Hampshire County Council has approved recommending the Henry Cort Community College site in Fareham to the Department for Education for a new specialist secure welfare children’s home.
After Cabinet approval, the Henry Cort site will be put forward to the DfE, which has offered funding for the new facility’s development. This follows an earlier April decision that makes the Henry Cort location available from September 2027, when pupils and staff will move to their new North Whiteley site.
Pending government approval and planning permission, the new facility would replace the council’s current Swanwick Lodge site with a modern, expanded facility offering 18 beds – nearly doubling the current 10-bed capacity at Swanwick.
Swanwick Lodge is one of just 13 specialist homes of its kind across England, providing secure, therapeutic care for Hampshire’s most vulnerable children and others nationally. The facility does not house young people in criminal justice custody but delivers highly specialised support for children who have suffered severe trauma and abuse. After nearly three decades of operation, and with increasingly complex needs among residents, the home requires replacement. Without this development, the council warns that its most vulnerable children would need to be placed much further from their families and communities, at considerably higher costs.
Council Leader Councillor Nick Adams-King said: “Thank you to my fellow Cabinet Members for today’s valuable discussion. We all recognise the urgent need for more and better specialist residential care for our most vulnerable children and wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s proposal to fund a modern and larger new home in Hampshire.
“We have today agreed that Henry Cort could be a suitable option to accommodate the new home, and we now look forward to progressing this with the DfE. Should the DfE approve the site by the end of this year, I must stress that there would then follow a longer process including a planning consultation which would provide an opportunity for the local community to comment on the plans.”
Since government funding cannot be used for land acquisition, the council previously conducted an extensive review of council-owned sites. This assessment included the existing Swanwick Lodge location, but it lacks sufficient space for an expanded facility. Earlier this year, Cabinet rejected proposals for the Stubbington Study Centre site and instructed officers to identify additional potential locations.
Meanwhile, the council completed its separate decision-making process regarding Henry Cort Community College’s future, which began last October. With the Henry Cort site becoming available after September 2027, the council has comprehensively evaluated this location alongside various alternatives suggested by local district and borough councils and external parties.
After considering all available options, the council has concluded that the Henry Cort site represents the only suitable council-owned location with adequate space for the expanded children’s home. The council will now submit this proposal to the DfE and, subject to approval, will advance planning work including the planning application process. If planning consent is secured, on-site construction work is not anticipated to begin until 2028.
