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 & 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 Welborne’s house build partners – Thakeham and Pye Homes.
In a new financial model for the sector, the Welborne Master Developer, Buckland, has formed a joint venture with three 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 with the local area.
Taking a nature-led design approach, more than 50% of Welborne will be green space woven throughout the community, 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.
“We are looking forward to working closely with Pye Homes and Thakeham and expect a third planning application from our joint venture with CG Fry to go ahead in the coming weeks.”
Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, said: “I proposed the building of the new community now known as Welborne Garden Village two decades ago. I am delighted that the vision of Buckland and Fareham Borough Council for an amazing 21st century community in a very high-quality environment that will be green in every sense of the word will now see the first homes provided for local residents. It has always been important to me that Welborne provides the highest quality homes with all the required infrastructure, and it is great to see the earliest phase including the first of four schools, a doctors’ surgery, shops, parks and a pub.”
No Welborne home will be more than 300 metres away from publicly accessible green space, including woodland, parks, allotments and sports facilities, totalling 180 hectares – equivalent to around 277 Wembley-sized football pitches in all.
The homes, as well as commercial space and community buildings, will be heated and cooled by a low-carbon ground source water heat pump network, and residents and businesses will have access to one gigabit super-fast broadband.
During the first construction phase, a village centre will be built in the Chesterfield neighbourhood which will have essential local amenities, including a primary school, a GP surgery, a nursery, a pub/hotel, cafes, shops and sports facilities. A planning application for the Village Centre has been registered and approval is anticipated this summer, enabling building to start imminently.
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.”
Rob Boughton, CEO, Thakeham, said: “At Thakeham we build homes that are crafted with care, that have a positive impact on communities and the environment and our partnership with Buckland Group is an exciting new chapter for us as we get set to bring this approach to Welborne Garden Village. We’re thrilled to have secured planning and look forward to creating beautiful homes and a timeless, sustainable and thriving place to live.”
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.