Press Release

6 March 2017

Welborne's much needed new homes and jobs move several steps closer

Fareham Borough Council has confirmed that a planning application for Welborne Garden Village has been received today from Buckland Development Limited. 

The application relates to the whole of the Welborne area and includes the remodelling of Junction 10 of the M27 motorway to make it all-moves.  Planning Officers are currently reviewing the submitted material to ensure that the planning application can be registered.  Following registration the Council will consult extensively upon the plans; details of how interested parties can take part will be published on the Council's website and social media sites.  The press will also be notified.

This is the third significant piece of news about Welborne in recent weeks:

• In January the government announced that Welborne would be part of its flagship Garden Villages initiative thereby opening up significant funding opportunities.

• In February the High Court ruled that the Dean Farm Estate, which makes up a very significant proportion of the Welborne land must now be sold, thereby enabling development to proceed.

• March has seen a planning application submitted for all of the Welborne land.

Councillor Seán Woodward, Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council said: "Without doubt the Garden Village designation, the recent court case ordering the sale of land at Welborne and the  planning application received today are a direct result of the assertive delivery strategy adopted by the Council just a year ago.  Far from slowing things down, the strategy has actually pushed things forward and I am pleased to see the significant progress now being made.  We came through a public enquiry which found the Welborne Plan sound, enabling it to be adopted by the Council and had every expectation of an immediate application from the principal landowners.  Instead there was no meaningful progress until we adopted our delivery strategy to appoint a delivery partner and consider compulsory purchase of all the land required.  It was this strategy that sparked all of the recent activity and progress that has been made."

"Despite these new developments, however, the current uncertainty over the availability of the land at Welborne is key.  The significant amount of land not currently within the control of Buckland Development Limited is considered necessary to enable the development to be delivered on a comprehensive basis, along with all necessary supporting infrastructure. 

"As discussed at this evening's meeting", Councillor Woodward concluded, "despite receipt of the planning application and the outcome of the recent court case, the reasons for our current delivery strategy remain unchanged and it is important for us to continue with it until we are certain that the much needed new homes are in a position to proceed. 

"I have given a commitment over many years where Welborne is concerned that we will not lay a single brick of Welborne until we have identified exactly what infrastructure is needed, where it is to be sited and most importantly how it's going to be funded.  That commitment is unchanged and this planning application will be scrutinised very carefully to ensure delivery of the Welborne Plan."

For further information about Welborne see www.welbornegardenvillage.co.uk.

ENDS

For further information contact:

Jan Lasnon, PR and Marketing Manager, Tel: 01329 824302

e-mail: publicity@fareham.gov.uk