Fareham Borough Council approves Welborne Garden Village 'back stop' to cover possible M27 road work costs

THE planning committee for Fareham Borough Council has unanimously approved changes to a 6,000-home development to the north of the borough, enabling a ‘back-stop’ to cover road work costs.
By Richard Lemmer
Published 25th Jul 2021, 17:03 BST
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Buckland Development Limited will provide up to £10m to cover additional costs to expand Junction 10 on the M27 an infrastructure project vital to the creation of the Welborne Garden Village.

The £75m infrastructure project has ballooned in cost as it has stalled over the years, with an estimated budget of just £30m in 2017.

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To pay for its £10m road work contingency fund, Buckland will be able to cut affordable housing below its 10 per cent of stock requirement. But in a statement last month the company said it remained committed to achieving affordable housing as 30 per cent of the development.

The new garden village will feature a hotel and a local pub.The new garden village will feature a hotel and a local pub.
The new garden village will feature a hotel and a local pub.

Spending the whole £10m would see the developer’s contributions to the motorway work rise to more than £50m.

Fareham Borough Council’s Planning Committee has unanimously approved the back-stop proposal, enabling the project to take a further step forward this month.

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It follow Hampshire County Council agreeing to take the lead on the Junction 10 improvement, the largest transport scheme ever undertaken by the local authority.

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Councillor Sean Woodward, executive leader of Fareham Borough Council said it has been a ‘momentous’ month for the development.

Cllr Woodward said: ‘July has been a momentous month for Welborne Garden Village and has been many years in the making. Homes England confirmed funding of £42m for the junction works and Hampshire County Council confirmed it would lead the delivery of the M27 Junction 10 Improvement Scheme, subject to funding agreements being in place.

‘Welborne Garden Village is critical to providing much-needed housing in Fareham in the coming decades and I am delighted that we are now within touching distance of getting this underway.’

The next step for the project is the signing of a planning agreement which sets out the legal framework for delivery of key elements of Welborne Garden Village such as affordable housing, schools, community facilities, roads and provision of healthcare.

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Related topics:M27England