Can area's revamp recapture old buzz?

Historian looks at how Stretford was in past and gives view on how it could be

- By NICK JACKSON

THERE was a time when Bill Sumner's social life revolved around Stretford town centre.

Brought up in Gorse Hill, the 74-yearold retired joiner and builder has lived in the town all his life. In the 1960s he watched as the Arndale, known today as Stretford Mall, swallowed up the old King Street.

Today, alongside his wife Larraine, the amateur historian watches from his home on Talbot Road as Trafford council and its joint-venture partner Bruntwood remodel the town centre yet again. This time at a cost of about £50m.

Uppermost in those plans is the reemergence of King Street as an openair thoroughfare in an apparent attempt to recreate that traditional town centre vibe. The key question for Bill and the Stretfordians who would love it to become as vibrant as neighbouring Chorlton, Didsbury, Sale and Urmston is, will it succeed? In his spare time, Bill is a key member of the 'Remembering Stretford' Facebook group - home to hundreds of nostalgic images of how the town used to be. And he says he is apprehensive of the new project's ability to recapture Stretford's glory days.