Is Northwich one of the best places to live? (From Northwich Guardian)
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Is Northwich one of the best places to live?
3:39pm Monday 18th March 2013 in News
By Gina Bebbington
Marbury Park is a beautiful part of Northwich.
NORTHWICH is one of the best places to live in the UK, according to a guide published in The Sunday Times.
The town features firmly in the top 10 places in the north west and also appears at number 51 of 100 places in the country.
Town mayor Clr George Mainwaring, a lifelong Northwich resident, said: “I’m very pleased about this – we’ve got some nice places and it’s good to be recognised for that.
“There’s a lot more to Northwich than the town centre and the industrial parts.
“People genuinely want to come and live here and bring up a family here and there’s real community spirit.”
The Sunday Times guide takes into account transport links, quality of schools, natural beauty, low crime rate, property prices, cultural life and unemployment figures.
Northwich features alongside Kendal, Crosby, Lytham St Annes, Heswall, Chester, Clitheroe, Hale, Didsbury and Ramsbottom.
The Sunday Times Best Places to Live is edited by Sunday Times associate editor Eleanor Mills, author of a property column.
She said: “Scampering around Britain for my column I find there are particular bits of our crowded island which always retain a particular attraction for people.
“We have built on this basic information to create a definitive guide.”
John Hulme, from the Mid Cheshire Community Rail Partnership , said: ”We are not surprised to hear that three of the top 10 best places to live in the north west can be found along the scenic Mid Cheshire Line.
“Cheshire is a beautiful county and Chester, Northwich and Hale all offer excellent facilities and easy access to the rail network.”
Northwich resident Peter Harris said: “Its half-timbered properties are one of the reason we love it says the paper but I must admit that I would love them even more if they were restored and the buildings put to good use.
“Far too many of them, especially around the town centre swing bridge, are in a pretty poor state of repair and if left to deteriorate would almost certainly have to be pulled down.”
• Do you think Northwich one of the best places in the north west? Why do you love it or why do you hate it?
Comments(52)
sylvia2036
says...
6:17pm Mon 18 Mar 13
james138
says...
7:13pm Mon 18 Mar 13
iborsbey
says...
8:21pm Mon 18 Mar 13
The town centre is filled with great independent cafes that provide good quality food at reasonable prices.
The town is surrounded by great countryside in almost every direction, which can be accessed directly from the town centre without the need to drive.
Once you're in the countryside there is plenty to explore, including some of the best country pubs I have visited anywhere in the country. As well as stately homes, rivers, lakes - no need to rely on the cinema as your sole form of entertainment.
Then we have the promise of millions of pounds of investment that is realistically going to be realised in a few years. At which point you'll be well served by the cinema that you require, as well as having restaurants and bars along the rivers edge.
It's a good job that the people looking in realise Northwich for the gem it is. As most of the contributors here seem to consider that it is the worst place that they could have chosen to live.
rogers-t
says...
9:04pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Northwich is okay.... Knutsford is better!
Anonamatty
says...
9:30pm Mon 18 Mar 13
ly with a family to consider), you have no idea how good this town actually is.
The schools, the history, the potential of the future, be proud that outsiders have looked at and Northwich and mentioned it at all.
So much to be enthusiastic and looking forward to, though traffic problems maybe not one of them(bridges were built for horse & carts after all!).
Sylvia2036 If where you live is a joke, Move back to the Midlands!
ntsmcgurk
says...
10:45pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Your arguments against Northwich are a little flawed if Knutsford is your alternative.
1. The incinerator. Cited at Lostock, and thanks to the prevailing south-westerly wind, many of the "toxins" will trot off to Knutsford. http://www.knutsford
guardian.co.uk/news/
9974697.CHAIN_fear_K
nutsford_will_be_aff
ected_by_incinerator
_go_ahead/
2. No decent sports/leisure facilities. A brand new indoor sports centre is to be built in the town centre, replacing the facilities at Moss Farm, which are pretty good anyway. This is in addition to the leisure centres at Sir John Deane's and Rudheath. At Moss Farm and SJD, the town has two full sized weather pitches as well as smaller pitches at Leftwich and Rudheath. Northwich also has a wide variety of sports clubs for people to join.
3. Rail links. Hartford to London Euston, 1 hour 59 minutes. Knutsford to London Euston, 2 hours 53 minutes. Hartford also has hourly trains to Liverpool.
The Sunday Times Guide also takes into consideration schools. SJD is rated as an outstanding sixth form college and, not including the Grange, Northwich has three schools which ranked higher than Knutsford in the latest league tables for both % 5 A*-C in GCSEs and % A*-Cs in English Baccalaureate subjects.
Admittedly, the 180 seat cinema and the 13 minutes saved on the train to Manchester by living in Knutsford make for a compelling argument.
rogers-t
says...
11:32pm Mon 18 Mar 13
From my observations and listening to many others that have visited the towns of Winsford and Northwich, they are okay but those I've come across much prefer the likes of Chester or Knutsford and areas of South Manchester.
Sandy_blue
says...
1:50am Tue 19 Mar 13
Well said!
Always negative and morbid people bringing our town down...
And to be honest Knutsford ain't anything special...really doesn't excite me! Then again Northwich does as its our home!
turtle2
says...
9:59am Tue 19 Mar 13
Knutsford may have some nice restaurants but where do you buy reasonably priced men's clothing if you live in Knutsford? The answer is you can't and you have to go to another town like Northwich which has a range of shops selling reasonably priced men's clothing. Knutsford doesn't even have a shoe shop these days, there used to be 3 or 4.
Many younger people in Knutsford get school/college buses to St Nicholas High School, Sir John Deanes College, The Grange school and Mid Cheshire college.
Unless you're going to Altrincham, Stockport or Northwich public transport from Knutsford is poor. The route to Manchester is very indirect, while the train to Delamere or Chester from Knutsford is expensive compared to the distance travelled. (The off-peak fare for Knutsford-Delamere return is around the same as the peak fare for Northwich-Altrincham return.)
A bus service from Knutsford to Warrington would be very welcome. Northwich gets a regular Warrington service despite being further from Warrington.
The industrial side to Cheshire is needed. Where would the people who work at the industrial sites work instead if they were closed?
rogers-t
says...
12:45pm Tue 19 Mar 13
If Northwich is so good, then why does the likes of Chester West council treat Northwich (and indeed Winsford) as a dumping ground!
Open your eyes, Chester West ensures anything THEY don't want gets dumped right out to the edge of their administration, ie. Northwich and Winsford. This is the reality of what is happening!
turtle2
says...
1:14pm Tue 19 Mar 13
The train route (and only direct public transport link) goes Knutsford-Mobberley-
Hale-Altrincham-Nort
henden-Stockport-Ard
wick-Manchester. How is that direct? It'd be like Northwich-Crewe buses going via Knutsford.
Half the time the train is going East instead of North. It takes 45-50 minutes the train to go between Knutsford and Manchester, with Knutsford being just over 15 miles from Manchester. If you could cycle directly instead and averaged 20mph on your bike then you'd beat the train! It makes it probably the slowest train route in the country - the only ones coming close are the remote north of Scotland lines.
rogers-t
says...
5:11pm Tue 19 Mar 13
You've not managed to convince me, I prefer Knutsford as do my relatives and friends ;)
rogers-t
says...
5:13pm Tue 19 Mar 13
james138
says...
11:50pm Tue 19 Mar 13
turtle2
says...
9:38am Wed 20 Mar 13
If you look at the more affordable housing in Knutsford then you're 1.5 to 2 miles from the station. There is a bus (the 300 service) but it will only start at 08:20 from 1st April, so if you need to get the train to work you'll probably have to walk to the station.
At least Kingsmead has a bus service. Some villages in the Knutsford area have no bus service at all - not even a one day a week service.
turtle2
says...
9:47am Wed 20 Mar 13
Andy Priestley
says...
12:32pm Wed 20 Mar 13
rogers-t wrote:DOOM GLOOMER ALERT!
Ha! You have to be kidding - 2015 you'll have a monster of an incinerator dwelling over the town spewing out all the toxins!
Bring kids up in Northwich? There's nothing for them, no cinema, no decent sports/leisure facilities and an inflexible rail link to Manchester which is very slow and you feel like cinderella having to get the last train back before midnight which takes 1 hour!
I take it you live in Knutsford. If so, why not read your version of the Guardian and stop getting all worked up about our beautiful town!
Woodyone.1
says...
3:03pm Wed 20 Mar 13
Ricky12
says...
4:59pm Wed 20 Mar 13
Basically the doom mongers are criticising Northwich based on traffic links that they probably never ever use! Northwich only exists in its size because of ICI so to say that it has its industrial blackspots is a little churlish.
Get out to the parks, Marbury, Delamere, Vickersway, Verdin. Walk (or run) down the rivers and canals. Take a trip to the boat lift. We dont do that bad do we?
Ive lived abroad for seven years. I know where I want my kids bringing up!
GOFFY
says...
6:22pm Wed 20 Mar 13
One halfwit who has stated that Knutsford is a better place to live than Northwich must already live there and rarely come to Northwich, but if he does live in Northwich then he can like all the other whingers can bugger off to Knutsford to live there. I hope at the next elections all the whingers put up for election (if they haven't taken my advice) and try to change all the things they keep whinging about
I LOVE NORTHWICH.
Goffy
AntiNimby
says...
9:28pm Wed 20 Mar 13
Davenham Resident
says...
9:39am Thu 21 Mar 13
turtle2
says...
9:59am Thu 21 Mar 13
1. Years ago Knutsford was full of empty shops. A number of those empty shops have converted to restaurants so the high street looks more attractive and looks good to visitors but the lack of shops makes it a less practical town for residents. Northwich, on the other hand kept many of it's shops and some have closed as a result of the recession. Knutsford never had a Barratts, Woolworths, Adams etc. in the first place.
2. Northwich in the past was one of the main towns in Vale Royal and is now one of the main towns in Cheshire West. Knutsford used to play send fiddle to Macclesfield and Wilmslow under the old council for investment and is now that Crewe, Sandbach and Congleton are in the same council area Knutsford has dropped down even further. This shows when you look at the state of the roads and public transport in Knutsford compared to Northwich.
Of course people in Northwich can easily get to Knutsford and some are short sighted so don't see those problems.
GrumpyBum
says...
1:18pm Thu 21 Mar 13
For a small town Northwich offers a lot. And lets be honest, the cities aren't that far away, or hard to get to.
turtle2
says...
2:47pm Thu 21 Mar 13
http://maps.google.c
o.uk/maps?q=knutsfor
d+drury+lane&ll=53.3
05237,-2.371974&spn=
0.003706,0.015235&hn
ear=Drury+Ln&gl=uk&t
=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll
=53.305234,-2.371967
&panoid=ltZqV34KkW4F
cHwwiCgnYg&cbp=11,0,
,0,0
Macclesfield Borough Council and Cheshire County Council disagreed about who should foot the bill for resurfacing and Cheshire East apparently don't have any money to fix it. It's also only just outside the town centre so not a remote road in the middle of nowhere.
rogers-t
says...
3:27pm Thu 21 Mar 13
SPOT ON! The Sunday Times article seems like it's motivated by those of the 'wet' ilk that get over excited and fall in love with a place as soon as they see mock-Tudor style fascias on the front of buildings in Northwich lol :P
rogers-t
says...
3:42pm Thu 21 Mar 13
If you live in Northwich you must drive/have a car. Indeed to some extent this is true for Knutsford too. Ideally the South Manchester region (Altincham, Sale, Bramhall et all) has the best public transport services.
Woodyone.1
says...
4:36pm Thu 21 Mar 13
rogers-t
says...
5:25pm Thu 21 Mar 13
My point is that access to the public rail network by local bus services from Kingsmead/Davenham, indeed areas that are considered large commuter villages is an absolute nightmare.
I'll repeat myself again, there is NO bus service from either Davenham/Kingsmead which takes/drops you off next to the Northwich Rail Station. Therefore this makes rail travel to large employment areas such as Chester or Manchester impractical and expensive!
If you live in mid-cheshire you have to have a car otherwise getting around is a real time-consumer and a whole lot of hassle and expense! Do you get it now?
GOFFY
says...
6:31pm Thu 21 Mar 13
Goffy
rogers-t
says...
10:37pm Thu 21 Mar 13
This was one of the MAIN reasons why some of my family gave this part of a Northwich a miss when considering to settling in the area!
AntiNimby
says...
1:22am Fri 22 Mar 13
UsernameAlreadyInUse
says...
5:08pm Sun 24 Mar 13
Jealous that it wasn't your own precious Knutsford, Mabel? Pathetic. Enjoy choking on the incinerator fumes...
PetersRock
says...
9:20pm Sun 24 Mar 13
UsernameAlreadyInUse wrote:Duh! There do seem to be such things as chemical factories in and around Northwich.. so why are you digging at Mabel Taylor?
I noticed that Knutsford's resident busybody Mabel Taylor felt the need to write to The Times to point out that Northwich is full of chemical factories.
Jealous that it wasn't your own precious Knutsford, Mabel? Pathetic. Enjoy choking on the incinerator fumes...
Little saddoes who hide under pseudonyms, so they can insult, really shouldn't be let out too often.
There's a good working relationship between Knutsford and Northwich. They are different towns close together. Northwich is good for all basic and market shopping.. and its car parking is both extensive and free of charge.
It could do with someone taking a look at its ‘skating rink’ new pavements in the town centre, before too many shoppers get a trip to Leighton with their bones. But otherwise it is a very good, and relatively unique town.. which can also be said of Knutsford.
However, there is little market left in Knutsford. The parking costs money. . is not so plentiful.. partly because of Tatton Park, which abuts it. This can only grow worse if Bewilderwood is allowed into the space of the park.
What both towns need is a healthy dose of democracy, with everyone taking part.. to keep their current services - health, social care, public transport - and to improve on them.
It is good to see so many comments on one page. Is this ‘the dawn of democracy’? I do hope so!
PetersRock
says...
9:26pm Sun 24 Mar 13
L Byrne
says...
9:45pm Sun 24 Mar 13
Your evil message to Ms Taylor that she 'enjoy choking on the incinerator fumes' is so disgusting I am tempted to wonder if you have psychopathic tendencies. Perhaps that is the reason that you dare not disclose your identity. Brave, eh?
Ms Taylor deserves credit for mentioning the elephant in the room which has not been mentioned in the discussion about how nice Northwich is to live in. The uncomfortable fact is that there are several large and old chemical factories located within a few hundred yards of the town centre which are so ugly, decrepit and neglected that they look like scenes from industrialised Russia or Poland, circa 1962. Take a look at the TATA factory in Winnington, for example which visitors have described to me as the ugliest sight they have ever seen. What an accolade!
The tragedy is that these decaying vestiges of a bygone age and a town centre which is being allowed to die on its feet detract from the advantages and attractions which Northwich does offer. They have been mentioned in several previous comments and I will not repeat them here with one exception which is the excellent quality of education which is available to children and young people.
My advice to Ms Taylor is not to be intimidated and to continue to express her opinions which are sound and well reasoned.
rogers-t
says...
1:25pm Mon 25 Mar 13
http://www.mancheste
reveningnews.co.uk/n
ews/greater-manchest
er-news/altrincham-c
lass-act-the-best-19
46465
GOFFY
says...
2:18pm Mon 25 Mar 13
Goffy
UsernameAlreadyInUse
says...
4:33pm Mon 25 Mar 13
L Byrne wrote:Psychopathic tendencies? Evil? Please... You're starting to believe your own rhetoric, Byrne.
Username
Your evil message to Ms Taylor that she 'enjoy choking on the incinerator fumes' is so disgusting I am tempted to wonder if you have psychopathic tendencies. Perhaps that is the reason that you dare not disclose your identity. Brave, eh?
Ms Taylor deserves credit for mentioning the elephant in the room which has not been mentioned in the discussion about how nice Northwich is to live in. The uncomfortable fact is that there are several large and old chemical factories located within a few hundred yards of the town centre which are so ugly, decrepit and neglected that they look like scenes from industrialised Russia or Poland, circa 1962. Take a look at the TATA factory in Winnington, for example which visitors have described to me as the ugliest sight they have ever seen. What an accolade!
The tragedy is that these decaying vestiges of a bygone age and a town centre which is being allowed to die on its feet detract from the advantages and attractions which Northwich does offer. They have been mentioned in several previous comments and I will not repeat them here with one exception which is the excellent quality of education which is available to children and young people.
My advice to Ms Taylor is not to be intimidated and to continue to express her opinions which are sound and well reasoned.
I merely thought it was pathetic that some busybody who doesn't even live in the town should waste their time writing to the National Press to slag the town off - rather than perhaps extolling the virtues of her own town, and not mentioning other towns by name.
That, to me, smacks of jealousy, nothing more, nothing less...
Woodyone.1
says...
4:51pm Mon 25 Mar 13
Instead of building a Waitrose perhaps we should invest in bomb shelters!!
L Byrne
says...
5:44pm Mon 25 Mar 13
'I was amused to see Northwich on the list of best places to live for, though pleasant enough, and with excellent motorway connections, it is a virtual ghost town of empty shops in the centre.Sadly the fine old timbered buildings mentioned are overshadowed by too many 1960s structures, some of which are being demolished as part of a redevelopment plan.
Furthermore the town is blighted by the high number of chemical plants and HS2 is destined to pass nearby.'
Nobody but a cowardly sicko would suggest, hiding behind anonymity, that the person who wrote that should 'Enjoy choking on the incinerator fumes'.
rogers-t
says...
6:31pm Mon 25 Mar 13
Northwich has the potential to be a great little town, but it's not great. I lived in Northwich (Kingsmead) many years ago and had a lot of hope for it having saw Cheshire County Council's plans for it, but they all went up in smoke and we (I say my family) decided that it's probably best we consider moving elsewhere and so we did as we were fortunate enough to be able to do so. I feel sorry for those stuck there, especially those in Lostock which will be over-shadowed by that Incinerator in the new few years or so! I also feel sorry for those in Winnington, what an eye sore it is over there!
UsernameAlreadyInUse
says...
6:45pm Mon 25 Mar 13
L Byrne wrote:Oh, Byrne, lighten-up, for the love of God.
For those who missed Ms Taylor's letter to the Times, here it is in its entirety:-
'I was amused to see Northwich on the list of best places to live for, though pleasant enough, and with excellent motorway connections, it is a virtual ghost town of empty shops in the centre.Sadly the fine old timbered buildings mentioned are overshadowed by too many 1960s structures, some of which are being demolished as part of a redevelopment plan.
Furthermore the town is blighted by the high number of chemical plants and HS2 is destined to pass nearby.'
Nobody but a cowardly sicko would suggest, hiding behind anonymity, that the person who wrote that should 'Enjoy choking on the incinerator fumes'.
I'm neither cowardly, nor a sicko, I just don't see why someone from a neighbouring town would (regardless of whether or not it's true) take the time to slag off our town in the National Press.
It. Is. Pathetic.
As for "enjoy choking on the incinerator fumes", I don't expect that she would literally be choking on the fumes, it was a turn of phrase, you muppet, aimed at denigrating her beloved Knutsford (in the local press, where it is relevant, before you foolishly try to draw any parallels).
ntsmcgurk
says...
8:42pm Mon 25 Mar 13
Nobody has suggested here that Northwich has the "best" schools, but I would like to point out the inaccuracy in your claim that "many schools in East Cheshire out rank Northwich". On the % of students gaining 5 good GCSEs or equivalents, Holmes Chapel is the only school in East Cheshire (not including independents) that out performed either St. Nicholas High School or Leftwich. It would also be somewhat unfair to compare the league tables for either CWAC or Cheshire East schools to Trafford since the latter has a large number of grammar schools.
Your previous comment to suggest that "Altrincham has beaten you" is hardly a point of contention either since Hale was in fact on the Sunday Times list as well as Northwich. Just so there is no more confusion, the top 10 places in the North West on the Sunday Times list were (in no particular order) Northwich, Kendal, Crosby, Lytham St Annes, Heswall, Chester, Clitheroe, Hale, Didsbury and Ramsbottom.
You should also note that the Sunday Times guide takes into account transport links, quality of schools, natural beauty, low crime rate, property prices, cultural life and unemployment figures. It did not factor in anecdotal evidence from your friends and family, which perhaps explains Knutsford's omission.
rogers-t
says...
1:45am Tue 26 Mar 13
"Natural Beauty" yes, the surrounding country side might be nice like most of Cheshire, but the heavy industrial sites engulfing the town really spoils the place big time!
"Cultural Life" there's complete sod-all to do there. The kid's are bored and I know only too well the level of anti-social behavior plaguing Kingsmead was incredible for years, including parts of Leftwich too.
Which leads to "low crime rate" another joke, like I say the crime and anti-social behaviour on Kingsmead was bad for years. the "low crime rate" caption you suggest is debatable due to the way "crime" is reported and all the gerrymandering going on.
"unemployment" good-lord Northwich and particularly Winsford has some of the highest Social Welfare dependents in West Cheshire!
Like I say, Northwich is okay - it's decent enough as most other towns up and down the country but it's not 'GREAT' and that was always my argument here!
L Byrne
says...
11:26am Tue 26 Mar 13
I agree with you.
One point missing from the whole debate is 'health' which might be measured, for example,by average life expectancy rates.
Evidence presented to the public inquiry about the TATA waste incinerator demonstrated an apparent correlation between life expectancy and how close you live to the current chemical factories. In Hartford the figure for males is 81.7 years whereas in Leftwich & Rudheath it is 75.1 years.
These numbers come from published PCT statistics.
It would be interesting to see the same comparison covering the towns in the North West that you mention.
MatthewB
says...
10:21pm Mon 1 Apr 13
Saying that the future is looking very good indeed.
The Barons Quay development which includes a new cinema will give Northwich the status it deserves.
We lost the Regal as people wanted to go to Cheshire Oaks to watch films.
When Northwich gets a cinema back it will be a different story. A few more cafe bars like Relish in Hartford and maybe open The Plaza as a cuture cinema like The Cornerhouse in Manchester and Northwich will be the place to be.
MatthewB
says...
10:26pm Mon 1 Apr 13
rogers-t wrote:I do not see the attraction of Knutsford as a town. It is no better or worse than Northwich.
AntiNimby is right. Northwich isn't fantastic place to live, but mid-cheshire as a whole is!
SPOT ON! The Sunday Times article seems like it's motivated by those of the 'wet' ilk that get over excited and fall in love with a place as soon as they see mock-Tudor style fascias on the front of buildings in Northwich lol :P
Each to their own I suppose but just because YOU live in Knutsford it doesn't make it a better town.
Woodyone.1
says...
10:33am Tue 2 Apr 13
tracy manfredi
says...
6:12pm Thu 11 Apr 13
If you look at the air you breathe Northwich isn't great either.
But to those that love it Good Luck. Those that hate it get out if you can afford it. I suspect many can't and its these people who are trapped by circumstance I feel for not those that choose to live here.
INEEDTOSAYTHIS
says...
10:57pm Thu 11 Apr 13
rogers-t says...
5:55pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Bring kids up in Northwich? There's nothing for them, no cinema, no decent sports/leisure facilities and an inflexible rail link to Manchester which is very slow and you feel like cinderella having to get the last train back before midnight which takes 1 hour!