FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Building Welborne

Living at Welborne

  • A Garden Village is a derivation of Ebenezer Howard’s century-old concept of a Garden City (Letchworth Garden City, Welwyn Garden City, Hampstead Garden Suburb, Brentham) – a standalone settlement, holistically planned, self-sustaining and characterful.

    At Welborne we want to take the best of that period – the variation in design given order by simple repetition, the front and back gardens, the use of hedges, trees and lawns, grouping houses with other on-site amenities. To this we want to add the demands of the modern age: smart and connected living, green open spaces, local shopping and employment. We are aiming to create a place fit for the modern age and in which people still want to live 100 years from now.

  • Welborne is designed to be a community for 21st century life but one that looks to the past to learn lessons from the tried and tested principles of Britain’s heritage of placemaking in our villages and garden cities.

    Welborne is underpinned by a set of principles aligned to the shared characteristics of these successful communities and places:

    Holistically planned: comprehensive masterplan, flexible enough to evolve over time

    Strong vision, leadership: single Master Developer for the lifespan of the development, guiding the vision

    Long-term stewardship: active management of public realm, community infrastructure and activities, engaging and involving residents

    Diversity of homes: mixed-tenure homes, housing types that are affordable, housing that reflect the ‘whole of life’ and inter-generational ethos

    Beautifully and imaginatively designed homes with gardens for healthy communities

    Economic purpose: locally accessible employment with a range of jobs on offer within easy commuting distance

    Wellbeing: opportunities for residents to grow food including allotments, connection to nature, sports facilities and community activities to support active lifestyles

    Landscape-led design with extensive network of well connected diverse green space augmenting the natural environment

    Strong cultural, recreational and shopping facilities in walkable neighbourhoods

    Integrated and accessible transport systems

    Having adopted Garden City Principle from the start of our vision and planning 15 years ago, Welborne has since been recognised and included as one of the UK Government’s Garden Villages as below. For more information please see here.

  • An outline planning application sets out the principles of development rather than the detail of development. It looks at the scale and nature of development, considers certain high-level parameters (such as key access points, areas of land use, density of development, location and quantity of open space etc) and refers to the Planning Authority’s policies.

    Approval of an outline planning application means the development proposals are acceptable. Before works can begin on site, approval of detailed plans is needed for each phase through the submission of a detailed planning application (‘reserved matters’) and agreement on Section 106 triggers and payments.

    In the case of Welborne, Buckland submitted an outline planning application for the site which included a detailed element for access roads and upgrades to the M27 Junction 10. The application needed to respond to Fareham Borough Council’s Welborne Plan which sets out the planning policy framework for the new settlement. Please refer to the Masterplan page on this website for more details.

    Planning consent Outline Planning Application was granted by the Council in October 2021.

    Going forward, Buckland will be preparing detailed designs for each major phase of development and consulting on them before submitting to the Council or starting on site. In addition, many of the elements of “enabling infrastructure” will also require a separate planning application.

    This process has been started and details can be found on the following Fact Sheets.

  • Dashwood is a 38-hectare woodland area in the northwestern corner of Welborne. Currently private estate land, it is an integral part of Welborne’s natural green space proposals. Buckland has proposed the installation of a 2.8km circular path in order to open up access for the benefit and enjoyment of Welborne and the wider community. More details can be found here.

    Dashwood falls under Winchester City Council while the rest of Welborne falls under Fareham Borough Council. Over the years, Buckland has undertaken a range of flora and fauna assessments and surveyed over 1,600 trees within the woodland in order to ensure safe guarding of ecosystem.

    Following dialogue with both Natural England and Winchester City Council, Buckland submitted its proposals to the Council; these have been accepted and planning for the path has been approved.

    Details of the application can be found here.

    Details on the latest updates to the application and preparation works can be found on Fact Sheet No.3.

  • Any development big or small is controlled via the planning process and the local planning authority. The Welborne planning application is in outline only so simply provides a framework for development rather than the detail of development. There will be many applications for a range of infrastructure and enabling works large and small, in addition to detailed application for the main Phase 1, as we progress with delivery. The Council will make sure the proposed works comply with the Welborne Plan.

    The Funtley Hill access application is to provide a future no-through access route to residents off Kneller Court Road whose current access will be affected when the M27 Junction 10 works are underway. The following Fact Sheet provides further information. Planning permission was awarded on March 2020 (FBC Ref P/20/007/FP)

    Boundary Oak School access application provides a future alternative access to the school from the A32 as the current access will be affected during the planned works on the M27 Junction. The following Facts Sheet provides further information. The application is currently under consideration (FBC Ref P/20/0288/FP)

    Updates to the Dashwood application are currently being prepared for submission to Winchester City Council at the end of April 2020. Separately a programme woodland management works are also planned later in 2020.

    Read our fact sheets here.

  • Detailed plans for the new M27 Junction 10 were included in our planning application. Whilst the rest of the application was in outline and will need further detailed applications before construction can begin on each phase, the motorway junction design was already provided in detail.

    Hampshire County Council appointed their man contractor in 2022.

    Public and private sector are working together on delivery. Hampshire County Council (HCC) has agreed to be the Delivery Body for the upgraded junction 10 works. The funding strategy for the work has been approved by Fareham Borough Council and the planning condition has now been discharged.

    A funding gap opened up last year following withdrawal of Local Enterprise Partnership monies owing to timing constraints on spend. To bridge this gap and enable Welborne to move forward, Buckland has recently offered to double its contribution to the junction work from £20m to £40m whilst maintaining the 10% affordable housing provision in the first phase.

    Our proposal is made on the basis that the public sector source the balance of £30m from Government funding. FBC and HCC have been heading up funding discussions with the relevant Government departments and we understand that positive progress has been made in recent months.

  • Buckland wants to ensure that not only is Welborne built to a high standard, but that this quality is safeguarded in perpetuity and is accompanied by a strong village-life ethos. To this end it has established the Welborne Garden Village Trust – a not-for-profit limited company that will be responsibile for the long-term stewardship of Welborne for the benefit of its residents.

    The concept of a community Trust is not a new one – there are several examples of long-standing stewardship bodies that oversee the administration of planned new settlement in the UK. The Welborne Garden Village Trust distils the most successful aspects of these examples as the basis of its own structure and role.

    Buckland envisages the Trust’s role will be to:

    • Stimulate and support community ethos with residents taking active participation;

    • Co-ordinate the management and maintenance of areas of public realm and re-invest in Welborne – community buildings, parks and open space, roads, green infrastructure and any other areas not passed to Hampshire County Council or Fareham Borough Council;

    • Uphold the masterplan, characteristics and quality of the Garden Village to be set out by the design codes.

  • Buckland has been undertaking ecology surveys across the site since as early as 2013 in order to gain the fullest possible picture of the flora and fauna across the site. Through this work we have been able to understand and identify areas of sensitivity that require protection, consider the impact of our initial masterplan layouts and plan areas of mitigation planting as well as explore opportunities to enhance wildlife and habitat.

    Ecological monitoring will continue throughout the development. Buckland plans for 70 hectares of natural green space, inclusion of good size gardens in the majority of homes, extensive tree planting, allotments and parks will introduce a significant range of new habitats over the existing open arable landscape.

    Welborne’s own heritage will be celebrated as part of the new community identity. The buried Neolithic long barrow, 53m in length will be one of the features within Welborne Park. Grade II listed Dean Farmhouse will be protected and the context of Boundary Oak School will be maintained through sensitive location of green buffers.

  • The first delivery of housing and community facilities will be north of the Knowle Road. Infrastructure works will begin in 2023 with first residents expected towards the end of 2024.

    The village centre with its community halls, cafes, parks and schools will start 2024, planned for opening in 2026.

  • Buckland envisages that the first phase and five years of development could include:

    • Up to 700 houses;

    • First half of the Village Centre with local facilities such as the community hall, nursery, healthcare services and cafe;

    • Upgrades to junction 10 of the M27 (resulting in all-moves junction);

    • Welborne Garden Village Trust in operation;

    • Community Development Worker in place : point of contact between residents and Buckland keeping residents informed on progress and organising community events;

    • First primary school;

    • Regular bus service between Welborne and Fareham;

    • Access to Dashwood with new 2.8km circular woodland path;

    • Other open green spaces;

    • Gigabit fibre broadband to all homes.

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  • Welborne is intended to become a long-term asset for the people of Hampshire, a development driven by place-making – as opposed to just housing numbers. It is genuinely envisioned as a place for all, whatever the age and income – a place where people will still want to live 100 years from now.

    Buckland’s focus is on creating a strong community where people put down their roots for the long-term. There will be a variety of housing types and tenures to support this – well-designed, well-planned and built to last.

    Welborne will take between 20 to 30 years to build. A range of housing types will be provided across the development for first-time buyers, key workers, family and care for the elderly. Significant infrastructure investment is required to start the project off including contribution to M27 Junction 10, local transport and utilities infrastructure plus community facilities and green infrastructure. Consequently early phases of development will include 10% affordable housing with a proposed mechanism to increase levels up to 30% affordable over the lifetime of development.

    The residential areas will be guided by the masterplan, designed in the context of the landscape setting and neighbourhoods. We are working on the Welborne Design Code and Street Manual which will be a key guides and design frameworks for housebuilders and infrastructure providers to follow so our vision for Welborne remain cohesive and undiluted through the lifetime of the build.

  • More than half of the entire area of Welborne will be green space and residential areas have been designed to be within 300m reach of greenery – from woodland and natural open space to formal parks, playgrounds, allotments and pedestrian ‘greenways’.

    Welborne's allotments, community gardens and playgrounds will ensure there are numerous accessible open spaces for people of all ages to enjoy

    We have also designed a network of linked greenways, pedestrian routes, cycleways and bridleways across Welborne that can be used for moving around.

  • Welborne’s masterplan has a strong health and well-being agenda to support healthy lifestyles and community cohesion. Buckland’s plans for Welborne will enable the maximum provision of healthcare and well-being services, including doctors surgery, pharmacies, physiotherapist and other supporting healthcare provision.

    Healthcare facilities with flexible, multi-use clinical rooms will be phased into the development as the population of the new community grows. It is anticipated that initially flexible space will be designed in the Village Centre, working with existing local GP practices to provide services for Welborne residents in the early years. Healthcare provision will then grow through the lifetime of the development with facilities provided in the District Centre .

    Buckland will continue to engage with Fareham Borough Council, the Integrated Care Boards (IGB) and GP practices on the delivery of future healthcare and social care provision at Welborne.

  • Welborne will be among the best places in the regions to start a new business and grow existing businesses with employment opportunities provided across a range of sectors. Strategically located between Southampton and Portsmouth with excellent transport links to London and the south of UK via motorway, rail and air (from via Southampton Airport).

    When completed, an estimated 6000 jobs will be created within Welborne associated with the 1 million sq ft of employment space plus retail, leisure, childcare, education and healthcare employment opportunities located within the District Centre, Village Centre and community hub.

    Over the 20+ years it will take to complete the development an estimated 7,300 temporary construction jobs and over 300 full time jobs will be created. Buckland is also considering the potential for a construction skills academy.

    Welborne has an integrated transport strategy that includes an upgraded motorway junction, new accesses from the A32, new internal roads all allowing businesses to be well connected to the wider economic hinterland. Public transport links together with pedestrian and cycling routes will allow residents and employees accessible and sustainable travel to work.

  • Welborne will have four new schools: three primary and one secondary, all of which will have abundant access to green spaces and playing fields.

    We are building the schools alongside our houses, rather than waiting until they are complete so that our early residents will have access to the facilities they need.

  • The provision of sports facilities and accessible open space is one of the key aspects of our plans for Welborne – they are important assets that make significant contributions towards place-making, health and well being, biodiversity, community cohesion and climate change resilience.

    Nearly 11 hectares of sports pitches will allow a variety of outdoor sports that could include tennis courts, bowls green, cricket pitch, football and rugby pitches – these will be located in dedicated locations within the site plus shared use of school facilities where possible. Indoor sports such as badminton courts are planned at community locations and the secondary school.

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