Ministerial visit to Welborne
The first of many thousands of lines of hedges was planted today by Secretary of State Rt Hon Michael Gove in a ceremony at Welborne. The Welborne development, situated north of the town of Fareham on the edge of the South Downs, will accommodate 6,000 houses, several schools, a village centre, a town centre, and a significant Science and Technology Park. 50% of the total area will be green space, comprised of woods, parks, sports facilities and gardens.
The event was also attended by Rt Hon Suella Braverman, MP for Fareham, who has been a longstanding supporter of the scheme.
Unlike many other existing and recent developments of such size and scale, Welborne takes its cue from the Garden Village movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, a period sometimes referred to as the ‘golden age’ of housebuilding. All the buildings are designed in a traditional Hampshire vernacular, with wide streets lined with grass verges and mature trees. The upkeep and stewardship of the site will be taken on by the Welborne Garden Village Trust, a resident-led initiative and a nod to garden villages and towns like Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City.
Speaking at the event Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Rt Hon Michael Gove MP said:
“Protecting our beautiful landscapes in cherished places like Welborne is vital, while we seek to deliver the high quality homes and infrastructure that local communities need. I was delighted to see first-hand this ground-breaking vision for a modern garden village where local communities can input into the surroundings of the area they call home. As part of our commitment to build 300,000 homes every year, we want developers right across the country to embrace projects like Welborne so local people can reap the benefits of beautiful homes and greener neighbourhoods as we continue to deliver on our housebuilding targets.”
Speaking at the event Mark Thistlethwayte, Chairman of Buckland Group which is the Master Developer and owner of the 1,000-acre site and is the driving force behind Welborne said:
“After more than seventeen years of hard work behind the scenes, it's a pleasure to see that our vision for Welborne is finally taking shape. It is great to have the support of the SoS, Homes England, HCC and FBC as we progress with this, one of the biggest privately funded community developments in the UK. At Welborne we are seeking to create a place that people will be happy to call home now, and in one hundred years’ time.”
The development will benefit from £41.25m of forward funding via the Housing Investment Grant from the Goverment, which will be used to partially fund the upgrade Junction 10 of the M27. That deal was brokered by Hampshire County Council under its leader Rob Humby. The scheme, which was originally conceived by Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, will see first residents move in next year.
Speaking at the event, leader of Hampshire County Council Rob Humby said:
“The new Garden Village at Welborne will help bring forward much needed new homes, boost the local economy, provide new commercial floorspace and create jobs. Hampshire County Council is pleased to be developing and delivering an improved M27 Junction 10 which will enable easier access to and from the new development. The improvement will benefit the existing local community, as well as provide for the predicted increased traffic levels as the new community and local business grows, and we are delighted to be working with National Highways to this end. Without a fully operational Junction 10 improvement, the development would be limited to just 1,160 homes instead of the planned 6,000”
Sean Woodward, leader of Fareham Borough Council, said:
“Welborne is really good news for Fareham, providing high quality new homes and jobs in a beautiful green setting.The Council has secured almost £400M from the developer for the essential infrastructure that will allow the development itself to go ahead, including schools, roads, parks, transport, health and wellbeing facilities required to support the residents, workers and visitors to our new garden village. The Council will continue to lead on making Welborne a very special place to live in, work in or to visit.”
Welborne has been designed by architect Ben Pentreath and landscape architect Kim Wilkie, both of whom have worked on some of the most renowned developments in the country including Poundbury and Faversham.
Construction of the first phase will be undertaken by three regional building firms - CG Fry, Pye Homes and Thakeham Homes through individual joint ventures with Buckland – having been selected for their craft skills and high quality of workmanship. The selection of family-run building firms, and the innovative JV structure that has enabled smaller businesses like them to deliver at the scale Welborne demands, is another innovation the team adopted in order to stay true to their vision.
The development will also pioneer the first large-scale use of an underground heat source network heating scheme. All homes at Welborne will be heated (and cooled in the summer) by this renewable, zero carbon technology, delivered in partnership with Rendesco and Portsmouth Water.