Crown Golf plans homes and a public park on part of Wickham Park Golf Club, keeping 12 holes. See the early plans at a drop-in on 20 October, 3.30 to 7.30pm.
The owner of Wickham Park Golf Club wants to build a new neighbourhood on part of the course, and is asking people to come and look at the first sketches on Tuesday 20 October.
Crown Golf says its early plans include “much-needed new homes (including affordable) and a biodiverse public linear park, along with new routes and pedestrian infrastructure”. The club would shrink but stay open: the proposals “will retain 12 holes of golf, the driving range and the clubhouse”, according to a press release sent to Fareham News on 6 October by Property House, the marketing agency handling the consultation.
The drop-in runs from 3.30pm to 7.30pm in the Woodford Suite at Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, PO17 5AL. There is no booking and no set start time: people can arrive at any point in those four hours and stay as long as they like.
What is being proposed
The land is at Wickham Park, which the project website describes as “currently an 18-hole golf course, driving range, car park and clubhouse owned by Crown Golf”. It sits between Titchfield Lane on the west and Tanfield Lane on the east. Keeping 12 holes means six of the current 18 would go.
The developers say the scheme is “being designed to meet local need and deliver real social value”, and list four elements so far:
- new housing, “including affordable homes”
- a “biodiverse public linear park”
- “new active travel routes and pedestrian infrastructure”
- new padel courts, which are “being explored”
Neither the press release nor the website gives a number of homes, a share of affordable housing, a layout or a site boundary yet. Those are the details the planning day is meant to start shaping, and residents who want them pinned down will find this the first chance to ask.
What happens on the day
The consultation page says “everyone is welcome” and sets out three things visitors can do: “take a look at our early ideas for neighbourhood design”, “share your views on public green space” and “give us your ideas for what you’d like to see”.
“This event is a chance for you to share local knowledge and let us know what you’d like to see as part of this new place,” the page says. “You can come along and meet the team, find out more about the site and our early proposals, and share your ideas.”
Five firms make up that team, according to the project website: Crown Golf as landowner, Fairway Capital as development lead, Lichfields as planning consultant, Ascot Design as architect and MHP Design as landscape architect. Crown Golf describes itself as “one of the UK’s leading golf operators” and says it is “exploring opportunities to diversify and evolve its portfolio, including through carefully considered residential development alongside its established leisure and sporting operations”. Fairway Capital acts as adviser and development manager to Crown Golf.
After 20 October
Anyone who cannot get to Mill Lane will be able to see the material online. “After the planning day, information will be available here, along with a survey, for you to share your thoughts and feedback,” the consultation page says.
The team then plans a second session. “We’ll then come back later in the autumn to share how your ideas and feedback have shaped the proposals,” it says, describing that as “a chance to ask questions and offer any comments on the designs after they’ve taken shape, before the planning application is submitted.” No date has been given for it yet.
The press release says a planning application “will be submitted by the end of the year”. Once it is lodged, the formal planning process, with its own consultation period, begins separately from this one.
What it means for you
- If you live near Titchfield Lane or Tanfield Lane, or use the course, 20 October is the first look at what is planned next to you. Go with specific questions: how many homes, where the access would be, and which six holes would close.
- If you cannot make it, the plans and survey are due to appear on wickhamparkconsultation.co.uk after the planning day.
- Golfers keep 12 holes, the driving range and the clubhouse under the current proposals.
- Questions before the day can go to the team through the project website’s contact page.
We will report the number of homes and the layout when they are published, and the application when it is lodged. For other development in the area, see our Fareham planning news page.
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