Tensions rise in Wimborne over public access to Mill Lane

Last year planning inspectors at Dorset Council rejected a modification order in Mill Lane to give the public a right of way on the road. 

Currently, Mill Lane is owned by the Mill Lane Precinct Estate and they decide who has right of way on the footpath. 

The estate say permissive access is allowed as a “goodwill gesture” and in support of businesses and the public, and that access is not under threat. 

Mill Lane in Wimborne (Image: Daily Echo)

However, residents have criticised the “awful” signage and gates the landowner has put in place. 

Wimborne resident Vanessa said: “It has been ongoing for a long time now. People from Wimborne should remember what it used to be. 

Read more: Motorbikes ride through Wimborne for Mia Hankins

“There are signs saying private, it’s been written on the road and there are fences blocking access. This can’t be happening. 

“It would be nice if all the fences were taken down and everybody could get on with their day. They just look so awful. It doesn’t reflect nicely on the town centre. The river has been blocked off by plants. 

Residents have criticised the signage (Image: Daily Echo)

“We want Wimborne to be pretty and Mill Lane used to be so pretty. But that isn’t the case right now.” 

Shopkeepers we spoke to in the area either said they support the landowners or they would “rather keep out of it” such is the sensitivity of the topic. 

A spokesman for Mill Lane Precinct Estate said there has been some “misleading information” circling the internet as a result of the new modification order, adding: “Some people are using this order for their own personal objectives, to take control, not a justified reason to try and make land a public right of way.  

Read more: Police appeal after cyclist attacked in Wimborne

“This includes false claims that rights of way exist over Private Land in Mill Lane and that, by implication, Mill Lane has been managed in an illegal and/or improper way.  

“To date, no public right of way has been legally identified or created by an Order, so legally there are no public rights of way on private land in Mill Lane. 

Mill Lane in Wimborne (Image: Daily Echo)

“The land identified by the order in Mill Lane is private land, historically managed in accordance with advice from solicitors, insurers, surveyors and the police.  

“The estate has allowed permissive access through Mill Lane as a gesture of goodwill and in support of businesses and the public, access is not under threat.” 

Wimborne Minster Town Council: “The Town Council met on 27 September 2022, and I can confirm that the following was resolved: DCs Notice of Modification Order 2022 in relation to the footpath from Mill Lane to the High Street and Crown Mead was supported by council.”