Spotlight on Chinley

WHERE: On the western edge of the Peak District National Park, Chinley is ideal for ramblers, but is also handy for city slickers, situated halfway between Manchester and Sheffield.

WHY: Situated in the middle of beautiful countryside, with good local amenities, a friendly community and opportunities for walking and climbing literally on the doorstep. The area is a mixture of stone-built Victorian terraces and more spacious semi-rural properties. Developers such as Hargreaves Homes have recently begun to move into the area, recognising that the Peak District provides fantastic views but also a relatively short commute to Manchester.

WHO: Traditionally this has been an area attractive to older people and nature lovers. However, the rise in the number of workers based at home has allowed many people to negotiate flexible working hours. Therefore areas such as Chinley are becoming more attractive to both young executives and more mature professionals, as they wish to live in the middle of attractive countryside, but with easy access to the office. It has a bustling village centre with grocery shops, a deli and a couple of traditional country pubs.

First time buyers may be able to get a foot on the ladder here with prices starting at £80,000. Meanwhile, larger homes on the outskirts of the village are now fetching up to £500,000

TRANSPORT: Handy for the A6, A623 and about 20 minutes from the M60. Stockport town centre is a 25 minutes drive away and Manchester about 45 minutes. There is also an hourly train to Stockport (17 minutes) and Manchester (36 minutes), which runs three times an hour at peak times.

DEVELOPERS VIEW: Gerry Sweeney, Managing Director and of Hargreaves Homes says “Chinley has a friendly village atmosphere with plenty of shops and eating places, set in the middle of some of the most incredible countryside and views. It is close enough to Manchester and Stockport for commuting, but far enough away to provide a relaxing rural retreat. The unique geography of the Peak District provides fantastic views but also a relatively short commute to Manchester, meaning that workers can have the best of both city and country life.”

RESIDENTS VIEW:– Julie Foster, Resident of The Terrace, Chinley
“My family has lived here for the past fourteen years and we love the area. It is close enough to Manchester and Sheffield to be able to go shopping, or for my husband to commute to work. He works all around the Manchester area, both in the city centre and in the surrounding towns and from Chinley he is able to commute easily by car or train. It is also set in the middle of beautiful countryside and surrounded by lovely views of Cracken Edge and Eccles Pike, so brilliant for walking or climbing.

“There are also some great schools in the surrounding area; there is a village school in Chinley and a brand new primary school and high school in Chapel-en-le-Frith, where my son has just started school in Year 9.

“We have always wanted to live in a new build house, as it helps to reduce maintenance costs. However, most of the houses in the Chinley area are over three hundred years old and have various problems due to their age, so we were delighted to find this new development in the exact area we wanted to live.

AGENTS VIEW: - Lorraine Batty, manager of Bridgfords, Whaley Bridge Branch,
“Chinley village is definitely proving to be one of Derbyshire’s newest property hotspots. It is in an excellent location on the edge of the beautiful Peak District National Park and is ideally situated for commuters working in the commercial centres of both Manchester and Sheffield. It offers a great quality of life, which is hard to beat with a good local primary school and amenities including shops and pubs.

“We have sold over £11 million worth of houses in the area so far this year, an increase of 13 per cent on last year and are currently negotiating nine offers on local properties worth £2.3 million. Over 50 per cent of proceedable buyers registered with us have expressed an interest in Chinley. This is especially good at a time when many professional analysts are expecting uncertainty about the property market.”

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