Plans to create a new garden village north of Fareham, Hampshire, have moved a step closer after Buckland Development Limited submitted an outline planning application for 6,000 homes to Fareham Borough Council.
The Welborne site, one of the largest proposed developments in the South of England, has suffered years of planning delays.
The council initially allocated 10,000 homes on the 1,000-acre site in 2006, which has been reduced to the current 6,000 home allocation through local consultation.
BDL, established by Mark Thistlethwayte in 2006, owns around 550 acres in the allocated area, but ownership of the site remains complex.
The remainder is owned by the Benge Family. They have now put their holdings, the Dean Farm Estate, onto the open sales market following a court order at the beginning of the year.
BDL have put in an offer to buy the land.
The planning delays can also be attributed to disagreements over who was best to bring forward the site.
At the start of 2016, the council announced its intention to find a development partner and buy the site via a compulsory purchase order.
Despite this, BDL continued with its application and, while the threat of a CPO remains, it hopes the S106 contribution it has proposed will give the council the certainty it requires to allow it to develop the site.
The application, which follows the site being designated a garden village by the government at the start of 2017, includes a village and district centre with commercial and employment space, schools, healthcare facilities and public open spaces.
It also includes major infrastructure improvements for the area, such as upgrade works to the A32, new distributor roads and the remodelling of junction 10 of the M27.
Thistlethwayte said: “Our application could have been submitted far sooner but was significantly delayed by [the council’s] proposed CPO action. Our application will now set the framework for future development to ensure comprehensive delivery of the site.”
The outline application will establish the principal and general type of development, and form the basis for future detailed applications. BDL hopes a decision will be reached in the summer, opening up the potential for a detailed application for Phase 1 of the development later in 2017.
• To send feedback, email alex.peace@estatesgazette.com or tweet @EGAlexPeace or @estatesgazette
