Alderley Edge, High School 1896

Photo ref: 37454

More about this scene

NOW, as we come into the third millennium, it is possible to see that all three communities have become essentially suburban areas, in that few people depend for their living on locally owned farms or industry. The service sector, in all its myriad forms, provides the majority of people with their livelihoods, and most of them look to Manchester or even further afield for the crucial decisions that shape their lives. The area has also become almost entirely middle class and middle aged. With the rise in house prices and the sale of council houses in the late 20th century, working people and young couples looking for a place to start a family can find it very difficult to get anywhere to live in the area. Even the old terrace houses have been converted into bijou residences for the professional classes. This homogenisation of society means that the area has lost the variety of human inter- reaction that used to be there.