"Our town's more than the 'new Didsbury'. We just don't know where it's going"

It has been recognised as one of the best places to live, not just in Greater Manchester, but the whole country. Yet Prestwich finds itself at a crossroads.

The town boasts stunning green spaces and some of the best bars and restaurants in the region. Council chiefs are hoping to build on that in the coming years, with a £100m regeneration project they hope will be a 'success for many years to come'.

It's a vision that took a step forward last month, with a formal planning application being submitted. But after years of regeneration talk - and as businesses recover from the double hit of a pandemic and soaring costs in recent years - there is uncertainty.

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Chris Williams runs the Village Greens community co-operative store on the Longfield Centre precinct, which will be knocked down under the proposals. Chris says the current situation has left the shop stuck in limbo, unable to expand its offering to customers in the way he would like.

"The regeneration means we can't really do too much as far as building and creating facilities here," Chris said. "It's difficult to move forward. In a lot of ways the regeneration isn't helping us, it's keeping us in stasis."

The Manchester Evening News first spoke to businesses for this feature before Bury Council and developers Muse unveiled their latest plans in February. They include a new village square, a Mackie Mayor-style food hall, a community hub, a health centre, 'flexible' retail space, 210 apartments and a multi-storey car park on Fairfax Road.

But speaking to the M.E.N again, with the dust settled on the latest announcement, Chris said there had been no further assurances for the future of Village Greens or