Trafford's draft budget proposes Sunday parking charges, charging to 8pm and paid parking at Thorley Lane from summer 2027, plus a 4.99% council tax rise.
Parking in Altrincham could cost money on Sundays and into the evening from summer 2027. The plan is in Trafford Council’s draft budget, which goes to the council’s Executive on Monday 19 October.
The same report assumes a 4.99% council tax rise in April 2027. That is lower than the 7.5% rises of the last two years.
Both are proposals at this stage. The parking plan needs formal traffic orders before it can happen, and the report says it “may be subject to consultation in the Autumn”.
What the parking proposal says
The detail is in Annex G of the draft budget report. It proposes:
- longer on-street charging hours in selected places, naming Altrincham, Sale and Warwick Road in Stretford
- revised tariffs in council car parks
- Sunday charging
- charging hours extended to 8am to 8pm
- paid parking at Thorley Lane car park in Timperley, “to align the offer with other similar car parks”
The report also plans new pay and display machines and software in 2027, with £130,000 set aside in the capital programme. The council is reviewing its online and phone payment options too.
The annex does not say which car parks, which streets or what the new prices would be.
How that compares with today
Our parking in Altrincham page has the current rules from Trafford’s own tariff pages:
| Now | Proposed | |
|---|---|---|
| Council car parks in Altrincham and Timperley | Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm | Charging to 8pm; Sunday charging |
| On-street pay and display | Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm | Longer hours in “selected locations”, including Altrincham |
| Sundays | Free | Charged |
| Thorley Lane, Timperley | Free, three-hour maximum stay | Paid |
For an evening in Altrincham, that is the change most people would feel. Parking after 6pm in a council car park is free now. Under the proposal you would pay until 8pm.
When it would start
The report expects the changes “during Summer 2027”, subject to approvals. First the council has to complete:
- Traffic Regulation Orders, the legal orders that set charges and hours, which have their own public notice and objection period
- equality impact assessments
- buying the new machines
- “stakeholder engagement”
It also says the council will talk to Sainsbury’s about the supermarket’s own “proposed parking tariff changes”. The aim is to understand any effect on demand and on people parking elsewhere. The report does not say which Sainsbury’s car park, or what the changes are.
The parking proposal is worth £250,000 to the council in 2027/28.
The council tax rise
The report assumes council tax rises of:
- 4.99% in 2027/28, made up of 2% for adult social care and 2.99% for everything else
- 4.99% in 2028/29
- 2.99% in 2029/30
Trafford’s own share of a band D bill is £1,850.54 this year. A 4.99% rise would add about £92 to that, taking it to about £1,943. The police and fire precepts set by the Mayor come on top and are decided separately. Our council tax bands page has this year’s bills for every band.
Not raising council tax by that much would leave a further £7m hole in 2027/28, the report says. Going higher would need a local referendum.
The size of the gap
Before any measures, the council faces a gap of £37.8m in 2027/28. The report blames past Exceptional Financial Support, a government bailout borrowed against future years, and a funding review that left Trafford £24m short.
The report’s summary table closes it like this:
- the council tax rise brings in £7.7m, leaving £30.1m
- savings and income proposals, parking included, bring £6.6m, leaving £23.4m
- other measures, including using money from asset sales, restructuring long-term debt and changing how it budgets for unpaid council tax, bring £15m, leaving £8.5m
The text of the report rounds that last figure to £8.4m, and the council’s own announcement to £8m. The report admits the “other measures” spread the gap into future years rather than remove it.
The council has been given £7.5m of one-off government money across this year and next. It will use it to fund changes in social care, temporary housing and digital services.
What else is in it
Most of the £14.8m savings programme is behind the scenes: children’s placements, adult care, temporary accommodation and digital systems. A few items reach residents directly:
- a new fee for arranging care for people who pay for their own, set to recover the council’s cost
- a review of home-to-school transport, due back at the Executive in November
- a review of taxi and private hire licence fees, out for consultation this autumn
Council leader Tom Ross said in the announcement that there are “no plans for compulsory redundancies among staff”.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. Parking stays free on Sundays and after 6pm in council car parks for now.
- Watch for the consultation. The report says the parking plan may go out for consultation this autumn. The traffic orders would be advertised later, and that is the formal point to object.
- The council tax figure is a planning assumption. Full Council sets the real number on 24 February 2027.
- You can ask a question at Monday’s meeting. Send it to democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk by 4pm on Friday 16 October. It must relate to an item on the agenda.
The same meeting also decides the future of the former Altair site by the Interchange: our report on that.
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