Welborne: New plan for 6,000-home 'garden village'

The developer said it hoped to start work on the site in 2022

Revised plans for a proposed 6,000-home "garden village" have been approved in principle by a council.

The Welborne development in Hampshire includes a redesign of a motorway junction, four schools and land reserved for a railway station.

Developer Buckland previously pledged an extra £20m to progress the scheme.

Granting outline permission, Fareham Borough Council said it would review affordable homes targets in view of the firm's "considerable financial risk".

Opponents have raised concerns about traffic and flooding

The delayed scheme is due to be built on 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of mostly farmland north of Fareham.

It had been in jeopardy after £25m funding, from the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, towards the M27 junction expired last year, the council previously said.

Buckland said its extra contribution would reduce its profit margin to 1.5%.

The "garden village" would be built on land north of the M27

Managing director John Beresford said: "We've gone out on a limb to do everything that we can to get the scheme going.

"We remain committed to delivering 10% affordable homes in the early stages even when our increased junction 10 contributions mean it's unviable to do so."

The council agreed to future reviews of the scheme's low-cost homes targets because the expected profits were "far below the accepted market norm of 15-20%".

It said: "Achieving 30% affordable housing across the lifetime of the development is likely to be extremely challenging."

Buckland said it could start work next year after £30m of government funding was confirmed.

Opponents of the scheme have previously raised concerns about traffic and flooding.

In January 2017, Welborne was confirmed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as one of 14 garden villages being built nationwide.