Wilmslow Park North and Wilmslow Park South constitute a single private road which itself was formerly a country estate road with lodges at each end. The road is adjacent to the Bollin Valley which gives a rural feel to the area whilst being close to Wilmslow Town Centre and the railway station. Cheshire East Council owns the largest frontage and its herd of cattle can usually be seen grazing by the river in the spring, summer and autumn months.
OWNERSHIP AND RIGHTS OF WAY
Ownership of the private road is somewhat obscure. Some frontager members of the Committee of the Association believe, based on the deeds of their properties, that they own that part of the road which fronts onto their properties up to the centre line of the road. (However we have no information which confirms that the same applies to the deeds of all frontagers). No evidence has ever been presented to the Association which shows this view of ownership has been put to the test but almost certainly this is how frontagers would be assessed for costs in the unlikely event that the road was ever adopted by the Local Authority.
Whether or not existing owners have been granted a right of way to their property over the private road is often a cause for enquiry by solicitors acting on behalf of purchasers. There appears to be no definitive answer to this question but we usually quote the words of the solicitors of one of the developers of property in Wilmslow Park. These were “No one appears to know who actually owns the fee simple of the road and accordingly it is impossible for anyone to be granted a right of way as this can only be granted by the actual owner. This is a well known problem in Wilmslow and unfortunately any purchaser must accept the situation as it stands“. In practice, we have no knowledge of any property owner in Wilmslow Park and its side roads ever having been denied access. Most properties are more than 20 years old and successive owners will have enjoyed unhindered access to these properties since they were built.