THE developer contributions that will provide new sports and leisure facilities for Whitehill and Bordon “must stay in the town”, members of Whitehill Town Council’s amenities committee stressed at their latest meeting.

“We don’t want it bled away to other areas,” said councillor Ian Georgii.

Earlier, East Hampshire District Council’s principal regeneration officer Danielle Friedman-Brown, accompanied by Rebecca Treharne, had given councillors an update on the sports and leisure facilities proposed for the regenerated Whitehill and Bordon and the sporting facilities needed in Headley and Lindford, following the signing of the 106 agreement (under which the developer agreed to contributions) was signed last year.

The district council officers were seeking the views of the town council as, the officers said, the first tranche of developer contributions “to fund new and updated sports and leisure facilities as part of the regeneration” of the town will “not be available until November”.

The district council needed to know what sports and leisure facilities councillors wanted improved or built, including making facilities available to the public not available to them in the past, the meeting heard.

The Sports Pitch Strategy, used to identify where contributions are needed to improve existing facilities across Whitehill and Bordon, was approved by the the district council in March last year, Miss Friedman-Brown said. The strategy highlighted improvements needed to Mill Chase Recreation Ground and Knaves Mire.

“So we have our plan in place for all pitch improvements to be made so we can start the work as soon as the first funding comes through,” Miss Friedman-Brown added.

There seemed to be, said Mr Georgii, a lack of interest in providing hard courts for sports like tennis and squash and he felt provision should be found for those.

As for East Hampshire’s Sports Pitches Strategy, he reminded everyone they were talking about Whitehill and Bordon, not other areas, and what “we want in our town” for sport from the 106 agreement and how it will impact on the new housing development.

Mr Georgii said: “There is a need for more football pitches, with a slight deficiency in cricket-pitch provision but no funding for rugby or tennis.”

Councillor Adam Carew wanted to know just how many pitches were available in the town for sports and leisure for the existing population, “let alone an extended population”. “We need more courts for tennis, squash rugby and cricket,” he said. “I would like to know how these figures were arrived at?”

The strategy, said Miss Friedman-Brown, was to also look at facilities needed in Headley and Lindford because people from Whitehill and Brown “do go outside of town to play sport”.

A need had been identified for better and more sporting and leisure facilities, said council leader Alan Waterhouse, who added that he would like to see the ones in the Garrison being used. “But they are for our town not Headley and Lindford,” he said.

Touching on the improvements to the football pitch at Mill Chase, Mr Waterhouse said there had been drainage carried out.

“But to keep it drained it also has to be spiked and, to my knowledge, Mill Chase has never been spiked,” he said. “As it would be up to the town council to maintain these pitches, it will be extremely costly.”

Committee chairman Christopher Mitchell said the Bordon and Oakhanger Sports Club Army pitches had to be considered and, in answer to a question from Mr Waterhouse about the provision of a football pitch at Budds Lane, Miss Friedman-Brown said there would be one because it would be part of the new school complex there.

Councillor Duncan Sanders said he represented Pinewood Ward which was surrounded by the new town development. “What we need is an area for our children where they can play,” he said. “They can’t play on the Knaves Mire area or at Budds Lane as the grass is too long to kick a ball and we have to have an area in the town where they can have a kick about. They won’t be able to go to Headley or Lindford to play.”

The desired pitches had to be “sorted out” said Mr Georgii “before they are all gobbled by development”: “We need provision for bowls and petanque, which shouldn’t be too expensive and must be in the town. We don’t want our money bled away to other areas.”

Mr Carew said: “We should get all the hardstanding and green fields we need before they are developed and they will be put to good use.”

It had been suggested that town-council owned land Knaves Mire, know locally as “the Laundry Pitch”, could become a picnic area but to carry out any maintenance the council would need developer contributions. “Contributions that must be used exclusively in our town not outside,” Mr Georgii stressed.

It was possible, said Mr Mitchell, that the Garrison tennis courts might now be available for public use and this, said Miss Friedman-Brown, was why they needed a pitch strategy.

Lynn Malikoff-Johnston wanted to know what other clubs and organisations would like. The district council would be making the proposal for the different pitches needed in the town, said Mr Mitchell, but it should also look at the funding needed to carry out maintenance and drainage.

The district council had recognised a need for more football pitches, said Miss Friedman-Brown, and some existing pitches were being looked at, including the cricket pitch at Louisburg Barracks. Mr Georgii said: “The developers’ money has to be spent in the town. It is for Whitehill and Bordon not Headley, Lindford or Liphook.”