The early years of the 'Victoria Park Company' were of mixed fortune. The original plans to develop land in a slightly different area, did not reach complete fruition, largely due to the fraud which led to the Foss v. Harbottle case. A cul-de-sac of villas was built opposite Whitworth Park, and these were later demolished for the construction of the Royal Infirmary. The fraud, or rather a complex connected series of frauds, related to the original development along Moss Lane East. Drainage techniques of the time were insufficient to support the developers' ambitions, and the large tranche of land they owned was not built on until several decades later. Some of the original villas remain on the southern side of Moss Lane East, between Wilmslow Road and Monton Street. They are attractive and spacious buildings.