I totally agree with ETOPS (the thread starter) that living in Cheshire is a difficult area to own an aircraft.
Having spent eighteen months at Liverpool I am now moving my Archer to Chester for a variety of reasons, however the choices I had within an approximate hours drive of my home took me from Blackpool to East Midlands.
Like ETOPS I don't want to operate off a grass field. I want a full facility airfield with a reasonable chance of finding it in bad weather without 'scud running' in under low stratus.
There is nothing in the area that fits the bill and as stated above, for a catchment area the size of Manchester and the North West it's a national scandal that we have to either be bled dry by greedy operators at the major airports or face hangar rash and water logging at the minors.