Whitehill and Bordon residents have voiced their anger at the slow delivery of the new town centre and homes, with one telling a meeting “I wish I never moved to Bordon”.

After the Army left in 2015, Bordon was promised a new town centre, bars and restaurants, a cinema, shops and a new supermarket, a new school and sports centre, health hub and better public transport links.

Nine years later, the new Oakmoor Secondary School, The Shed indoor food market, and Whitehill and Bordon Leisure Centre have opened.

Oakmoor School
Oakmoor School was the first of Bordon’s promised new infrastructure to open, in 2019 (Hampshire County Council)

But with almost 3,000 new homes already delivered or under construction – and another 1,400 to be added – residents are running out of patience for the rest of the promised improvements.

The Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company (WBRC) hosted a Question Time session on Tuesday, April 16 to update the public on the redevelopment of Prince Phillip Barracks.

And members of the public wasted no time in making their feelings known.

Furious residents told politicians and regeneration chiefs they were “sick of new homes” without appropriate infrastructure to accommodate the town’s rising population, asked why key improvements such as the new health hub and better public transport still haven’t been delivered when “five years ago we were promised so much”, and accused regeneration chiefs of lying to residents.

One said “I wish I never moved to Bordon” after critiquing the lack of progress on the WBRC’s plans, with only 20 per cent of the houses being built in eight years of the 20-year project.

Jane Austen Close Bordon
More than 3,000 new homes have already been built in Bordon since the departure of the Army in 2015 (Google Streetview)

Responding, WBRC project lead James Child blamed the company’s struggles on the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and Israel, and inflation.

He highlighted the country's pressing need for houses and the need for more affordable homes for the younger generation, and announced an “informal agreement” had been reached with Sainsbury’s for the town centre supermarket site.

Mr Child added construction of the supermarket will begin once the formal documents are “processed” – with a December 2025 opening targeted.

Public transport was another hot topic, with residents and the panel agreeing action was needed after the collapse of initiatives such as on-demand car service VOCA.

Mr Child described bus services in the town as “shocking” and said public transport “needs to be addressed”, while councillor Debbie Curnow-Ford (Conservative) said Whitehill and Bordon has become “a hub for people trying to get to Liphook, Alton or Farnham”.

Geraldine Sheedy, representing Labour, added: “We need a joined-up transport system. If you want to bring leisure activities to the town transport is key to everything.”

Health Hub Visual
An image of the proposed health hub development next to The Shed in Bordon town centre (WBRC)

The health hub was another key issue in which Dr Anthony Leung of Badgerswood Surgery shared an insight on the pressures on NHS services locally.

Dr Leung said: “I have three limiting factors, first being the lack of doctors, second is space, and the third limiting factor is money.

“I’m not sure how I am going to navigate this.”

A planning application for a five-storey health hub accommodating GPs and other health services currently provided at the Chase Community Hospital was submitted in January.