Jackie Walker loves getting back to her peaceful new home at Anson Meadows, Woodford Garden Village.
“It’s like walking on to a film set,” said Jackie, 53.
“It’s like a different world. It’s so friendly and homely, and so safe and pretty. There’s nothing more I would want for a home for me and my family – it’s just perfect.”
And she says there’s something else that’s special about the flagship development as it reaches the halfway mark on the 205-hectare site of the former Woodford Aerodrome.
“Woodford was famous for the production of British aviation wonders like the Lancaster and Vulcan Bombers, and the Nimrod RAF patrol aircraft,” said Jackie.
“I grew up in nearby Poynton and I can remember sitting on Tip Hill and watching the Nimrod taking off for test flights, and I used to come and watch Woodford Air Show here. It’s been very much a part of my childhood, my life. I love how Redrow have been respectful and sympathetic to what was here before, with the naming of the roads and boulevards in memory of the people who contributed to the designs of the planes. It’s like I’ve bought a piece of history with my home too.”
Jackie, a manufacturing shift manager at Astra Zeneca pharmaceutical company in Macclesfield, moved into her four-bedroom Stratford End property at the end of May with children Esme, 20, and Joseph, 16.
It’s the first home she has bought on her own after a recent divorce and, while she thought she would stay in Poynton where Joseph is still at high school, she liked the look of the growing village.
“Every house we bought as a family was an older house that we renovated. The house we sold was a five-bedroom 1930s semi that we’d bought as a three-bedroom and done up and extended 10 years before. My dad was a joiner by trade and had built houses – me and my sister didn’t play with dolls, we hammered nails into bits of wood!,” she said.
“But when we sold the family home I couldn’t go through that again on my own, I didn’t want a renovation and I didn’t have the energy. I wanted a home that me and the kids could just walk into, with a kitchen like the one we’d left, and nice bedrooms like Esme and Joseph had had. When we walked onto the Woodford site, we loved it. It had a good feeling about it, it has the most amazing views – you can see Lyme Park, Shrigley Hall and White Nancy on Kerridge Hill in Bollington – and there is a feeling of space and lovely green areas. We really liked the style of the houses too, with the high ceilings and the way they were designed, and when we walked into a Stratford End show home we all said ‘this is it’.”
The Stratford End is a spacious and ‘airy’ property with a kitchen, dining and sitting area that extends the rear, and wide patio doors that open onto the garden; there’s a separate lounge at the front and a downstairs cloakroom.
Upstairs there are four bedrooms, the main with en-suite, and a family bathroom.
“Downstairs is lovely and like a tardis with the feeling of space, but I was particularly impressed with upstairs,” said Jackie.
“I have the main bedroom, and Esme has bedroom two. Joseph has the smaller bedroom three at the back – although he still has a wardrobe, double bed and chest of drawers in it – and he also has bedroom four at the front as his gaming and homework room. We also have a sofa bed in there so it can be used as a guest room.”
Jackie used the My Redrow tool to select a series of upgrades and extras including fitted wardrobes for Esme’s room, and for both hers and Esme’s rooms, a chest of drawers, dressing table and bedsides.
Downstairs she chose a Quartz worktop, an island, a dishwasher and wine-cooling fridge for the kitchen, along with spotlights in the communal areas, Amtico flooring in the kitchen and downstairs cloakroom, and chrome sockets and fittings.
“We wanted to literally walk in and feel straight at home, and that’s what we did. I have never been in doubt that it was the right decision to come here, and everything has gone so smoothly. I used Redrow’s mortgage bureau, and they were great – giving far better advice than the two independent people I consulted – and I used the recommended solicitors so they all communicated with each other so I didn’t have to keep chasing them. The ladies in the sales office were amazing; giving me that extra support and advice and helping me feel confident about the decisions I was making,” she added.
“I love the home – and my energy bills are a quarter of what they were in my old house. I have only had the heating on twice for a couple of hours since we’ve been in! As soon as you drive on to the development it puts a smile on your face, and I am proud to say I live here. I am beginning a new chapter of my life and I can’t think of a better place to start it from. I am so happy with everything.”
Woodford Garden Village is situated in the heart of Woodford, and just 15 minutes’ walk from Bramhall Village and the great social life it offers with plenty of bars and restaurants. Bramhall also has a train station, as does Poynton which is also close by, and both give access to Manchester city centre, for work and leisure.
It offers a range of three, four and five-bedroom homes on three different phases of the development, currently available from £418,000.
To find out more about Woodford Garden Village, visit our website.
