View source for Whiteley

{{Short description|Residential area in South Hampshire, England}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{infobox UK place
|country = England
|static_image=
|static_image_caption =
|coordinates = {{coord|50.8809|N|1.2665|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=title,inline}}
|official_name      = Whiteley
|population =  3,236
|population_ref = (2011 Census)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11130569&c=Whiteley&d=16&e=62&g=6432352&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1485359771400&enc=1|title=Civil Parish population 2011|access-date=25 January 2017|publisher=Office for National Statistics |work=Neighbourhood Statistics}}</ref>
|shire_district= [[Fareham (borough)|Fareham]]
|shire_district1= [[Winchester]]
|shire_county = [[Hampshire]]
|region = South East England
|constituency_westminster = [[Hamble Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Hamble Valley]]
|post_town = FAREHAM
|postcode_district = PO15 or SO30
|postcode_area = PO
|dial_code = 01489 or 01329
|os_grid_reference =  SU517093
}}
'''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 [[Fareham (borough)|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. Cycle tracks interconnect the town with the two stations, and a Bus 28a connects to Swanwick and on to Fareham Bus Station.

==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. [[File:Whiteley Farm - 1946.png|thumb|Whiteley Farm and nearby Copses (1946)]]
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 which remains 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, but has been paused since 2020 (covid epidemic).

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/fareham-and-meon/100m-cash--to-give.3192670.jp |title=£100m cash to give town a new heart |access-date=2008-07-11 |publisher=The News}}</ref>

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 2014.

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 two primary schools and a secondary school, plus three new routes linking Whiteley to Botley Road.  This development should be largely complete by 2027.<ref>{{cite web |title=North Whiteley |url=https://www.winchester.gov.uk/projects/5743/north-whiteley |website=winchester.gov.uk |access-date=16 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811223946/https://www.winchester.gov.uk/projects/5743/north-whiteley |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

The part of the development which falls in the [[City of Winchester|Winchester]] district became a [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Winchester (Parishes) Order 2003 |url=https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/12740/the-winchester-parishes-order-2003.pdf}}</ref>

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, inter-generational church.

==Whiteley today==
[[File:Whiteley.png|thumb|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 (not to be confused with '[[Whiteley Village]]' in [[Walton-on-Thames]]). Stores include [[Marks & Spencer]], [[Next plc]], [[Boots (company)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.whiteleyshopping.co.uk/about |title=About |access-date=1 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230230115/http://www.whiteleyshopping.co.uk/about |archive-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> 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 Holdings|NATS]] (formerly National Air Traffic Services) and the offices and studios of [[Meridian Broadcasting|ITV Meridian]].

==Whiteley New Town Issues==

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

•  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 yet roads adopted and managed by Hampshire County Council.

•  The continued development of properties in North Whiteley 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.

•  Secondary school children need to commute to [[The Henry Cort Community College]] (1 hour walking distance). Hampshire's application to build a new secondary school within Whiteley Town was approved and building commenced in 2025.  This will mitigate this problem from 2027 onward, though for an adjustment period pupils based north of the M27 will be bused to the new location.

•  The new build has threatened to displace local species. Mitigation efforts such as Bat Boxes, Hedgehog houses and Bird Boxes were implemented by the developers as required by Winchester District Council. These biodiverse green spaces now need to be protected and maintained in the long term by the Town Council.

==Whiteley Copses and Woodland==
[[File:Whiteley Woodlands.jpg|thumb|Whiteley_Woodlands]]
Whiteley is bordered on the East by public woodlands managed by [[Forestry England]], leading up to [[Botley Wood and Everett's and Mushes Copses]]. Botley Wood is run by Hampshire County Council.

The town is constructed around a number of smaller woodland copses and coppices. These include:
Round Coppice    	    	between Solent Hotel and Village Centre;
Hill Coppice    	    	between Business Park and M27;
Coldland Copse  	    	south of Ridge Lane;
Coldland Meadow 	    	north of Barn Owl Close;
Suttons Copse    	    	west of Ridge Lane;
Bedlams Copse    	    	between Ridge Lane and Bluebell Way;
Hangman's Copse    	    	between Bluebell Way and Botley Road;
Quavey's Copse    	    	south west of Bluebell Way;
Glassfield Copse	    	west of Bluebell Way;
Round Copse  	        	north of Bluebell Way;
Sawpit Copse    	    	between Bluebell Way and Whiteley Way;
Bushy Land    	        	inside Sweethill Crescent;
Gull Coppice    	    	between Yew Tree Drive and Meadowside, and 
Yew Tree Woodland Park 	    south of Yew Tree Drive.

==Demographics==
The development has an overwhelmingly young population (79% under 44 years<ref name="demographics">{{cite web |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=5945639&c=PO15+7LD&d=14&e=16&g=453318&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1 |title=Key Figures for 2001 Census (Whiteley) |access-date=2008-07-11 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref>), white (96.95%<ref name="demographics" />), home-owning (87.23%<ref name="demographics" />) population of professionals and aspirational skilled workers (80% in social grade AB and C1<ref>{{cite web |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=5945639&c=PO15+7LD&d=14&e=16&g=453318&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=141 |title=Approximated Social Grade (Whiteley) |access-date=2008-07-11 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref>). Whiteley is reported by the local health authority to have a higher than average rate of divorce and separation (11% versus 6% nationally<ref>{{cite web |url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=5945639&c=PO15+7LD&d=14&e=16&g=453318&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&enc=1&dsFamilyId=83 |title=Marital Status (Whiteley) |access-date=2008-07-11 |publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]}}</ref>).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070217205043/http://whiteleyforum.net/ The Whiteley Forum]
*[https://www.whiteleyprimary.co.uk/ Whiteley Primary School]
*[http://www.whiteleytowncouncil.co.uk/ Whiteley Town Council]
*[https://www.hants.gov.uk/thingstodo/countryside/finder/botleywood/ Botley Wood]
{{Winchester}}
{{Winchester wards and parishes}}
[[Category:Borough of Fareham]]