Planning permission was granted for further expansion in October 2005.
Construction started in November 2006 Barton Square covering 19,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft) cost £70 million, opened on 20 March 2008.
Its name relates to Barton-upon-Irwell and Peel's City Airport Manchester, which was originally Barton Aerodrome.
It is linked to the centre by a glazed bridge.
Its architecture is based on an Italian square and includes a large fountain and a campanile tower.

This section of the centre targets high-quality homewares market with units offering furniture, kitchens, bathrooms and home furnishings.
Retailers operating are Next Home, BHS Home (which closed in 2016), Dwell, Laura Ashley and M&S Home (since closed).
A further 630 free parking spaces have been provided.
Barton Square has struggled to be economically viable since its opening in 2008.
In 2009, it made an accumulated loss of £512,000 and this worsened in 2010 to £1.3 million.
To entice shoppers from the main mall, new facilities such as a Legoland were built.

In 2011, planning permission was approved to add an additional level of retail to Barton Square as well as a glazed barrel vaulted roof similar to the one that covers the main mall.
The £75 million renovation commenced in mid 2018.
As part of this, M&S Home will leave Barton Square when their lease expires in 2018, consolidating their homeware products with the existing Marks & Spencer in the main mall.
Primark will open a new anchor store in Barton Square from March 2020.
The Primark opening, along with the newly enclosed mall, was delayed due to Coronavirus until 15 June 2020.
The first floor extension will eventually create 110,000 sq ft of new retail floor space meaning the Trafford Centre will surpass the MetroCentre as the second largest retail shopping centre in the United Kingdom upon completion.
Planning permission was granted for further expansion in October 2005. Construction started in November 2006 Barton Square covering 19,000 square metres (200,000 sq ft) cost £70 million, opened on 20 March 2008. Its name relates to Barton-upon-Irwell and Peel's City Airport Manchester, which was originally Barton Aerodrome. It is linked to the centre by a glazed bridge. Its architecture is based on an Italian square and includes a large fountain and a campanile tower.
This section of the centre targets high-quality homewares market with units offering furniture, kitchens, bathrooms and home furnishings. Retailers operating are Next Home, BHS Home (which closed in 2016), Dwell, Laura Ashley and M&S Home (since closed). A further 630 free parking spaces have been provided. Barton Square has struggled to be economically viable since its opening in 2008. In 2009, it made an accumulated loss of £512,000 and this worsened in 2010 to £1.3 million. To entice shoppers from the main mall, new facilities such as a Legoland were built.
In 2011, planning permission was approved to add an additional level of retail to Barton Square as well as a glazed barrel vaulted roof similar to the one that covers the main mall. The £75 million renovation commenced in mid 2018. As part of this, M&S Home will leave Barton Square when their lease expires in 2018, consolidating their homeware products with the existing Marks & Spencer in the main mall. Primark will open a new anchor store in Barton Square from March 2020. The Primark opening, along with the newly enclosed mall, was delayed due to Coronavirus until 15 June 2020. The first floor extension will eventually create 110,000 sq ft of new retail floor space meaning the Trafford Centre will surpass the MetroCentre as the second largest retail shopping centre in the United Kingdom upon completion.
Trafford Centre