In 1901, the population of Hazel Grove had increased by 390 from 1891 to 8238.

An old tradition of “Beating the boundaries” was still going on until at least the 1930s. Men would go out once a year with youngsters and beat the boundaries between the old hamlets with sticks. The boundary between Norbury and Bramhall fell in between the Grapes Inn and the Three Tonnes, and continued in the middle of Hatherlow Lane. Opposite London Road, from the Grove Inn to Pineapple Street stood Bosden and then Torkington carried on from Pineapple Street until the Robin Hood Hotel. What is now called the Norbury Post Office was actually in Bosden!

In 1902, a second railway was built in Hazel Grove. This was built by the Midland Railway Company, who wanted to connect Derby with Manchester Central. The building of the railway was no small task and included building the viaduct over Macclesfield and Buxton Roads and then the Disley tunnel(2 miles long). A station was opened in 1902 called Hazel Grove Midland, which wasn’t a success and closed in December 1916. This line later fell out of passenger service, but in 1986 an extension was built to link it to the Buxton line over part of Norbury Cemetary. It was opened by the Bishop of Chester in 1986.

The first world war had a devastating effect on Hazel Grove and over 200 men lost their lives. In real terms, 15% of men of working age died in the war from the Grove. In 1923, a fund was raised to build a memorial gardens near the Mechanics Institute (now the civic hall).

In 1919, Hazel Grove saw its first motor bus service to Manchester, originally number 92, we now know it as the 192 run by Stagecoach Buses.

The 1930s saw the expansion of the village. The census of 1931 shows 13,979 people, but by 1939 this had grown to 19,819. Much of this was due to West & Co. who built an estate on Clarendon Road and other houses built by Cheshire Corporation.

The war years 1939 – 1945 saw all of the men conscripted into either the armed forces and civilian duties. Again, the memorial gardens pay witness to the many men who lay down their lives for their country.

The 1950s saw a regeneration of council housing by Cheshire Corporation and by 1961, the population of Hazel Grove had risen to 30,339.

Hazel Grove had a Greyhound racing track between the war years; this was a 5 dog track and people from all over Manchester visited. It was situated near the new Hazel Grove Police Station on Buxton Road and the council estate is still known as the greyhound estate. It was closed in the mid-1950s.

The 1960s and 1970s saw an extensive private building programme on Jacksons Lane and Torkington Road and this increased the fabric of the village.

Later developments on Bramhall Moor Lane saw the building of the Newby Road Industrial Estate, a significant employer in the area.

London Road saw developments in the 1960s with the introduction of self-service supermarkets.

In 1987, Hazel Grove found itself with a hypermarket – “The Hazel Grove Centre”. It was built by North West Co-operatives on the site of their old ‘Co-op stores’. This was a new beginning to shopping in Hazel Grove. Later in 1989, Kwik Save abandoned their London Road supermarket and moved to Commercial Road in a purpose built building. Shopping would never be the same in Hazel Grove.

The 1990s began the decline of London Road, Newsagents, green grocers, florists and butchers began to disappear. The shops either became empty or let out to charity shops, discount stores, sandwich shops or late-night takeaways.

The advent of the Trafford Centre at Dumplington, in Autumn 1999 was seen as a further nail in the coffin of the Hazel Grove traders who had existed since the 1790s.

The 20th century had seen tremendous growth in terms of population. The whole existence of the village lay in Richard Bullock‘s smithy and the small shops and businesses which grew out of it. The 20th Century saw empty shops and traders prepared to sell their businesses at stock level.