Trafford still charges in its car parks on bank holidays. Full Altrincham and Hale tariffs, the 50p Timperley car parks and the Blue Badge three-hour trap.

Altrincham has two council car parks charging £6 for a long stay and two charging £1.20, all within a five-minute walk of the town centre. It also has a bank holiday rule that costs people money every May and August.

Checked on 26 August 2026.

Bank holidays are not free

Trafford’s where to park page states that parking charges apply “during certain hours and days including Bank Holidays”. So Monday 31 August 2026 is a charging day in the council’s car parks and in its on-street pay and display bays.

Sundays are different. Chargeable hours in Altrincham and Timperley car parks are Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm, and on-street pay and display is Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm. Outside those hours, in both car parks and on street, parking is free. A Sunday is free. The bank holiday Monday is not.

Payment is at the machine or through the RingGo app.

Altrincham and Timperley car park tariffs

From the council’s paid parking in Altrincham and Timperley page. Chargeable Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm.

Car park 2 hours 3 hours 4 hours 5 hours Over 5 hours Walk to centre
Regent Road, WA14 2YQ £2 £3 £4 £5 £6 1 minute
Oakfield Road, WA15 8EW £2 £3 £4 £5 £6 5 minutes
Balmoral Road, WA15 8HJ 50p up to 3 hours 50p £1.20 £1.20 £1.20 5 minutes
Baker Street, WA15 7XH 50p up to 3 hours 50p £1.20 £1.20 £1.20 1 minute

Balmoral Road and Baker Street are the value here. Both are in Timperley, both charge 50p for up to three hours and £1.20 for anything longer, and Baker Street is listed as a one-minute walk from the centre. A full day at Regent Road costs £6. The same day at Baker Street costs £1.20.

Thorley Lane, Timperley, WA15 7BJ is free, with a three-hour maximum stay (free car parks). The council’s other free car parks are Eleventh Street in Trafford Park, M17 1JF, and Central Road in Partington, M31 4EL, both with no maximum stay.

Hale car parks

Chargeable Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm, from the paid parking in Hale page. All three charge the same: £2 for two hours rising to £6 for over five hours.

  • Cecil Road, WA14 9NT, one minute from the centre
  • Victoria Road, WA14 9AF, two minutes
  • Brown Street, WA14 2ET, three minutes

On-street pay and display

Chargeable Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm. Short-stay bays are £2 for two hours. All-day bays run £2 for two hours up to £6 for over five hours (on-street paid parking).

Two-hour maximum stay applies on Grosvenor Road, Barrington Road, Stamford Street, Springfield Road, Victoria Street, Market Street, Regent Road, New Street, The Downs, Lloyd Street, Railway Street, Kingsway, Oakfield Street and Oxford Road.

All-day parking is allowed on Burlington Road, Gaskell Road, Grosvenor Road, Hazel Road, Mill Street, Sandiway Road and Sandiway Place.

Grosvenor Road appears on both lists. The council warns that different restrictions can apply on different sections of the same road, so read the machine next to where you have actually parked.

Permits, and the £1,433 gap between two season tickets

From the council’s parking permit costs:

  • Resident annual permit: £51.50
  • Visitor permits: £13.50 for 25 vouchers
  • Amending an existing annual permit: £8
  • Event resident permits and football zone permits: free
  • Event visitor permits: £8
  • Blue Badge holders: one resident annual permit at £8

Season car park permits are where it gets strange. Only two car parks in the Altrincham and Hale area offer them, and the prices are not comparable:

  • Regent Road, Altrincham: £156.50 a month, £469.50 for three months, £939 for six, £1,878 for twelve
  • Brown Street, Hale: £445 for twelve months

A year at Regent Road costs £1,433 more than a year at Brown Street. Both are in the same borough, run by the same council, roughly two miles apart.

Blue Badge parking

Blue Badge holders park free in designated disabled bays on street, and free in on-street pay and display bays (parking information for Blue Badge holders). There is no exemption in permit-holder-only bays.

In council car parks the rule is narrower, and worth reading twice. Parking is free for up to three hours in a marked disabled bay, with a Blue Badge and a parking clock set to your arrival time. For a stay of more than three hours, you pay for the full period, not just the hours past three.

Marked disabled bays in the local car parks:

  • Altrincham: Regent Road 11 spaces, Oakfield Road 12, Balmoral Road 1
  • Hale: Cecil Road 9, Victoria Road 2, Brown Street 4
  • Timperley: Baker Street 3, Thorley Lane 3
  • Sale: Oaklands Drive 3, Warrener Street 5, James Street 1, Greenbank Road 1
  • Partington: Central Road 3

Station and tram parking

Altrincham station has 45 parking spaces and 12 accessible spaces, according to National Rail. That is a small car park for an interchange, and the Metrolink park and ride sites nearby are the more realistic option for a commuter.

TfGM park and ride is free to passengers with a valid Metrolink ticket. The nearest sites:

  • Navigation Road: 66 spaces, 5 disabled (TfGM)
  • Brooklands: 84 spaces (TfGM)

Both open 05:00 to 01:00 Monday to Friday, around the clock at weekends, and 05:00 to 01:00 on bank holidays. Overnight parking is allowed on Friday and Saturday nights only, and the vehicle must be collected by noon the next day.

One caveat on those space counts. TfGM’s own open data file says Navigation Road has 81 spaces and 6 blue badge bays, and Brooklands 108. Its website says 66 and 5, and 84. We have used the website figures because they carry the opening hours and conditions, but TfGM is publishing two different numbers for the same car parks.

Fines

A penalty charge notice in Trafford is £50 or £70 depending on the severity of the contravention, reduced by half if paid within 14 days (pay your parking fine). The registered keeper is liable whether or not they were driving.

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