"It is nice to hear the birds sing and not cough," 31-year-old Myra Colahan told the Knutsford Guardian in 1969.

The mum-of-two and her husband John left their Cheetham Hill home - which was due to be demolished - for Knutsford a month before Christmas.

"In Cheetham Hill when we looked out of our back window we could see a rag-yard, " said Myra.

"Now we see trees and fields. It's beautiful."

The Colahans joined 16 other families, who were then living on the Manchester Corporation development.

Their weekly rent was £4 16s for a three-bedroomed home with a large lounge, garage and central heating.

More than a year later in February 1971, 1,200 tenants had moved in and builders expected the estate of 380 homes to be finished within months.

The completion of the £1,250,000 project had been delayed because of bad weather. But Longridge tenants had already had their fair share of problems.

A fight for a public telephone box on the estate paid off after residents had faced a 20-minute walk to make a call.

But their need for a bus route had yet to be answered and Knutsford councillors were trying to convince a private company to provide a service.

The proposed closure of the tip behind the new estate near Shaw Heath was also welcomed after some residents claimed rats had been found in their homes.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.