Whiteley

For other uses, see Whiteley (disambiguation).

Whiteley
Whiteley Location within Hampshire
Population	3,236 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	SU517093
District	Fareham City of Winchester
Shire county	Hampshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	FAREHAM
Postcode district	PO15
Dialling code	01489
Police	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Hamble Valley

Whiteley is a planned community of 6,500 homes in the county of Hampshire, England, United Kingdom near Fareham. The development straddles the boundary between two council districts: the Borough of Fareham to the south and west, and the City of Winchester to the north and east.

Location

Whiteley is located in southern Hampshire between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton and close to the market town of Fareham. The development is situated close to Junction 9 of the M27 motorway. Rail services are provided from Swanwick railway station to the south - services between London Victoria/Portsmouth and Southampton via Hamble, or Botley railway station to the north - services between London Waterloo and Portsmouth via Eastleigh. Buses and cycle tracks interconnect the town with the two stations.

History

Historically, the site now occupied by Whiteley was farmland and coppice. The nearest historical settlements are those of Park Gate situated just south of Swanwick Hill, Little Park to the South, Swanwick to the West, Botley and Curdridge to the North. Farm land taken over by the initial development included Rookery, Yew Tree, Sweethills and Whiteley. North Whiteley development was based on land released by Bury, Bridge and Barn Farms. Barn Farmhouse in North Whiteley is listed by Historic England as a C17 timber frame house with a C18 extension.

The wooded areas in Whiteley were used to provide shelter to troops in the build-up of forces for transportation to northern France in preparation for D-Day during the second world war. This is evidenced by the remains of a War Department water tank on the edge of the Bere Forest to the north of the community.

Part of the M27 motorway constructed to the south of the development was opened in February 1978.

In the early 1980s Hampshire County Council developed draft proposals for land north of what was then known as the western wards of Fareham. The new community was to be known as Whiteley after the name of the farm that lay in the centre of the development area. This development comprised 3,300 houses 16,500 m2 of offices and 7,500 m2 of retail, plus a community centre and a junior school.

Construction of the Solent business park started in the mid-1980s and the first houses were completed in the late 1980s, although construction slowed for a few years following a crash in the British residential property market during the mid-1990s. From 1996 construction recommenced and continues today.

One of the earliest buildings in Whiteley was the Solent Hotel and Spa which was constructed in the early 1990s.

In September 2007, British Land announced plans to spend upwards of £100m redeveloping Whiteley Village and reconstructing it as a district centre, while also adding housing and a hotel to the area.

The Whiteley village Outlet was demolished in Autumn 2011 (finishing by November 2011), with the exception of the medium-sized Tesco supermarket.

The new development was opened in 2013.

In July 2018 Winchester District Council approved an outline planning application for a further development, North Whiteley consisting of 3,500 residences with provision for 2 junior schools and a senior school, plus 3 new routes linking Whiteley to Botley Road. This development should be largely complete by 2027.

The part of the development which falls in the Winchester district became a civil parish in 2003.

Whiteley was recognised as a Parish in Portsmouth Diocese in 2021. Hope Church Whiteley began as the town first became established about 25 years ago, within people's homes. It moved to the Community Centre in Gull Coppice before, in 2021, it moved to its new building at Cornerstone School. It is a multicultural, intergenerational church.

Whiteley today

Whiteley children's train at Easter

Apart from the residential areas, which house around 10,000 residents, the main focus is the Whiteley Shopping Centre, an open air pedestrianised mall https://www.whiteleyshopping.co.uk/ (not to be confused with 'Whiteley Village' in Walton-on-Thames). Stores include Marks & Spencer, Next plc, Boots, WH Smith and many other common High Street names but there are also other units that were specifically earmarked for local enterprises. Parking is available for 1500 vehicles and is free for the first 4 hours and after 6pm. In 2015 a new leisure complex adjacent to Whiteley Shopping opened, providing a nine-screen cinema and a further five restaurants.

Whiteley also contains the Solent Business Park which consists of a number of large companies, including Zurich Financial Services, the new headquarters for NATS (formerly National Air Traffic Services) and the offices and studios of ITV Meridian. Development at the business park continues as further offices are constructed.

Whiteley New Town Issues

• The town started with a business park, a hotel and an outlet centre spurred off junction 9 of the M27. This single entrance and exit road resulted in start and end of day traffic jams. A lengthy set of traffic mitigation schemes have been implemented, but the resultant roadworks have lasted over 10 years and problems with access to the M27 continue to this day.

• The new development includes a set of roads (Bluebell, Curbridge and Whiteley Way) which are designed as low speed through routes to Botley Road A3051. The roads are owned by the housing development companies of North Whiteley, which results in legal issues, as they are not roads adopted and managed by Hampshire county council.

• The development of properties and resultant groundworks results in noise, dust, mud and traffic. The contractors utilise road cleaning vehicles to mitigate the dust, but with limited success.

• Management of parts of communal spaces was allocated to management companies by the developers. Local residents need to monitor and control the fees charged by these management companies

• Mobile signal in the area is notoriously poor, away from the M27, especially in the central area around the retail centre.

• The local GP surgery (Meon Health Practice) has faced staffing versus demand issues, resulting in 'Emergency Appointments only' in the last 2 months of 2024. Parking at the GP surgery is constrained by the ancient woodlands.

• Secondary school children need to commute to Henry Cort School (1 hour walking distance). Hampshire's application to build a new secondary school within Whiteley Town is under consideration and will, if approved, mitigate this problem from 2027 onward.

• The new build has threatened to displace local species, however mitigation efforts were implemented by Winchester District Council. These biodiverse green spaces now need to be protected and maintained in the long term.

Demographics

The development has an overwhelmingly young population (79% under 44 years), white (96.95%), home-owning (87.23%) population of professionals and aspirational skilled workers (80% in social grade AB and C1). Whiteley is reported by the local health authority to have a higher than average rate of divorce and separation (11% versus 6% nationally).

The future

The area north of Whiteley was included in the South East Plan as a possible urban extension and when the community is expanded northwards it will include further residential developments of 3,500 houses and associated infrastructure including transport, educational and community facilities.

External links

• The Whiteley Forum
• Whiteley Primary School
• Whiteley Town Council