won only by a huge team effort with so many people working tirelessly to create this great town, often giving up their time on a voluntary basis to make it such a special place to live, work and visit. I know I speak on behalf of all of them when I say we could not be prouder.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved, especially everyone that voted for Altrincham, and we look forward to Altrincham becoming an even greater town as we celebrate this award.

Recent years have seen a growth in footfall and a turnaround in the number empty units.  Premises in Altrincham are now very sought after and we are seeing new openings all of the time.  Altrincham has also been used as a positive example for town centre regeneration as it continues to go from strength to strength.

Altrincham’s

New Town Ranger

Gareth Aspinall has recently been appointed by Altrincham Unlimited as the new Town Ranger.   Hopefully if you haven’t already met him you will do very soon!

Town Rangers are used by other BIDs throughout the country, but Gareth is the first to be appointed in this role in Altrincham.

As Town Ranger, Gareth will work on behalf of the BID businesses providing a friendly and approachable, uniformed presence in the town.  He will perform a variety of valuable roles from welcoming visitors to supporting you the businesses on a day to day basis, working closely with the Police, Trafford Council and other partners to assist with the smooth running of the town.  He will respond to local business queries and help to ensure the town centre is clean, safe and help to provide a quality experience for businesses, workers and visitors. In his role he will also provide hands-on support for the BID’s street activities and town centre events.

Gareth adds considerable experience to the team at Altrincham Unlimited having previously served in the British Army and most recently worked in the Prison Service.  He has completed an induction period which has included spending time with the Rangers in Manchester City Centre.