Hampshire council approves 2,400 Whitehill and Bordon Homes

The proposals for the 200 hectare site include an outline application for up to 2,400 homes, a new town centre and secondary school as well as employment space, a leisure centre and public open space. The Council said in a statement that the application was the largest it had ever considered.

The site is due to close later this year and work on the new town centre is expected to start next year. The Council said that there would be further consultation with residents before a more detailed planning application is developed.

The overall masterplan for the site includes 3,350 homes, some of which have already been granted planning permission, and 5,500 new jobs.

Tom Horwood, executive director at East Hampshire District Council, said: “This decision is great news for the town and its residents and enables a new and exciting future for Whitehill and  Bordon."

“As well as the new homes and town centre there is extensive funding of more than £100million to deliver the fantastic new facilities. Getting to this stage has involved an enormous amount of hard work from all the partners working together for the benefit of the town and the wider area," Horwood said.

Planning expert Sophie Walter of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said:  "This positive decision delivers the majority of the houses proposed in the masterplan. A section 106 agreement providing for around £54 million worth of financial contributions alongside extensive non-financial obligations has still to be entered into. The proposal will also provide 15% affordable housing, lower than the policy requirement of 35%, justified on viability grounds. It is notable that the figure could have been lower still had the applicant not agreed to forego the vacant building credit that would have been available."

"Whitehill and Bordon is one of 20 towns to be awarded Housing Zone status, a government initiative aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes on brownfield sites by providing a combination of government advanced funding and loans," Walter said.