Plans for first Welborne Garden Village houses approved

The 363 homes, will form part of the Chesterfield and Dashwood neighbourhoods at Welborne Garden Village, near Wickham.

Built by Welborne’s house build partners - Thakeham and Pye Homes – these houses will range from one to five bedrooms, including apartments, terraced houses, and semi-detached and detached properties.

READ MORE: Welborne: work should start on Hampshire new town this year

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 cohesive and the architecture will be in keeping with the local area.

Mark Thistlethwayte, chairman of the 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.

CG showing the proposed design of the Chesterfield area (Image: Submitted)

“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.”

The developers have stated that no Welborne home will be more than 300 metres away from publicly accessible green space, including woodland, parks, allotments and sports facilities.

The homes, as well as commercial space and community buildings, will also 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.

SEE ALSO: 'We felt as if we have been attacked': Rector left shocked after church 'vandalism'

During the first construction phase, a village centre will be built in the Chesterfield neighbourhood which will have 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.

Cllr 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.”