Ex-Premier League star’s dad reveals what life is like on ‘golden mile’ with £4m mega mansions home to football stars
A FORMER Premier League star’s dad has revealed what life is life on the “golden mile” where homes sell for around £4million.
Grand mansions on the posh Fulwith Mill Lane in Harrogate have sold for between £2.5 and £3.5m in recent years and one is currently on the market with a price tag of £3.7m.
The country lane near Pannal is in the heart of Yorkshire’s Golden Triangle, which is home to those who are absolutely minted.
Many homes are fitted with large electric gates, security cameras and guard dogs keeping watch for protection.
They often come with swimming pools, tennis courts and well-maintained lawns and gardens.
For those who can’t quite afford to live here, they can always saunter past dreaming they might win big on the National Lottery and which property they’d buy.
Resident Boris Gnonto, 55, the dad of Leeds United star Willy Gnonto, 20, loves living in the street along with his Italian superstar son.
Boris, from the Ivory Coast, moved to the street last year and loves going for country walks in the neighbourhood.
Boris told the Examiner: “I’ve been living here for one year. It’s easy for me. It’s very tranquil here which is very important. There’s no problems here. It’s very nice for me.”
The location is great for Willy, who regularly has to go to the LUFC training ground in Thorp Arch, near Wetherby.
Boris added that he hasn’t really connected with much of the neighbourhood so far as he’s happy with the company of his son.
Michael Krzywonos, 27, works nearby and regularly walks across the street, but can only dream of owning a home on the lane.
He said: “I remember this being called one of the top, most wealthiest streets in Yorkshire – but it’s just something I can dream about.
“I think about ‘what do you have to do to get here, to buy a house like this?’”
Michael, who works in finance, added that he was taken aback as he often sees the huge homes being torn down to make way for even grander properties.
He said that he ever won the lottery he would buy one of the grand properties on the road.
Solicitor Sarah, 35, who did not want to have her surname published, lives in the area, said that she felt quite sad that some of the mansions had been built on land which had been green space when she was a child.
Sarah said: “It’s a bit daft, really, given the housing crisis and young people unable to get on the housing ladder and so many people waiting for houses.
“When I was quite young, I had a friend who lived in one of the houses, it had a tennis court at the back.
Cheshire’s Golden Triangle
The Golden Triangle, which is also known as the Footballer Belt, is an area covering a cluster of small towns and villages in Cheshire.
While the exact area is hotly debated it is generally considered to cover Wilmslow in the north, Alderley Edge to the south west and Prestbury to the south east.
The area is popular with wealthy Premier League footballers along with business people and high-ranking figures in the entertainment industry.
Of the 10 most expensive streets in the north west, five of them are in the area.
The triangle covers the parliamentary constituencies of Macclesfield and Tatton.
It is also the main basis for the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Cheshire.
“That house there has guard dogs. I’ve got one of the Ring Doorbells – but guard dogs seem a bit unnecessary.
“In all fairness, when we have friends over, we bring them over here with the dogs to look at the houses.”
The news comes after fears have been raised due to a number of high-profile burglaries of the homes of footie stars.
Just days ago, the former Tottenham star Etienne Capoue had his home raided by a gang of burglars while he had dinner with his wife and kids.
Valencia police have opened an inquiry after a raid on Capoue’s house in the upmarket city suburb Betera.
Meanwhile, a gang who burgled Jack Grealish’s home are believed to have carried out other raids on the home of Prem ace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Cops looking into the robberies have dubbed them the “Balcony Burglars” after they used ladders to target balconies connected to the master bedrooms of each mansion.
Grealish’s home was targeted on December 27 as his family sat downstairs watching him play for City on the TV against Everton.
Former Liverpool and Arsenal ace Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards were also robbed by a gang in September 2022 by a gang who used a ladder to access a bedroom at their £3.5m mansion in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
West Ham star Kurt Zouma‘s family home in Essex was targeted while he was inside.
The robbers also stole jewellery and high-end watches worth £1million – with Zouma forced to miss his team’s game against Crystal Palace.