One was the 'poor relation', the other 'up and coming'... until now

There's a great big hole in the middle of Radcliffe town centre. And Tim and Sue Jones couldn't be happier about it.

"They've been talking about it for years and it kept getting cancelled and cancelled, so it's good to finally see it happening," says Sue, 69, over the din of builders laying the foundations for what will become Radcliffe's new £40m Civic Hub.

"I can't wait for it to be finished," adds husband Tim, also 69. "It's good to see it happening here."

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The feeling that Radcliffe had been neglected and left in the shadow of its neighbours had been building for years. Radcliffe watched on as millions were invested in Bury town centre and Ramsbottom and Prestwich became the type of places regularly featured in the Sunday Times' 'best places to live' lists.

As its engineering works and paper mills shut down, hundreds of jobs were lost, while cuts to public services also saw the closure of its civic hall, leisure centre and secondary schools

But now things are changing. Work is well underway on the Civic Hub, which will include a swimming pool, library café and offices. Radcliffe's new high school will welcome its first pupils in September and hundreds of new homes are also planned for the outskirts of the town centre.

"Radcliffe used to be self-sufficient," said butcher Kevin McDermott, 59, behind the counter of his stall on Radcliffe Market. "It had its own town hall, but when they amalgamated everything it ended up a poor relation.

"A lot of the shops have disappeared. The banks have all closed. But now they're finally spending some money.

"Some people think it's going to be a white elephant, some people think it'll be a massive boost for the town. But you can't knock them for spending money. They are throwing a lot of money at it, so let's see how it pans out."

Radcliffe is part of the Bury South constituency, which also includes neighbouring Whitefield and Prestwich. At the last general election voters elected a Conservative MP - Christian Wakeford on a slim majority of 402 - for the first time since 1992.

The Tory victory meant the seat was lumped in with so-called 'Red Wall'. But in Bury South - the constituency which has the highest proportion of Jewish voters in the UK outside of London - concerns over antisemitism in the Labour party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership likely also played a large part.

At the next month's general election, new constituency boundaries will see some of Radcliffe moved into Bury North, while Kersal and Broughton Park will be brought into Bury South. But despite the Conservatives standing a well-known local candidate, Rabbi Arnie Saunders, a Tory councillor in Salford, the bookies have Mr Wakeford long odds to win again.

An if he does, because he was elected as a Tory it will actually go down as a Labour gain. One person who won't be voting for him, however, is Amanda Doyle. In fact she says she won't be voting for anyone.

"It's like choosing between Coke and Diet Coke," she says. "I voted for Boris Johnson last time and I look what he did. I feel guilty about that. I have to take responsibility for it."

Amanda, who's lived in Radcliffe since she was a teenager, says it's not that she's apathetic. She takes a keen interest in local politics and describes herself as a 'staunch' supporter of hyperlocal party Radcliffe First which currently holds eight of the nine council seats in the town.

"They are sorting the town centre out - that was the main issue," she said. "Before it was just cr*p. There was no-one here and it was so old. It looked so depressing.

"Radcliffe First have pushed for that. They've done everything they said they were going to do, so when they come back and knock on my door they can say 'look, we've done it'. That what you need from politics. The main parties haven't done that."

Less than three miles down the road, Prestwich is also undergoing its own huge redevelopment. The £100m plans will see the Longfield Centre and the shopping precinct demolished to make way for a new food hall and shops, a village square, library, health centre, multi-storey car park and hundreds of new homes.

According to developers it will 'cement the suburb as one of the best places to live and spend time in the region'. But as they do a bit of shopping on Thursday afternoon before heading off to watch England take on Denmark in the Euros, father and daughter Jonathan and Maria Cooper have more immediate issues on their minds.

Jonathan, 50, has lived in the area all his life, but as gentrification has led to rocketing house prices he says he's struggling to afford the rent. "It's ridiculous," he said. "My rent is £900 a month and it keeps going up, but my wages aren't going up.

"It's getting harder and harder. I pay my rent every month on time, but I can't get a mortgage. Surely that's wrong."

Maria, 21, will be voting in her first general election. "I'd rather not be under a Tory government," the student says. "I'm leaning towards Labour, but I'd rather vote Green to be honest."

Asked about Tory plans to bring back national service, she scoffs at the idea. "Oh my God," she says. "My little sister is 13 and while it would be so funny to see her doing it, it's just stupid. I know a few people in the services, but they are doing it out of choice. Why would you vote for someone who's going to make you do that."

And like her dad, Maria says the big issue affecting her life is the cost-of-living. "It's impossible," she said. "I'm not really optimistic about the future. It's just so difficult.

"If I wanted to buy a house next year say, I'd still be renting so how would I put money away for a deposit. Plus you've got all your bills on top of that. How do you do that alongside trying to live?"

"How did we get to a place where you can't afford to live in the area where you grew up?," adds Jonathan.

Musician Danny McTague, 50, is sitting by the fountain on the precinct as he listens to music on his phone. He's lived in Prestwich for more than 20 years and says it's changed quite dramatically in that time.

"It used to be a bit rowdy," said Danny, frontman of the folk band The Plumedores. "It's not like that any more - it's much quieter."

Danny says he will be voting Labour, because he believes they're the party that will do most for the NHS and public services. "I have a couple of chronic illnesses and mental health issues, so I am a big user of the NHS.

"But austerity has destroyed it. It's on its knees, I've seen it first-hand. I can't get any kind of mental health care. It's just non-existent. It's real struggle.

"To improve public services I don't see how they can do that without putting taxes up somehow. If I thought the Greens had a chance I might vote for them, but the important thing is to get the Conservatives out.

"Labour are just focussed on getting in. I have to trust that if they do win they will still be the good guys. I hope they don't let us down."