Hattersley

Coordinates: 53°26′52″N 2°01′40″W / 53.4479°N 2.0278°W / 53.4479; -2.0278
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Hattersley
A view over Hattersley, from Werneth Low
Hattersley is located in Greater Manchester
Hattersley
Hattersley
Location within Greater Manchester
OS grid referenceSJ982945
Metropolitan borough
Metropolitan county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townHYDE
Postcode districtSK14
Dialling code0161
PoliceGreater Manchester
FireGreater Manchester
AmbulanceNorth West
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Greater Manchester
53°26′52″N 2°01′40″W / 53.4479°N 2.0278°W / 53.4479; -2.0278

Hattersley is an area of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England; it is located 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Glossop and 10 miles (16 km) east of Manchester, at the eastern terminus of the M67. Historically part of Tintwistle Rural District in Cheshire until 1974, it is the site of an overspill estate built by Manchester City Council in the 1960s.[1]

History[edit]

Construction of the estate[edit]

Council homes originally built by Manchester in the 1960s

Between 1894 and 1936, Hattersley was a largely rural civil parish in the Tintwistle Rural District in the historical county of Cheshire. In 1936, it was annexed to the municipal borough of Hyde but remained undeveloped. At the beginning of the 1960s, most of the area was purchased by Manchester City Council to build a large overspill estate, which became home to many families rehoused from inner-city slum areas like Gorton. Another similar estate was built in Gamesley. Both these estates consist primarily of council-built houses.

Renewal and privatisation[edit]

Regeneration in Hattersley is coordinated by Hattersley Neighbourhood Partnership.

The city council transferred control of most of Hattersley's housing stock to Peak Valley Housing Association in 2006 after an attempt to transfer it to the Harvest Housing Group which collapsed when a £20 million gap in funding to refurbish the homes to new housing standards was identified. The transfer brought a £40 million, seven-year improvement plan for existing housing tied to a £140m investment from a private developer.

Selective demolition has begun to remove some obsolete housing leaving space for redevelopment and investment in education and public services. Seven tower blocks were demolished in 2001.[2] Demolition of some of the 1960s low-rise houses on the estate took place in 2007 and 2008, these houses having deteriorated to a condition where refurbishment was not viable, in spite of these houses being just over 40 years old.[3]

In 2012 a Tesco supermarket was opened, despite residents' concern about extra traffic.[4]

Moors Murders[edit]

Moors murderer Myra Hindley and her grandmother Ellen Maybury, together with Hindley's boyfriend Ian Brady, were rehoused in Hattersley from Gorton in 1964 and lived at a new council house in the area – 16 Wardle Brook Avenue[5] – for approximately 12 months until Hindley and Brady were arrested in October 1965. They had already carried out three murders – still undetected – before they moved to Hattersley.

Brady spent much of his time at the house with Hindley and together they carried out their final two killings – that of 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey on Boxing Day 1964, and 17-year-old Edward Evans in October 1965 – at the house;[6] they had already committed three murders while living in Gorton.

The body of Lesley Ann Downey was buried on nearby Saddleworth Moor the day after her murder on Boxing Day 1964, and found there during the initial search of the moors nearly a year later, but the body of Edward Evans was found locked in a bedroom at the house before the couple could dispose of it; the police then went on to find the evidence to link Brady and Hindley to the earlier murders. Brady and Hindley were sentenced to life imprisonment in May 1966, both remaining in custody until their deaths.[citation needed]

In October 1987, Manchester City Council demolished the house as they could not find tenants willing to live there. The site of the house remains vacant,[7] although the surrounding houses remain standing.

Dale Cregan[edit]

On 18 September 2012, drug dealer Dale Cregan made a hoax emergency call to the police from an address in Mottram, luring Police Constables Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32, of Greater Manchester Police there by claiming that there had been an incident of criminal damage. When they arrived, he ambushed the constables, shooting them and throwing an M75 hand grenade at them. Both officers were hit by at least eight bullets as Cregan fired 32 shots in 31 seconds. He later turned himself in at Hyde police station and was charged with their murders.[8]

Community and regeneration[edit]

Hattersley had a monthly community newspaper, the Hattersley & Mottram Community News, produced by local people; it ceased publication in 2011, after Tameside Council ended its funding. It is home to no. 468 (Hyde and Hatterley) Squadron Air Cadets.[9]

Hattersley is now home to both a brand-new community hub and a library. Many new developments have been important in kick-starting the regeneration of the Hattersley district; these include new housing, a large Tesco Extra superstore and Adventure Longdendale (a trampolining, Laser Quest and play centre). There are also plans for Hattersley Retail Park; this was originally scheduled to open in 2021, but has faced multiple setbacks.[citation needed]

Transport[edit]

Hattersley railway station

Hattersley railway station serves the area; it is on the Glossop line between Manchester Piccadilly, Glossop and Hadfield. There is a generally half-hourly service in both directions, operated by Northern Trains.

Bus services are provided by Stagecoach Manchester. There are frequent services to Manchester city centre on route 201.

Notable people[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Hattersley History". Hattersley 2005. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  2. ^ "Hattersley Project Demolition of 7 Multi-storey Tower Blocks". Connell Brothers. Archived from the original on 20 April 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  3. ^ "BASE Regeneration – Hattersley – Public consultation for Phase 1b and new phase 2" (PDF). Taylor Young. November 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  4. ^ Carr, Sue (18 April 2010). "Superstore Traffic 'danger' to kids". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  5. ^ Cook, Chris (2 June 2022). The Moors Murderers: The Full Story of Ian Brady & Myra Hindley. Pen and Sword True Crime. ISBN 9781399098762.
  6. ^ "Ten miles from town: Life on the Manchester overspill estate where buses 'won't go'". 7 April 2019.
  7. ^ McIver, Brian (10 January 2019). "Houses of horror too grim to sell that had to be razed to the ground". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Dale Cregan: father of murdered WPc says he should hang". Telegraph.co.uk. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  9. ^ "468 Air Cadets". Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  10. ^ Halle-Richards, Sophie (7 April 2019). "Ten miles from town: Life on the Manchester overspill estate where buses 'won't go'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 8 April 2019.