Porsche cars, high gates and celebrity neighbours - life on one of Greater Manchester's richest streets

Light is fading on Hale Road. It’s school pickup time, and the ‘most-attractive’ street in Greater Manchester is clogged with exhaust fumes.

There’s a temporary light restricting traffic to one-way-only. But this is no ordinary bottleneck.

Rush hour along this road means you are treated to a parade of luxury cars: Range Rovers, Mercedes, BMWs and Jaguars, at this time with parents (mostly mums) at the wheel.

READ MORE: Greater Manchester’s 'most attractive' street where luxury pads sell for £2m

There’s the occasional Porsche purring past too. Anything older than a 2023 number plate is a rare sight.

When online estate agents SellHouseFast compiled a list of 28 of the most-desirable locations across the UK and asked 1,000 people to pick their favourite, Hale Road came 24th, with 5% of the vote. Homes on the road now sell for an average of £905,438, according to Rightmove.

While people may argue there are more attractive roads out there (in fact, the two local estate agents the Manchester Evening News spoke to were surprised at the findings; “there are much better roads”), there is no denying that this is a desirable, and expensive, place to live.

Proof of that, if you were looking for some, would be Mizu Bathrooms, a bathrooms and interiors shop on Hale Road. It’s owned by Deby Alison Thomas, a friendly and gregarious forty-something who says the area hasn’t changed much in the 20 years she’s been there.

Stepping inside her shop, you are greeted by a glittering smorgasbord of white marble, rose gold, pale wood and soft white lighting illuminating the fixtures, dotted with orchids in pots and accompanied by the heavy scent of ‘rose-cashmere’.

It’s a candle from Deby’s own brand, Rose Gold Candles. For £49, the candle, made in Scotland, is made from sustainable wax and Italian glassware. It smells deliciously rich and enticing. Through the window on the forecourt is parked a glossy, electric blue sports car.

Deby says she has seen people spend “into the hundreds of thousands” on their home décor. “I’ve had people spend up to £250k”, she said. “It’s a fantastic area – very privileged, but we’re lucky to have the kind of clientele that we do.

“They’re all about the powder rooms here, that guests will use when they come round for dinner. One lady spent about £30k on one. You’d call it a downstairs loo – but they call them powder rooms in Hale.”

This part of Trafford has long been renowned for its wealth, and for being home to some of our region’s richest - including CEOs, celebrities and Premier League footballers.

You can see it in the expensive restaurants with menus in minimalist fonts, the beige, soft-furnished salons, cafes and wine bars.

You can see it in the glimpses of interiors you catch through the windows, all vaulted ceilings and ten shades of Farrow and Ball: mauve, cream, heather grey.

You can also see it in the smart private school uniforms of the children stepping off the bus or being taken to their violin lessons (again, usually by mums).

The houses, however, are where you can see the real money. Some are truly massive, typical footballers’ pads eschewing traditional red-brick for cream and black, with impenetrable security gates, immaculate hedges and several brand new cars parked on the drive way.

But there is a real mix of architecture on display here too. As you get closer into Hale, there are fine Victorian mansions and townhouses jostling alongside more ordinary-looking family homes from the 1920s and 30s. None of it comes cheap, though, as the residents passing by readily admit.

“I can only afford to live here because we bought our house so long ago,” says Jill, 47, heading along the road in a khaki green, floor length puffer coat – something of a uniform for the stylish British mum.

“That was 18 years ago. It would be completely unaffordable now.”

Like all the people the Manchester Evening News spoke to, Jill likes living in Hale. “It’s got nice bars, restaurants, it’s close to Altrincham. And the schools are good,” she said.

“But I think Hale is a bit tacky now. I think people kind of ship in here hoping they’re going to bag a footballer.”

She also thought that Hale Road – the main road into Altrincham off the M56 motorway – had become much busier.

“People drive too fast. My kids get the bus to school from a stop on this road, and it worries me, them having to cross it alone.”

Helen Barlow, 60, has also lived in Hale for a long time – 30 years. She was fresh from a massage – “my hair is full of oil!” – but still happily posed for a photo with her black Labrador, Poppy.

Helen brought her children up in Hale, and likes it for its proximity to Wilmslow and Knutsford, its abundance of “good state schools” and “places to walk the dog.”

“It’s definitely got busier since I have lived here. There’s much more traffic,” she said.

“It was worth the expense of living here when our children lived at home, and they were at school – but less so now.”

“We’d like to downsize, but we’re not sure we’d be able to find anywhere smaller in Hale. But we’d like to stay.”

Down the road, Duncan, 76, is moving a 2017-plate Porsche into his garage. He’s another resident who remembers the days when Hale was quieter, first having moved to the area (nearby Westgate) in 1969.

“Half the people on that road then didn’t even have cars,” he said. “Parking wasn’t an issue like it is now.”

“There were a lot of spinsters and widows living alone. But it was always a well-to-do area, even then.”

He moved to another house near the cemetery in the mid-1980s, and has no plans to leave. “It suits me down to the ground. Everything’s close by, it’s very convenient, and there’s good public transport.

“But it’s become so much busier in that time. And become enormously more expensive. I don’t think young people could afford to live here.”

The youngest person the Manchester Evening News spoke to was Stellios, a 39-year-old from Sale who has had his private gym and personal training service on Hale Road since 2007.

He used to live in the flat above the gym – Soma Fitness, soma meaning ‘body’ in Greek – but took issue with the noise.

“The cars going by drove me crazy,” he said. “It used to stop me sleeping. I could never live on a main road now.”

Stellios likes Hale. He says the people are nice, and it's handy for the short walk into Altrincham. But he has since moved out to Timperley.

“I bought a four-bedroom house there. I could never afford that here,” he said. “Whatever size or style you’re looking at, it’s all expensive.”

He says he is lucky that there are clientele in the area who can afford a personal trainer and private gym membership. “But we’ve been struggling since COVID, and have had to put our prices up,” he said.

He knows Hale well, having gone to school in the area. "There used to be a bookies and a news agents on this strip. There’s a lot more salons and nail bars now", he added.

"I still like it - but it's changed a lot."