South Manchester has become one of the country's most sought-after and prestigious places to live.
Altrincham and the nearby towns are considered some of the best places to live and work in the UK, and the area is home to the most expensive postcode in Greater Manchester - WA15.
The surrounding towns and villages of Hale, Hale Barns and Bowdon are the wealthiest areas in the city region. Together, they are regarded as Greater Manchester's version of Cheshire's Golden Triangle and have attracted top earners ranging from successful entrepreneurs to Premier League footballers, TV personalities and more.
On Tuesday February 20, Altrincham was selected by Rightmove as the second happiest place to live in the North West, owing to its thriving community with an abundance of bars, shops, restaurants - and of course its famous markets.
However, the area hasn't always been regarded as one of the most affluent and buzzing places - and we went down to speak to local people and business owners about the town's transformation.
Altrincham and the nearby towns are considered some of the best places to live and work in the UK, and the area is home to the most expensive postcode in Greater Manchester - WA15.
The surrounding towns and villages of Hale, Hale Barns and Bowdon are the wealthiest areas in the city region. Together, they are regarded as Greater Manchester's version of Cheshire's Golden Triangle and have attracted top earners ranging from successful entrepreneurs to Premier League footballers, TV personalities and more.
On Tuesday February 20, Altrincham was selected by Rightmove as the second happiest place to live in the North West, owing to its thriving community with an abundance of bars, shops, restaurants - and of course its famous markets.
However, the area hasn't always been regarded as one of the most affluent and buzzing places - and we went down to speak to local people and business owners about the town's transformation.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Although we're a big, I think we're over 50,000 people in Altrincham,
00:03 you can't walk down the high street without bumping into somebody you know.
00:07 And everybody comes in and on a Saturday and a Sunday, it's lovely, it's really nice.
00:12 And there's so many different independent shops, there's so many
00:17 different bars and restaurants. It's just a fabulous place to live.
00:21 South Manchester has become one of the country's most sought-after and prestigious places to live.
00:26 Altrincham and the nearby towns are considered some of the best places to live and work in the UK,
00:31 and the area is home to the most expensive postcode in Greater Manchester.
00:36 The surrounding towns and villages of Hale, Hale Barns and Bowden are the wealthiest areas in the
00:41 city region. Together, they are regarded as Greater Manchester's version of Cheshire's
00:46 Golden Triangle and have attracted top earners ranging from successful entrepreneurs to Premier
00:51 League footballers, TV personalities and more. On Tuesday 20 February, Altrincham was selected
00:57 by Rightmove as the second happiest place to live in the North West, owing to its thriving
01:02 community with an abundance of bars, shops, restaurants and of course its famous markets.
01:08 However, the area hasn't always been regarded as one of the most affluent and buzzing places,
01:13 and we went down to speak to local people and business owners about the town's transformation.
01:19 Back in 2010, it had the most boarded up shops in the UK, and there's been a fantastic journey
01:24 which has really involved both public and private sector. Everybody's really got behind the
01:29 regeneration of Altrincham. Obviously, the council was the catalyst, you know, they supported it and
01:34 provided the money for the catalyst to rebuild the market and open it as it is now, as this great
01:39 centre for food and drink. And there are more and more people wanting to locate their businesses in
01:44 the town as well. In 2022, Altrincham was named one of the best places to live in the UK from
01:50 Sunday Times. That was the fifth year running we've actually won that award. And yeah, I think
01:54 it is a happy place. It's a nice place to live, it's a great environment, it's very vibrant,
01:59 there's lots going on. There's pretty much something to do, you know, whatever your interests
02:04 are. We have things like sewing classes and lots of choirs. One of the most expensive postcodes in
02:10 the entire of Greater Manchester is WA15, and one of the roads there is Broadway. And properties
02:16 there, their average price goes for over three million, which is pretty eye-watering, to be
02:21 honest. Altrincham is a real community, I think that's really important to say, that we have a
02:25 real diverse mix of people. And yes, we have people who've got considerable wealth, but we have other
02:31 people who are less fortunate than that as well. You can do some celebrity spotting in the town,
02:35 we do have a few actors especially who frequent the town, you can see them out at the weekend.
02:41 There is a lot of celebrities that wander around Altrincham on a Saturday and a Sunday,
02:46 and the nice thing is nobody bothers them. You know, it's just nice, they can come and shop in
02:52 their local shops and just like everybody else, and we're used to seeing them about. Back in 2010,
02:58 if you bumped into anybody you knew, they'd be going, "Oh, I'm just picking something up from
03:02 Debenhams." Or there was no dwell time, people didn't come to Altrincham to eat or we all went
03:08 to hail. And that has changed over the years and now it is a thriving town. It's one of the richest
03:16 areas in South Manchester. And so we thought, well, we'll set up a shop and then everybody
03:22 will come, and they did. And here we are 13 years later, we've just moved location, and yeah, it's
03:29 still going very strong. It is an amazing little area of South Manchester, and we have so many
03:38 businesses trying to come in and set up in this area.