Our Stock is rising

Residents and leaders reveal why struggling town became 'best place to live'

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BY PHIL CARDY and CHARLOTTE FISHER Ј ust 15 years ago, Stockport was a ghost town struggling to survive in the shadow of nearby Manchester.

As with many towns, industry was in decline, investment was drying up, flagship stores had closed their doors and a famous high street was deserted.

Voted the 12th worst place to live in the UK by the book Crap Towns, its Merseyway shopping precinct was derided as the "town's heart" - if you wanted to "buy anything from Woolworths, Argos or Everything For £1".

It warned visitors that if they walked underneath the precinct's second-floor balcony then they risked a "shower of gob, McDonald's fries and stones from gangs of youths above".

Fast forward to today and Stockport is a town reborn, following the UK's largest town centre regeneration. Named by the Sunday Times as the best place to live in the North West, it has been nicknamed "New Berlin".

And the buzz is visible, with modern homes, open green spaces, great transport links and bustling businesses and restaurants, including Cantaloupe, which has even made it into the Michelin guide.

Town leaders see it as a blueprint that can be replicated across the country, their pride in the transformation matched by residents.

The Mirror headed to Stockport Market, boosted by a £7million investment, to find out what the locals think.

Karen Jordan, 68, who has lived in the town centre since 2008, says: "Lots of new niche businesses have come into town, the buildings are all being regenerated, so the restoration as a whole of Stockport has been brilliant.

"There is just a general feeling that people are beginning to flourish." Mark Henderson, 58, of Wally's Finest Fruit and Veg, says: "I've been at this store since I was a child and I took over from my dad about 14 years ago.