Altrincham Muslim Association opens its Grove Lane doors on Saturday 19 September, 3pm to 5pm. No booking, and it is the only Trafford mosque taking part.
Altrincham Muslim Association will open its doors to the public on Saturday 19 September, from 3pm to 5pm. The mosque is the Islamic Cultural Centre on Grove Lane in Hale, WA15 8JG. Nobody needs to book, and there is no charge.
It is the only Trafford mosque listed on the finder for this year’s national open day weekend.
The practical details
- When: Saturday 19 September 2026, 3pm to 5pm
- Where: Islamic Cultural Centre, Grove Lane, Hale, Altrincham WA15 8JG
- Booking: none. The campaign says visitors simply turn up
- Cost: free
Shahyda Chaudhry, a trustee, wrote to the Alty Post on 26 August inviting readers to come. She said visitors can meet members, look round the building and ask whatever they want to ask.
She also gave a reason for the invitation. There has been interest and discussion locally about the mosque’s future plans, she wrote, and there can be misconceptions about what those plans mean for the area. The open day is a chance for people to ask directly rather than assume.
The contact address she gave is events@altrinchammosque.org. That domain would not load for us on Monday, so the number and address the council holds for the centre may be more reliable: 07796 607231 and admin@ahma.co.uk, both listed on Trafford Council’s own directory entry.
What the mosque runs the rest of the year
The centre’s listing on the Visit My Mosque finder sets out fourteen services. Among them:
- a food bank
- a madrasah, plus Quran, Arabic and Islamic studies classes
- women’s groups and youth activities
- counselling and mental health support
- refugee support and convert support
- marriage services and zakat distribution
Trafford Council’s directory adds that the association works with local schools and is a founding member of the Altrincham Interfaith Group.
The national campaign
Visit My Mosque is run by the Muslim Council of Britain. This year it falls on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, and the campaign says more than 250 mosques take part. Mosques can still register until Friday 11 September, so the list may grow. The campaign’s homepage puts the national total at more than 250; the finder we searched returned fewer, which is what you would expect three weeks out.
Searching the finder on the WA15 8JG postcode returns Altrincham Muslim Association as the only participating mosque in the borough. The nearest others are both a drive away:
| Mosque | Postcode | Open |
|---|---|---|
| Altrincham Muslim Association | WA15 8JG | Sat 19 Sep, 3pm to 5pm |
| Cheadle Masjid | SK8 3NP | Sat 19 Sep, 11am to 3pm |
| Ashton Central Mosque | OL6 9JA | Sat 19 Sep, 12pm to 4pm |
A church, then a mosque
The building is a former church. Trafford Council’s directory records that the Islamic Cultural Centre was set up in July 2003, when the association bought the former St David’s Church on Grove Lane. The association itself was formally established in September 1995, and had been running since 1992. It registered as a charity in 2004.
It is now registered charity 1101378. The Charity Commission shows its reporting up to date. For the year to 31 December 2024 it reported income of £283,686 and spending of £198,454. It lists 10 trustees and 50 volunteers, and no employee paid more than £60,000.
The plans people are talking about
The council’s planning register shows one recent scheme at the site, and it has already been decided.
Application 113094/FUL/24 sought “erection of a single storey side and rear extension to prayer hall 1”. It was submitted on 12 March 2024 and validated on 3 April. The applicant is given as AHMA, the agent as 1618 Architects of Didsbury.
The council consulted 36 neighbours. Seven wrote in, and all seven objected. None wrote in support. It was not settled under delegated powers. It went to the planning committee, which decided it on Thursday 26 September 2024. The decision notice followed on Monday 30 September 2024, approving the extension with conditions. The register records no appeal.
The file also holds a transport statement and travel plan, an updated arboricultural impact assessment, and consultations with the local highway authority and environmental health. We could not read those documents today: the portal’s own document links returned errors when we tried them, so we are reporting the summary the register displays rather than the contents of the reports. You can try them yourself on the application page.
Anyone who wants to check whether anything new has been lodged since can search the same portal, and our Altrincham planning news page tracks what is coming through the register.
What it means for you
If you have wondered what is behind the doors on Grove Lane, this is two hours in which you can walk in and ask. You do not need to book, you do not need to be religious, and you do not need to bring anything.
A few practical points:
- Grove Lane is residential and parking there is limited. If you are coming from the town centre, Hale station is close, and our guide to parking in Altrincham covers the town centre car parks if you would rather park and walk or take the tram.
- Altrincham tram and train times has the Metrolink and rail detail for a Saturday afternoon.
- If you want to talk to someone before turning up, use the council-listed contact details above rather than the address on the invitation, which was not resolving when we checked.
For anything else on that Saturday, our things to do in Altrincham page has the rest of the weekend.
Sources: Visit My Mosque 2026 and its mosque finder (Muslim Council of Britain); Trafford Council service directory; Charity Commission register, charity 1101378; Trafford Council planning register, application 113094/FUL/24; and an emailed invitation from a trustee of Altrincham Muslim Association, 26 August 2026.
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