'You wouldn't think you were in Manchester.'
Beneath the afternoon sun, Robert Carr gently sweeps his paintbrush along the front of his 300-year-old cottage. He pauses intermittently and descends his step ladder to chat to passers-by. It's a sight not uncommon here in the idyllic village of Simister, in Prestwich.
"It's the best place in the world," the 60-year-old said. "If I won the lottery, I wouldn't move from here. Everyone is dead friendly. It's a fantastic place to live and a good community. We have the Farmers Arms, where everyone meets up at weekends. Meanwhile, the huge Northern Gateway employment site, which it is estimated could create up to 20,000 new jobs, will be located on nearby land north of the M62.
Simister Lane - the road that bisects the village - is used by drivers as a "rat run" between Prestwich and junction 19 of the M60, according to Mr Dodsworth. "I don't drive and the bus is chronic. It stops at seven and it only goes to Prestwich and back but I choose to do that because I want to live here. If they are going to destroy it, what's the point?"
"We know we need new houses but it's about doing it fairly," he said. "We've never said no to development, it's just the amount. People are already selling up if you go down towards the bottom end of Simister." When Nikki Behar arrived in Simister 17 years ago, she found some of its older residents to be cold and unwelcoming, she says. However, she says an influx of young families in recent years has made it "more friendly".
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