Construction of Welborne Village Centre is now expected to start this autumn and will include a school GP surgery and pharmacy, a nursery, a pub/hotel, cafes, shops, and sports facilities.

The Centre will be the initial hub of the Welborne community and will provide essential amenities to residents an from an early stage of the development.

The Village Centre will also incorporate some homes, consisting of a mix of houses and apartments, with 14 affordable units.

It will be built partly by Buckland Development in the style of a traditional Hampshire market town and is due to be completed by early 2027, as part of the first phase of Welborne.

Buildings will be heated and cooled by a low-carbon water source heat network. The area will also benefit from up to one gigabit superfast broadband inside and outside, as well as EV charging points.

Mark Thistlethwayte, chairman of Buckland Group, said: “In designing the Welborne Village Centre, we are aiming to create a community hub right from the start, with all the essential amenities residents will need within a beautiful setting.

“For the design, we have drawn architectural inspiration from popular Hampshire market towns like Alresford and Stockbridge.”

As the Welborne community grows over the next decade, this initial village centre will be complemented by a larger district centre providing all the necessary services for residents within walking distance. There will also be two further new primary schools and one secondary.