Spotlight on Mobberley

WHERE: 20 miles south of Manchester in the middle of the Cheshire countryside.

WHY: For years this up-market Cheshire village was blighted by a high profile campaign to stop the second runway at nearby Manchester airport. Uncertainty about where the new flight paths would go, and the prospect of having `Swampy' as a neighbour killed the market here for years. But now the runway is in and people can see, and hear, where the planes are coming in things have picked up apace. Unlike many villages Mobberley is very strung out with no obvious centre but that doesn't stop it having a strong community feel. Has all the basic necessities such as good village school, local shops, railway station and enough pubs for a decent pub crawl. The closure of the Ilford factory earlier this year was a shock to many but Barratt now have a board up on the site and plans to build new homes on the brownfield site.

WHO: Much less glitzy and much more country than nearby Alderley Edge and Hale, the buyers here have historically been much more traditional and private. Recent new developments by Egerton Estates and Linden have brought in a wave of new people, many of them young families and young professional couples eager to take advantage of the village idyll. Wide range of property and prices with ex council houses near the shops selling for around £135,000, up to several million for larger properties on the Paddock Hill side of town with a recent trend to demolish existing houses on big plots and replace with very swanky, secluded new pads.

TRANSPORT: The train station is a big attraction for commuters taking 50 minutes to get into Manchester Piccadilly. For motorists a long and winding drive to get to either junction 19 of the M6 or to Wilmslow and the airport junction of the M56 or the A34 into the city.

SCHOOLS: Knutsford High School gets 66 per cent of pupils through five or more GCSEs A-C.

AGENTS VIEW: Crispin Harris from Jackson-Stops & Staff said: "While the fight to stop the runway was on property here did not move very quickly but once the runway was done and finished the market moved on considerably. And some roads benefited. Faulkners Lane is a nice road heading south to Knutsford that previously was overflown by large aircraft but now is only affected by light aircraft so people with property there have seen prices increase. Mobberley is definitely one of the places people aspire to and I have noticed quite a few younger people moving in with families. It has a strong identity and strong community spirit. Properties here sold very well over the summer, Mobberley Old Hall for £2.75m, Pax Meadow for £795,000 and Rose Cottage for £685,000 to name a few and large interesting houses are still in demand. Prices have levelled off and we are not seeing the huge month on month increases, which is a good thing as they were probably unsustainable. But good houses, priced correctly will still find a buyer even in this much slower market."

RESIDENT'S VIEW: Penny Braham has lived in Mobberley for 20 years. She said: "It may not have a chocolate box village centre like, say Prestbury but it is a wonderful place to live. It is just that little bit further out of suburban living with lots of green fields and wonderful walks. And there is a real mix of people, some who have lived here all their lives and some newcomers. It is a very active village with lots of things going on - the village hall is booked every night of the week. The residents have huge pride in the village. Prices here have gone up a lot. Ours has been a good investment, we bought it 20 years ago and is now worth £795,000. Now the children have left home we want to downsize but we will stay in the village.