'Life here is much easier': The most affordable postcode in Greater Manchester has 'everything you need'

You can hear the odd Scouse-tinged twang on the streets of Pemberton. That might be because the former mining village in Wigan is closer to the Mersey Tunnels than the Mancunian Way.

Another notable thing about the town, postcode WN5, is that it currently has the cheapest house prices in the most affordable borough for first time buyers in Greater Manchester. According to the latest Land Registry figures the average property here will set you back £146,230.

That means first-time buyers will need to earn around £30,000 a year and save up just under £22,000 for a 15 per cent deposit, to get on the property ladder. In comparison in Trafford, the region's most expensive borough, the average house price is now an eye-watering £362,554.

But

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Outside St John's parish church Susan and Terry Boyd and Sandra Hopkinson are making preparations for this weekend's jumble sale. "It's a working class area," says Susan as she helps hang a sign on the churchyard gate. "It can be a bit parochial - most Wiganers stay where they are - but it's very friendly.

"There are a lot of community things, but since covid a lot of it has died. We are trying to build it back up again but it's difficult.

"We're hoping to set up a coffee morning and get people more involved, but it's never got back to normal after covid. A lot of people, especially the elderly, are still nervous about going out. Covid just upset everything."

Major local employers include the huge Heinz factory in nearby Orrell and Wigan Infirmary, but with a train station and the M6 on the doorstep it's an also easy commute into Manchester, Liverpool and other surrounding towns.

Retired aircraft engineer