‘They’re destroying our village’, locals fume over new 6,000-home ‘concrete jungle’ already given an insulting nickname

FURIOUS residents have slammed a new 6,000 home "concrete jungle" which they say is destroying their village.

Disgruntled locals near Fareham, Hampshire, are not happy with the £308million "Welborne" project which has been in development for 17 years

The initiative aims to build a "garden village" on 1,000 acres of open land between the towns of Knowle and Wickham. 

The Welborne development will include 6,000 homes, schools, shops, green spaces, business and healthcare facilities located near the South Downs National Park and the Hampshire coast.

But homeowners believe that the massive project will destroy their peaceful homes and rural landscape.

And they have even given the new development an insulting nickname - dubbing it "Hellborne".

Despite obtaining planning permission in 2021, the development, spearheaded by the Buckland Group, faces staunch resistance from villagers who feel ignored.

For the next thirty years, locals anticipate living next to a sprawling building site, a bitter pill to swallow for locals who have continuously voiced objections.

Loraine Rappe chairs the Knowle Residents' Association and said she has frequently objected to the Welborne development.

She said: "It is definitely going ahead, there's no stopping it.

"All we are saying is that it is a shame that they have started destroying what was already there, unnecessarily."

Ms Rappe told : "The [local] view is that they're saying one thing but in fact, doing something else.

"The particular annoyance is the destruction of all the shrubs and trees. People have been referring to the whole development as Hellborne."

Residents of Knowle and Wickham claim the development has led to the felling of trees and greenery in their area, started to create traffic problems and has left the GP fearful over a high patient population.