DESPITE the crisis many high streets are facing up and down the country, the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company (WBRC) remains confident its new town centre will triumph over the odds.

But senior developers are not in the dark about the challenges and know that, for Bordon’s new town centre to be sustainable, they will have to provide, what they say is, “something different”.

With details on specific shops and facilities still under wraps, and the first phase set to open in just over a year, rumours are circulating. What, many ask, is actually going to appear behind those boards?

This week WBRC project lead James Child spoke to the Bordon Herald about the progress of its complex, expensive development.

“In close partnership with East Hampshire District Council, the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company is still committed to delivering the creation of a sustainable retail, leisure, entertainment and office zone in the centre of Whitehill and Bordon, to open from 2020,” he said.

“The new town centre is a £100million scheme, the first phase of which is half a million square foot in size and at an advanced stage of design. A decision on planning is expected as soon as possible, but hopefully by the end of the year. This will allow us to let building contracts by late spring or early summer.

“As part of the first phase of the new town centre, there are plans for shops and restaurants, a supermarket, a cinema with at least four screens, a start-up business hub, an indoor marketplace, a heritage centre and 178 new apartment homes.

“We understand traditional high streets are suffering, and our approach is to offer something different but sustainable - an alternative to the traditional high street model - by creating a leisure attraction in the region. We are in detailed discussions with operators on layouts. Local GPs and Southern Health are engaged in outlining how the health hub will operate, and we are working closely with SiGNAL and Oxford Innovations on the design of the offices for small businesses and tech companies. We are also working closely with a market operator for the indoor market and pop-up stalls, and finessing the design of the cinema with the cinema operator.

“We invite people to look at our regular updates on the Prince Philip Park website and attend our Question Time events. These events give you the opportunity to meet the developers and organisations involved in the regeneration work and receive information about what is happening.”

In April 2015, East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) voted unanimously to grant permission to the largest planning application it had ever considered. The hybrid plan included 2,400 new homes, jobs, infrastructure and a new town centre.

And the promise has always been that the 200 hectare area, covering Prince Philip Barracks and other former military land ripe for development, would provide more than just lots of new homes.

A resounding local concern is that residential developments will arrive in earnest, with associated amenities and infrastructure falling by the wayside.

But developers have insisted the two go hand in hand and will be delivered in tandem. The thinking is that, even if their motives are as cynical as some suggest, and money really is the ultimate goal, the better the town, the more the homes are worth.

A new road, school, the Future Skills Centre - these are tangible examples of progress on the regeneration project.

However, unlike the town centre, they are in effect public assets and are less bound to the market forces which dictate business. Nice shops, hotels, restaurants and so on only operate where it is commercially viable to do so.

Whitehill town councillor Andy Tree spoke of the hard task WBRC has on its hands.

“For me, the first part of making the town centre a success is a significant anchor store to draw people in,” he said.

“For example, a large supermarket chain that is not already anywhere local. The rest of the town centre can then be built around this, including the cinema and places to eat.

“However, there are significant obstacles, such as no bank currently wants to locate here (our last bank left in August 2017 when Lloyds shut down its branch near One Stop.)

“With increases in online shopping, branded shops are closing down in established town centres and those in power need to re-act.

“Whether someone has lived in Whitehill or Bordon all their life or moved in last week, nobody wants a ghost town full of housing and nothing else. A positive infrastructure has to be provided.

“I am very pleased the new secondary school and swimming pool are now in the process of being built, as these will be significant positive developments once up and running.”

Despite this progress, Mr Tree wants people to be more involved with the evolving shape of the town.

“At the moment the town council is in the passenger seat and is not a driving force in these big development issues,” he said.

While the development is “ultimately controlled by the development companies, landowners and EHDC as planning authority”, Mr Tree said he would want to help “broker deals for the betterment of the town” drawing on his “experience as a businessman”.

“Someone has to ensure residents’ views are being heard,” he added.