A KEY milestone has been reached for plans to create a new Garden Village north of Fareham today.

Buckland Development Limited (BDL) has officially submitted an outline planning application for the 6,000-home new village community, which will be debated by Fareham Borough Council later today.

BDL’s planning application follows the development of the Welborne plan, adopted by Fareham Borough Council in 2015 which sets out the framework for the development at Welborne which will see the delivery of 6,000 homes, a village and district centre with a variety of commercial and employment uses, schools, healthcare facilities, and extensive green infrastructure including sports pitches and open access spaces.

BDL’s Chairman, Mark Thistlethwayte, said: “We are delighted to be submitting our outline planning application for Welborne, which represents years of hard work and effort from BDL and our extensive team of technical consultants.

“I view this is about more than just meeting housing targets – we want to create an attractive, sustainable garden community for the 21st century, with the facilities and infrastructure to serve future generations within Welborne and the wider area.

“Our application will now set the framework for future development to ensure comprehensive delivery of the site.”

The overall planning application will establish the general principle and type of the development proposed, with a decision due on the outline application in summer with further detailed application of phase one due to follow later this year.

The project team has been working closely with a wide range of stakeholders including Fareham Borough Council, Solent LEP, Highways England and Hampshire County Council.

Buckland Development Limited is a Hampshire-based development company, established in 2006, which represents the vision and aspiration of Mark Thistlethwayte, owners of the Southwick Estate, who is the majority landowner of the Welborne area.

The current timescale for the project is expected to take around 20 years with work on-site thought to be begin as early as the second half of 2018.