PEOPLE living in Whitehill and Bordon will soon be staying fit and healthy in the town’s new £10m leisure centre.

Work on the new leisure centre begins this month and the moment was marked with a celebratory event on site.

East Hampshire District Council, Everyone Active, construction firm Metnor and the Whitehill and Bordon Partnership gathered for a silver spade event to symbolically start the work that will end in a fantastic new centre.

They were joined by gold medal-winning Paralympian Georgina Hermitage, who spoke of the benefits of having top-quality health and fitness facilities.

She said: “The public are always being told to live healthy lifestyles but to do that they need access to the right kinds equipment and opportunities.

“I’m sure this leisure centre is going to inspire a new generation of Whitehill and Bordon residents to keep fit and healthy.”

The modern, well-equipped and environmentally-minded leisure centre in Whitehill and Bordon will be part of the new town centre, which will also feature shops, businesses space and other community facilities.

It will be constructed using environmentally-sustainable methods and material and will also generate some of its own power with solar panels on the roof.

The centre also feeds into the Whitehill and Bordon’s status as an NHS Healthy New Town, committed to providing opportunities for people to improve their health and welfare.

Richard Millard, leader of East Hampshire District Council, said: “This is another major step on our journey to totally revitalise the leisure centres in East Hampshire.

“We have invested more than £30 million in leisure, including this excellent building, to give local people the facilities they need to stay fit and healthy.”

Ferris Cowper, chairman of the Whitehill and Bordon Strategy Board, said: “Whitehill and Bordon is in the middle of a remarkable transformation, from a former army base to a green, healthy and connected town.

“The new town centre is going to be the jewel in the crown of the Whitehill and Bordon regeneration and the new leisure centre will be a huge part of that development.

“We are committed to making Whitehill and Bordon green and healthy and this centre will be good for the environment and good for local people.”

The new centre will include a six-lane pool, built to Sport England standards, along with a teaching pool.

The 80-station gym will offer the latest in cardiovascular and resistance equipment, there will be a larger dedicated fitness studio and spinning bikes with hi-tech virtual spinning.

David Love, Everyone Active area contract manager, said: “We’re proud to be working alongside East Hampshire District Council to create such fantastic centres for the local community.

“The new centre will include state-of-the-art facilities that everyone will be able to benefit from. We’re committed to encouraging more people to get more active more often and I believe this new centre will help with that ambition.”

Chris Johnson, project manager for Metnor, said: “Metnor Construction is proud to be part of the new regeneration project, with a key focus on delivery on time and in line with the clients, the team are looking forward to working collaboratively with Everyone Active and EHDC to create a modern and environmentally-friendly development.”