The construction of the first wave of hundreds of homes at Welborne has been approved by the Fareham Borough Council Planning Committee, representing a major milestone for the new generation sustainable garden village in Hampshire.
The 363 homes, which will form part of the Chesterfield and Dashwood neighbourhoods, will range from one to five bedrooms, including apartments, terraced houses, semi-detached and detached properties. These initial houses will be built by Pye Homes and Thakeham.
In a new financial model for the sector, the Welborne Master Developer, Buckland, has formed a joint venture with the two housebuilders, enabling the construction to follow a single Design Code and Street Manual. This approach will ensure all of Welborne’s neighbourhoods, which will eventually provide homes for 15,000 people, will be characterful and cohesive and the architecture will be in keeping to the local area.
Taking a nature-led design approach, more than 50% of Welborne will be green space woven throughout, and it will be biodiversity positive with wildlife and natural habitats restored from the previously intensively farmed agricultural land.
Mark Thistlethwayte, Chairman, Buckland Group, said: “After almost two decades in planning, I am delighted that the first homes will be built at Welborne this year and we hope to welcome our first residents this winter.
“We have a different development approach compared with mainstream companies. By forming joint ventures, we can work with smaller housebuilders who share our focus on quality craftsmanship and work to the same design code, meaning Welborne’s neighbourhoods will be beautifully designed and built, in keeping with the local area and green space will be prevalent throughout.”
No home will be more than 300 metres away from the total 180 hectares of publicly accessible green space, including woodland, parks, allotments and sports facilities, equivalent to around 277 Wembley-sized football pitches in total.
The homes, as well as commercial space and community buildings, will be heated and cooled by a low carbon water source network, and residents and businesses will have access to one gigabit super-fast broadband.
Also forming part of the Chesterfield neighbourhood, a village centre will be built in the first construction phase which will have essential local amenities, including a primary school, a GP surgery, a nursery, a pub/hotel, cafes, and shops.
Graham Flint, Managing Director, Pye Homes, said: “We are pleased to announce that we have received planning permission for the Welborne Garden Village development. At Pye Homes we are committed to creating new communities of which residents can be proud and Welborne is no exception. This significant milestone marks a major step forward and we are keen to begin crafting the beautiful new homes in our scheme, alongside the delivery of new green spaces and essential amenities.
“The planning process has been thorough, and we extend our gratitude to the Fareham Borough Council for their support, and we look forward to working with the Buckland Group to use our years of expertise to create something truly special at Welborne.”
The Chesterfield neighbourhood homes will be designed in the ‘Hampshire Formal’ and ‘Hampshire Vernacular’ styles, while the Dashwood neighbourhood will be in the ‘Garden City – Arts and Crafts’ and ‘Garden City – Queen Anne’ styles as set out in the Neighbourhood and Strategic Design Codes.
The planning applications also cover infrastructure to support the homes, including roads, street trees, parking, utility connections and other services.
