More than simply providing illumination, the lighting has been designed as a key placemaking tool — shaping a safe, welcoming and characterful environment across roads, crossings, green spaces and the new village centre. As the village grows, these early elements will help establish Welborne as a thriving hub of community activity, rooted in identity, comfort and long-term quality of place.

An extraordinary placemaking opportunity

Every new town or village begins as a blank canvas — and with that comes extraordinary opportunity, accompanied by enormous responsibility. At Welborne, a landmark 6,000-home community in Fareham, the challenge was not simply to light streets; it was to help create a community in a place that didn’t yet exist, supporting placemaking from the ground up.

Street lighting influences far more than visibility. It contributes to first impressions, walkability, resident comfort, movement hierarchy, ecological sensitivity and long-term stewardship. With multiple developers, design teams, engineers and consultants involved, the lighting strategy needed to act as both a technical backbone and a framework for placemaking, ensuring consistency and quality across a development delivered in phases over many years.

Welborne’s scale amplified the complexity. Lighting had to transition seamlessly from major distributor roads to intimate residential streets, and from high-activity village-centre spaces to nature-sensitive edges. It also needed to navigate the challenges that affect many large development projects:

How do you promote safety while preserving dark skies?

How do you reinforce identity without over-lighting?

How do you create character without visual clutter?

How do you future-proof without over-complicating?

And how do you create cohesion when multiple phases will be built years apart?

In short: Welborne needed lighting that wasn’t just compliant — it needed placemaking vision.

Lighting as a key placemaking tool

DFL were keen to demonstrate how thoughtful, well-considered street lighting can play a powerful role in placemaking. We delivered continuity and technical leadership across planning approval, outline design, detailed design and construction support — ensuring a joined-up approach that every large development needs to succeed.

1. Lighting as a placemaking framework

Rather than treating lighting as an afterthought, we embedded it into the heart of Welborne’s emerging identity. Our design reinforced street hierarchy, supported legibility and wayfinding, guided movement, and enhanced the feel of distinct character areas — without resorting to unnecessary brightness or visual clutter.

The village centre was treated differently from residential clusters; crossings received their own emphasis; junctions were enhanced for clarity and safety. Every lighting decision was made not only for compliance, but for its contribution to placemaking, identity and how people experience the public realm after dark.

2. Compliant, responsible and future-ready

As always, our work followed BS 5489 and ILP guidance, but we set out to deliver far more than simply “meeting standards.” We prioritised a lighting approach that supports both people and place, including:

Optics that reduce spill into ecological corridors

Backlight control near new homes

Uniform, pedestrian-friendly lighting in key spaces

A night-time environment that feels safe, reassuring and welcoming — not stark

3. A modern LED approach with room to evolve

DFL specified high-efficiency LED lanterns selected for optical performance and visual comfort. Designs support dimming through integration of a CMS, alongside adaptable lighting profiles — essential for a community that will grow and evolve over many years.

4. A partnership approach on the ground

Construction is ongoing and we continue to work closely with contractors and adopting authorities to protect design intent and respond to real-world challenges. This collaborative approach has helped prevent costly redesigns and kept the strategy coherent across phases — supporting consistent placemaking outcomes as the development progresses.

Enhancing the relationship between people and places

Whilst Welborne is still in its initial building phase, the completed areas already demonstrate the strength of the wider vision. Long into the future, Welborne will benefit from a lighting framework that does far more than illuminate streets — it actively supports placemaking by establishing the foundations for a confident identity, safer movement, improved walkability, and a stronger relationship between people and place.

Key achievements include:

A coherent lighting strategy spanning years of development

Safer junctions and crossings

Reduced light spill and improved environmental responsibility

A placemaking-led design that helps define Welborne’s character

Energy-efficient LED solutions ready for future CMS adoption

Seamless progression from planning to construction

Most importantly, the lighting helps give Welborne something every new community needs: a sense of place, ready to embrace the families who will soon call it home.

For developers planning major housing developments, Welborne demonstrates how lighting can be a quiet but powerful catalyst for identity, comfort and long-term sustainability — strengthening placemaking and creating public spaces that feel safe, usable and welcoming after dark.

For more information about Welborne, please go to www.Welborne.co.uk or search WelborneUK.Enhancing the relationship between people and places

Whilst Welborne is still in its initial building phase, the completed areas already demonstrate the strength of the wider vision. Long into the future, Welborne will benefit from a lighting framework that does far more than illuminate streets — it actively supports placemaking by establishing the foundations for a confident identity, safer movement, improved walkability, and a stronger relationship between people and place.

Key achievements include:

A coherent lighting strategy spanning years of development

Safer junctions and crossings

Reduced light spill and improved environmental responsibility

A placemaking-led design that helps define Welborne’s character

Energy-efficient LED solutions ready for future CMS adoption

Seamless progression from planning to construction

Most importantly, the lighting helps give Welborne something every new community needs: a sense of place, ready to embrace the families who will soon call it home.

For developers planning major housing developments, Welborne demonstrates how lighting can be a quiet but powerful catalyst for identity, comfort and long-term sustainability — strengthening placemaking and creating public spaces that feel safe, usable and welcoming after dark.

For more information about Welborne, please go to www.Welborne.co.uk or search WelborneUK.