Five of East Manchester's oldest residents are among the first to benefit from the trendy new canal side apartments at Sportcity.

The women from Clayton with a collective age of 322 have left their 100-year-old nearby terraces for the smart urban flats in an unusual move - all for the same monthly rent.

Northern Counties Housing Association residents Pat, Nora, Winnie, Marjorie and Mary are settling in to their new homes, just a stone's throw from their former terraced properties. The new flats are within sight of the Manchester Velodrome and Manchester City Football Club's new stadium, 10 minutes outside the city centre.

Their designer flats belong to the first phase of 600 new canal side apartments being built by private developer Countryside Proprties Ltd as part of the major regeneration of east Manchester that was kickstarted by the Commonwealth Games in 2002.

As four of the residents are in the eighties, NCHA is supporting them through the whole process of moving home.

The five friends who have lived almost all of their lives in the area are delighted with their new, modern, ground floor apartments.

Marjorie Mulhall, 83, said: "I am very pleased, it looks good and I'm glad to be rid of the stairs in the old place.I like the fitted kitchen and it's lovely to have the central heating."

Pat Unsworth, 69, was a little dubious when the move was first suggested to her. She said: "I didn't know what to think to start with, until I realised what we were going to get and since then I've been very positive."

"My flat has two balconies with one of them looking on to the canal. I think it's going to be beautiful round here when they have finished."

Winnie French who was born in the next street celebrated her 87th birthday just before moving into her new home. She says: "The flat is lovely and it is nice that we are all moving in at about the same time and that we will still be neighbours."

The original document is available in PDF format for downloading(285k). The Weekly News November 2004

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