Latest news with #goldentriangle
Telegraph
25-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Why the glamorous ‘footballer belt' is luring Londoners up north
Kirsty Jairath hadn't expected a move of some 200 miles north from London to be a culture shock. Coming from the capital, she was used to expensive boutiques full of designer outfits and buzzy bars and restaurants. But, embarking on a shopping trip in her new town, she spotted groups of teenagers gathering to watch what turned out to be a weekly parade of supercars roaring up and down the high street. 'It was like nothing I had seen before, not at all what I was used to,' she says. Jairath had just moved to the market town of Wilmslow, south of Manchester, and the northernmost point of Cheshire's 'golden triangle' of real estate. It is known for its population of young, wealthy and often ostentatious football players, who splash millions on vast mansions close to their clubs in Manchester or Liverpool. The golden triangle – the other two points being Alderley Edge and Prestbury – sits within pricey, leafy Cheshire East. Many of the UK's other high-value real estate locations – including most of central London and the Cornish coast, the Cotswolds, and North Norfolk – have seen prices fall in the past year or two, thanks to higher interest rates and economic and political uncertainty. Yet, according to the latest UK House Price Index, average sale prices across Cheshire East increased by an impressive 10.7pc in the past year – one of only 25 local authority areas in the UK to have seen double figure price growth. The national average growth was 6.5pc. Jairath believes part of the reason Cheshire East is thriving is because it is simply a lovely place to live and attracts families from far and wide. 'Wilmslow is so friendly,' she says. 'You can stop anyone in the high street, young or old, and have a chat with them. It is almost like everyone wants to have a nice time.' It is also a functional market. Prices might be high for the region, but were still affordable enough for Jairath, 32, to buy a family house – something which would have been unthinkable back in London. In 2019, she and her husband exchanged a rented one-bedroom flat in Stoke Newington, north east London – where they spent £1,400 a month on rent – for their newly built four-bedroom detached house, which cost less than £500,000. The couple now have a three-year-old son. Jairath's husband, who was brought up in Wilmslow, works in cyber security and was able to transfer his job up north. But in those pre-pandemic days Jairath was told that working remotely was impossible. She found a new, equally senior job in professional services at the University of Manchester, although the fact that her salary is substantially lower than it was in London rankles. Compensations include the friendly local community, good schools and large number of kid-friendly events, the regular food festivals and artisanal markets that enliven the town centre, and the gorgeous local countryside. 'I 100pc have no regrets,' she says. A market of two halves Just over half of the buyers who come to Andrew Thorpe, head of Savills in Wilmslow, are moving to the area from outside Cheshire – a quarter, like Jairath, from London and the south east. This outsider money flowing into the area may help explain why its market is proving resilient while the Cotswolds et al have foundered. However, the golden triangle – which counts Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, and Jordan Henderson among its residents – is not responsible for driving Cheshire East's outperforming growth. Thorpe said that price growth over the past year in the prime micro-market he serves, where the average buyer spends £1.1m on a home, stands at a more modest 3pc. And even that is not across-the-board growth. 'But if you dissect the market into different price sectors and into urban and rural there are stark contrasts,' says Thorpe. 'The £750,000 to £1.5m is the busiest price bracket, where affluent downsizers and aspirational upsizers meet. And it is an amenity-driven market at the moment, which means that the prime urban market is strong and rural locations are much quieter, and prices are adjusting.' Meanwhile, district-wide data from estate agent Hamptons shows that the property performance of Cheshire East, which spans 450 square miles, is very much a game of two halves. Its pleasant and more affordable southern towns are comfortably outperforming the glamorous footballer belt. The market towns of Sandbach and Nantwich, for example, have both seen annual growth of 11pc, boosting their average sale prices to £289,000 and £327,000 respectively. In Sandbach, George Rowlands, area sales manager at Northwood estate agents, puts this growth down to lifestyle changes since the pandemic. Historically, Sandbach was much cheaper than the golden triangle, largely because it is further from the bright lights of Manchester, roughly a 45-minute drive to the north. 'House prices have always been reasonable here because of that,' he explains. 'In the pandemic people went from working in the office to working from home, and they have realised they can come here and get a substantial detached house in a nice town with good schools for a lot less money.' 'My house would be £80k less in Stoke – but it's worth it' Vanessa Fuller, 38, is in the process of buying a £290,000 three-bedroom house just outside Sandbach, which she will share with her partner Kenny Perry, 45, who works in exhibition construction. Living with them will be Fuller's 15-year-old daughter Lucy, and Perry's 20-month-old son, Oscar. The family used to live in Stoke-on-Trent, where Fuller, a tax accountant, still runs her own company, Premier Tax Solutions. Some 18 months ago, she rented out her house and the family moved into the southern fringes of Cheshire East. 'We moved partly to be closer to Kenny's older son and because the schools are very good,' explains Fuller. 'It is quite green and the crime rates are low – I allow Lucy to travel by train to the next town and I don't worry about it.' From her perspective, while it may not have the same cachet or potential for celebrity-spotting as the golden triangle, Sandbach is still an aspirational area. 'The house we are buying would be £80,000 less in Stoke, but for how nice it is here and for the schools and the facilities I still think it is really good value for money.'
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Trouble in paradise? Why wealthy homeowners in exclusive 'golden triangle' Cheshire village are furious over plans for riding school for SEND children
A furious row has erupted in a mega-rich, picture-postcard village over plans to open an Equine Centre for children with special needs with upset locals alleging the site is being used by travellers. Several wealthy members of the Cheshire set in Over Peover claim that the plans threaten to turn a bridleway into a rat-run. And they say the development represents a threat to the area's tranquility and to their mental health. Affluent Over Peover is situated in a well heeled area of Cheshire known as the exclusive 'golden triangle' and the surroundings are home to many famous faces including former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson. At a heated Parish Council meeting, objectors told the land's owner, Dave Whitmore, that his plans to transform a grain store into riding stables would wreck the area and constitute a 'hazard'. Mr Whitmore said: 'I honestly can't believe the reaction that this has got. It's like I've proposed a nuclear reactor not a riding school with a few alpacas in the middle of the countryside. 'People suggested I use it as a haulage depot but as it is served by a bridleway, the riding school is a far better fit.' Such is the anger generated by the development that Cheshire police have already been involved. It is claimed that one member of the local opposition pulled her Range Rover alongside a 13-year-old mute child going for their first ride out with a teacher and, while filming on her phone, shouted: 'Are you from that local school? You shouldn't be here'. Cheshire Police said the incident had been reported to them, but it was a 'civil matter'. Mr Whitmore, who lives in the village with his wife and three children, said: 'I have had good fortune in my life and coming from a council estate in Oldham, I want to give something back to disadvantaged kids. 'There has been talk of not wanting 'these sort of people' here. It's a lovely village with some great people in it but there's a vocal minority who have got nasty over nothing at all.' Mr Whitmore bought the 44-acre plot earlier this year from David Irlam, a haulage boss and major landowner in the area. It is close to Mr Irlam's luxury wedding venue Colshaw Hall and to where Jordan Henderson has a home. He has not joined the objectors. Mr Whitmore added: 'I have been completely open and honest about my intentions with everybody from the start. 'In the future I want to build three or four houses there for my children but that is 15 years away and I don't know if I will get permission. 'In the meantime I want to put it to a good use so I have teamed up with the riding school who do incredible work with local authorities in the area to help kids who struggle to cope in a mainstream environment. 'I went to see all the neighbours and told them what I wanted to do but still they are spreading false rumours all over social media.' The Higher Farm Riding School was based in the nearby village of Byley where its website boasts four arenas, a café and 'events throughout the year'. And the thought of all that extra traffic to a location without any access besides a single-lane, tarmacked bridleway, sent villagers into a spin. One local, who asked not to be named, said: 'Since the land was sold and the Riding School moved in we have seen traffic running along the bridleway all the time, including big Arctics. 'This is an area we have used for walking and riding bikes for years. 'This development will totally change the area. It will ruin the mental health of those living around here and its scale is scaring us all. 'They have no planning permission. They have not even submitted an application and yet we know they are advertising their business. 'The rest of us have to jump through hoops. If you do anything around here, you need a bat survey or a newt survey but they are carrying on as though the rules don't apply to them. It's an outrage.' The riding school outrage is just the latest scandal that has engulfed the litigious village and surrounding area Villagers in Over Peover, previously complained their lives have been made a living hell by helicopters flying in and out three times a day Last month, a former former football club boss claimed he would have to knock down his million-pound family home to satisfy 'jobsworth' council planners and his neighbours who claimed he has increased it by a huge 140 per-cent. Last year, local councillors objected to owner William Stobart allowing a helicopter business to operate from his estate. Villagers had complained their lives were made a living hell by helicopters flying in and out three times a day And in 2020, bosses at nearby Manchester Airport fought Jordan Henderson's plans to install as pond in the grounds of his £3million mansion due to fears they could attract birds, also including gulls and waterfowl, that could fly into engines, endangering aircraft. Complaining residents said they had seen crisp packets on the bridleway and even alleged that travellers had taken over the site. Another local man, spoken to by MailOnline, expressed concern at the effects on Lower Moss Wood, an educational nature reserve and Wildlife Hospital. It is home to a range of wildlife including stoats, weasels, dragon flies and owls. He said: 'This is a haven. Their land backs onto this wood. I don't want tanoy announcements going off all day long and lots of banging and crashing. The owls will leave.' Another opponent of the change added: 'They've got alpacas on there and if they're carrying TB that could be the end of the badgers in the wood.' But Laura Clarke who runs the Riding School along with fellow former ambulance worker Andy Powell, said the locals had got it all wrong. 'We are scaling back the Riding School to concentrate on our work with kids who need help,' she said. 'There will be no events, there will be no café and no disruption to those who live nearby. 'At present we have ten children coming to use our services. They are brought in by local authorities. 'Some will study for City and Guilds qualifications with us. Some are children in care, some have learning issues, and they all benefit from their time with the animals. 'The objections are horrible. We have been reported for mistreating the animals and had inspectors visit but the truth is that we run things to a very high standard as anyone who visits can see.' Ben Wharfe of Wharfe Rural Planning, who are handling the planning aspect of the development, said: 'It is a very straightforward change of use from agricultural to equine. 'Planning encourages the reuse of redundant farm buildings and there are lots of examples of it. 'In this case there are many social benefits and we have been liaising closely with the Council. 'From a local perspective it is quite obvious that those using a bridleway to access an equine centre will be more careful.' He said that a planning application was expected to be submitted at the end of June. The plans, he said, would not include a café or any events. They would include 37 stables in a barn, plus four wooden outdoor stables, two wash boxes and a menage measuring 60 metres by 40 metres. Of the horses, 13 would be for use of the riding school, 13 were owned by Ms Clarke and the remainder would be on 'full livery', meaning full-time care at the yard. The parish council said that it would reserve its judgement until the plans were formally submitted. At the heated meeting about the proposal, Mr Irlam is understood to have told residents he had reluctantly split up his estate after being refused planning permission for a dwelling on the site. He called for everyone to calm down and assured residents that he would never have allowed for anything 'noisy' as it might impinge on the peace of his wedding venue. Another local resident, who asked not to be named, said: 'Some of those protesting are just rich hypocrites. One of them organised regular polo matches right next to this area which brought both traffic and noise. 'She has a personal menage which is bigger than the one proposed by the riding school. 'They just want the area all for themselves.'
