Spotlight on Denton

WHERE: Five miles out of Manchester, just over the border in Tameside, off junction 2 of the M57.

WHY: The investment brought by the completion of the M60 seems to have passed Denton by so far but that may be about to change. The huge Crown Point shopping scheme is due to open soon, a long delayed superstore for the town centre may finally happen next year and developers like Wilson Connolly and Pym Gate Homes are building houses and apartments here. Locals have fingers crossed that someone like Marks & Spencer may anchor the Crown point scheme and that it may help breathe new life into the rest of the town and the market. Starting from a low point property here has gone up substantially in the past year.

WHO: Historically an insular market with people moving within the area there has been an increase in first timers from other areas coming in to get on the property ladder but the cheapest properties here are now around the £70,000 mark.

TRANSPORT: The completion of the M60 has vastly improved communications both north and south and it is 15 mins into Manchester, although the Denton island roundabout to get on to the motorway network is a notorious bottleneck . It is going to miss out on the Metrolink tram system, however.

SCHOOLS: St Thomas More RC gets 58 per cent of pupils through five or more grade A-C at GCSE level and Egerton Park Arts College gets 43 per cent.

RESIDENT: Angela Taylor has lived in Denton 16 years. She said: "It used to be a great place for shopping but for the last few years has been dreadful. They shut the post office, then the market went downhill and it feels really neglected now. I know there are grand things about to happen and I really hope they make a difference but I would like to see the old little shops coming back. My house has increased in value four times since I bought it but so has everything else so you don't really win. It is not a bad spot because it is near everywhere and you can go for walks in the Tame valley but generally you need a car."

AGENT: Ann Fitzgerald from Ian Tongue said: "We have been busier this year than last and there is a shortage of properties available. The relatively low prices around here are attracting first time buyers keen to get on the property ladder. We have noticed an increase of people from south Manchester coming in because suddenly it is accessible, although so far the new motorway does seem to have had more of an impact on Hyde and Audenshaw than Denton. Hopefully all the development that is planned will change that and revitalise the centre. We are confident that next year property will continue to rise in value and the market stay strong."

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