{"id":225434,"date":"2025-06-30T01:51:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T01:51:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/225434\/"},"modified":"2025-06-30T01:51:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T01:51:13","slug":"people-are-moving-here-from-places-like-chorlton-and-didsbury-and-its-for-a-good-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/225434\/","title":{"rendered":"‘People are moving here from places like Chorlton and Didsbury – and it’s for a good reason’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greater Manchester town is a magnet for parents keen to do their best for their childrenFrom left Lesley Cooke, Judy Boston And Lynsey Evans on Queens Road in Urmston<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a town in the south-west corner of Greater Manchester, where average house prices have been surging towards the \u00a31m mark.<\/p>\n

So why? Several mums the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke to in Urmston<\/a> say, \u2018it\u2019s all about the grammar schools\u2019.<\/p>\n

Lynsey Evans, 45, lives in the neighbourhood around Queens Road, which has the third-highest average house price. Four properties have recently been sold there for an average price of \u00a3738,737.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 100 per cent the schools,\u201d the former Urmston Grammar School pupil said. \u201cWe probably have the best primary schools in Greater Manchester, and people are moving here from places like Chorlton<\/a> and Didsbury, which traditionally are perceived to be a lot more upmarket than here.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s changing, because of the schools and because they have been priced out of Chorlton and Didsbury<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they are paying for tutoring for their children to get them into the grammar schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

General view of Queens Road, Urmston<\/p>\n

Urmston is in the borough of Trafford<\/a>, which still offers selective education. It has five schools in the Trafford Grammar Schools Consortium: Altrincham<\/a> Grammar School for Boys, Altrincham Grammar School for Girls, Sale<\/a> Grammar School, Stretford<\/a> Grammar School, and Urmston Grammar School. All share the same 11-plus exam for Year Seven entry.<\/p>\n

In addition, Loreto Grammar School (girls) and St Ambrose College (boys) are grammar schools in Trafford but have separate admissions processes.<\/p>\n

Lynsey\u2019s sister, Lesley Cooke, 54, and mum Judy Boston, 81, are visiting from elsewhere in Urmston when the LDRS encounters them on a glorious summer day on Queens Road.<\/p>\n

Lesley said, \u201cOur family went to Urmston Grammar School, and our children go there, too. People are moving here because they want their children to go to the best schools. People from outside the area rent properties here just so they can get their children into the best schools. That\u2019s what\u2019s pushing prices up.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not just the schools. Houses in the grand old estate at Barnfield – dating back to 1905 – are fetching an average price of nearly \u00a3780,000, but one property here recently fetched \u00a32m.<\/p>\n

Resident Mark Halstead, 50, is an investment management and financial advice consultant who lives in a beautiful detached house on Barnfield.<\/p>\n

Mark Halstead’s beautiful house at Barnfield, Urmston<\/p>\n

\u201cThese properties were built by an industrialist on a prime plot of land,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was a bridal path down the side for the horses, which is still there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who bought these houses worked in Manchester. There is Urmston Meadows behind here, where people can walk their dogs and enjoy the views over towards the River Mersey. It\u2019s a great place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Barnfield is not the place with the highest average price. That privilege belongs to Pleasant Drive, completed within the last decade by local developer Branley Homes, where homes have gone for an average of nearly \u00a3830,000.<\/p>\n

And for 73-year-old Trevor Lawrence, his home is ideally situated – on the doorstep of Davyhulme Golf Club. \u201cI love my golf, \u201c he said. \u201cI play at least three times a week. I\u2019ve got a very understanding wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevor Lawrence in Pleasant Drive after completing 18 holes and nearby Davyhulme Golf Club<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these properties were built with en-suite bathrooms for all of their five bedrooms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought my house a few years ago for \u00a3725,000, but one here went recently for \u00a3925,000. The master bedroom and en suites take up the entire upper floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the other end of the scale, there are properties in Urmston that sell for as little as \u00a361,000, but these are supporting living apartments for people aged over 55.<\/p>\n

Properties on Flixton Road and Malvern Avenue are selling for averages of \u00a3133,000 and \u00a3134,000, respectively.<\/p>\n

When the LDRS spoke to Sue Taylor, 59, and Katy Roberts, 48, on Flixton Road, the subject went back to the schools once again.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThe schools are making this area a more attractive place to live,\u201d said Sue. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s pushing house prices up around here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Katy agreed: \u201cIt\u2019s difficult for young people to get on the housing ladder round here, even at the lower end of the market,\u201d she said. \u201cYou feel so sorry for them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Greater Manchester town is a magnet for parents keen to do their best for their childrenFrom left Lesley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":225435,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,8829,2465,1289,26900,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-225434","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-m-e-n-explore","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-trafford","14":"tag-trafford-council","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114769814262107602","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/225435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}