Spotlight on Levenshulme

WHERE: Three miles south of Manchester, the centre straddles the busy A6 but it stretches from Slade Lane to Mount Road.

WHY: Prices here have doubled in the past 18 months. Cash has been poured in under the A6 partnership scheme to improve the actual look of the place, including restoring a Victorian parade of shops and a grassed area with seating the locals call Levenshulme Green. Large four-bed Victorian semis around Albert Road and Osborne Road may have doubled in price to £130,000 but they are still substantially cheaper than neighbouring areas. Communications are good, with a train service straight into the city, some interesting local shops, warehouse studios for artists and talk of a wine bar opening soon.

WHO: Once an area of shabby bedsits and tired rented terraces the substantial hike in house prices has seen many landlords deciding to cash in and move on elsewhere. It has also meant people priced out of other areas moving in looking for better value and is becoming the starting point for many first-time buyers who want cheap easy access into Manchester but still some local services.

TRANSPORT: The A6 is a notoriously clogged route into the city but it is also one of the main bus routes although the journey can take anything from 15-45 minutes. A better bet is the train, which will get you into Piccadilly in under 10 minutes.

SCHOOLS: At Levenshulme High School for Girls, 39 per cent of pupils achieve five or more GCSEs at A-C; St Peter's RC High School, 20 per cent and Cedar Mount, 16 per cent - all below the national average.

AGENT'S VIEW: Colin Murray, of Edward Mellor, said: "Property in Levenshulme has been undervalued for years and even now has some way to catch up and people know this. The increase means the area has been economically cleansed with the `couldn't-care- less landlords' leaving and owner-occupiers coming in, which has pulled it up. And it is a real community, everyone chats - going to the butchers can take half an hour!

"The market for speculators coming in, buying stuff cheap, doing them up and moving on has gone. It is not cheap enough any more. People buy here because they want to live here. For the last few years it seems Levenshulme has been dubbed the next Didsbury and people laughed. They are not laughing quite so loud now."

RESIDENT'S VIEW: Margaret Ford, with daughter Paula Hoque, said: "I have always liked coming here to do my shopping. You can get everything you want in Levenshulme and people know you and you can have a chat. The improvements they have done with the railings and the grass and the pavements and that have made it a lot nicer. But the traffic is becoming even worse and we are worried about the gangs and the petty crime, but it's not as bad as some areas."

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