Welborne, Hampshire

Welborne is a proposed new town to the north of Fareham, England,[1] intended to include 6,000 houses with businesses and community facilities. A plan for the development was submitted for central Government examination on 23 June 2014,[2] and modifications were published in January 2015 following the inspector's preliminary comments.[3] Fareham Borough Council formally adopted the plan for Welborne as part of its statutory Local Plan for the Borough on 8 June 2015.[4] Construction is scheduled in phases between 2015 and 2036,[5] and As of 2019 the town was due to be completed by 2038.[6] Transport plans include an upgrade to Junction 10 of the M27 motorway and a bus rapid transit route.

Plan of the new town's location, as of 2014. The area in green is the land that Fareham Borough Council intend to turn into housing and industry.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England Hampshire (supported by a number of community organisations under the name "South Hampshire's Unheard Voices") has opposed the plans due to concerns about building on countryside, possible increased risk of flooding, and the impact on local infrastructure.[7] It has also criticised the planning and consultation process. In 2011, a petition with 1,400 signatures objecting to a new town was submitted to the Council.[8]

Fareham Borough Council voted to impose Compulsory Purchase Orders on landowners on the planned site in 2016.[6] The council expressed concern in 2018 that the planned houses could be unaffordable[9] A submitted design for the site was rejected by the Planning Inspectorate in 2018, over concerns that the area's infrastructure would be inadequate.[10]