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 20 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.

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 settlements 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 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 the sensitive location of green buffers.

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

• Up to 700 houses

• 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 1.7 mile circular woodland path

• Other open green spaces

• Gigabit fibre broadband to all homes

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.

Significant infrastructure has been made from the start 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 following the Welborne Design Code and Street Manual which will be a key guide and design framework for housebuilders and infrastructure providers to follow so our vision for Welborne remains 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 wellbeing 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 (ICB) 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, Welborne will have 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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