Decision on 1,200 new homes at Longfield Avenue out of Fareham Borough Council's hands

Fareham Borough Council has taken too long to decide on the outline planning application for the 1,200 new homes at Longfield Avenue so developers have now moved to get a decision from the national Planning Inspectorate instead.

It means Fareham Borough Council’s planning committee – made up of local elected councillors – will not be able to decide the scheme’s fate and can only give their thoughts to a government-appointed inspector. Developers making major applications can go above local decision-makers if a ruling takes longer than 26 weeks and no other agreement is in place.

On November 7, 2022, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) issued a “direction” that prevented the council from granting permission on this application without his go-ahead. This meant that the government department could decide the application if it chose to.

A report ahead of Thursday’s meeting of Fareham’s planning committee said members will be asked to confirm decisions they would have made if the matter had not be taken out of their hands.

The application put forward by Hallam Land Management Ltd outlined plans for up to 1,200 new homes, an 80-bedroom care home, a new primary school, an 800 square metre commercial centre, a community centre, a 700 square metre healthcare facility, a county park and sports facilities with walking and cycling routes. Included would be all the associated infrastructure needed such as drainage with new access onto Longfield Avenue and Peak Lane. 

The report said developers want to “create a new neighbourhood for Fareham which will achieve a high-quality place for all people; a balanced, safe and connected community” on the 77.2-hectare site. 

It added: “It will be a place with an accessible heart of quality buildings and open spaces that enables all its residents and visitors to meet, congregate, interact, shop, work and play. A place that provides for the day-to-day needs of residents and encourages a healthy lifestyle.” 

The report said council officers would have recommended the committee approving the scheme with conditions, and also wanted £5.8 million for Hampshire County Council to build roads.

Other proposed conditions for the application could have included 40 per cent of the homes being affordable, 120 custom and self-build houses overall and an extra care facility of 50 to 100 self-contained homes built to meet adaptable or accessible standards. 

The application was first put forward in 2020, amended in October 2022 and then December 2023 but the council ran out of time to consider it.

Among a swathe of public objections, locals hit out at the impact on green spaces, the countryside habitats and that the new 6,000-home town of Welborne nearby would have provided all the housing needed.

In January 2024, 178 written objections were added to the previous 479 including Dame Caroline Dinenage MP saying the application threatens the strategic gap between Fareham and Stubbington. She also bemoaned air pollution and the lack of public transport. The Fareham Society also objected, criticising a proposed signal junction on Peak Lane and the priority junction on Longfield Avenue. 

The NHS also questioned how it would provide healthcare for more than 2,700 new residents.

The planning committee will meet on Thursday to decide what it will tell the Planning Inspectorate for application P/20/0646/OA.