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.
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