The huge new town with incredible 6,000 houses being built – locals aren’t happy | UK | News

It’s not often we see completely new cities being built in the UK, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Hampshire. Welborne is a new development designed like a “garden village” and will have thousands of new homes available to buy. Prices for these new builds start from £460,000, according to the developers. Described as “the most ambitious development Fareham Borough Council has ever planned and which will take many years to deliver”, the project is located just north of the town of Fareham, between the South Downs National Park and the Hampshire coast.

It is connected to the surrounding areas via the A32 and is close to Junction 10 of the M27 motorway. The first houses have not yet been completed, planning started in 2008. Whether the dream would come true or not has been up in the air for a while, but it’s finally becoming a reality. While houses are being built, green areas and a village center are also being built to create a community focus in the area.

Welborne will also have 9,7250 square meters of employment space, aiming to create more than 5,700 new jobs. There will also be a secondary school and three new primary schools, as well as neighborhood centres, according to Hampshire County Council.

Despite concerns from residents of nearby towns and villages, the owners of the land on which Welborne is built have promised it will be a “garden village” and not another copy-and-paste housing estate.

Nearby residents complained about being built on green space, even calling the new project “Hellborne”.

However, this development has attracted its share of protests and opposition over the years. However, after official approval in 2021, the plans remain valid.

John Beresford, MD of Buckland Development, which was responsible for bringing Welborne to life, said: “The Thistlethwayte family have owned this land for 500 years and they wanted to make sure they left a legacy.

“It’s been a long journey in terms of planning. You need deep funds and an extremely strong will to move forward in the planning process.”

As well as schools, plans have also been put in place for rail links, a GP surgery and a dentist’s office. John told the Hampshire Chronicle: “We’ve even been told to make sure we have space for a vet, because when our landowner starts thinking about a new town he thinks of places like Petersfield and Romsey and what’s there. If we’re going to be as big as places like this then we need to have the same facilities.”

The total land area of ​​the area where Welborne Garden Village will be built is around 1,000 decares. However, only 440 acres are being used for construction, so the remainder will be parks and woodland for local people to enjoy.

John added: “We will protect verges and trees. This gives us the opportunity to align streets, unlike newer projects where trees are not available due to costs.

“We have set up the Welborne Garden Trust, a not-for-profit organisation. We have not signed up to a management organization that tricks you. It is a not-for-profit organisation, created by the people of Welborne, for the people of Welborne.”