Withington remained an agricultural community on this scale until the late 1960s when changes began to occur. The population had become rather elderly, children moved away out of agriculture and, as houses came up for sale, they were bought by people who wanted to live in the country and had the means to modernise them. At the same time agricultural changes meant it was more viable to create bigger holdings. The council began consolidating its holdings into bigger units as tenants retired and later began the process of selling them to the tenants if they wished or to the public. Only two holdings remained in 2003 as council holdings but three former council holdings, which were sold, were still farming.