MORE than £3m of walkways and cycle routes are on their way to Whitehill and Bordon after East Hampshire District Council secured funding for them.

The money, from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership, will be used to make improvements to walking and cycling routes around the town.

The routes, which make up the so-called Green Grid and Green Loop network, connect the town’s green spaces with new developments. The district council said it would use the money as part of its vision to make Whitehill and Bordon a green, healthy and connected town.

The network aims to reduce car journeys and encourage people to walk or cycle. This is part of a wider strategy to make it easier to move around the town and to improve public transport.

Improvements will be made in Budds Lane, adding walking and cycling routes to the new school and town centre, while pedestrian and cyclist crossings will be built across the A325, which will be replaced, by the bypass, as the main through-town route.

Ferris Cowper, district council portfolio holder for Whitehill and Bordon, said: “It’s extremely important to us that people can get around the town by foot or by bike, so this money will allow us to put the infrastructure in place to make this easy to do.”

The council said it had also worked closely with housing developers to raise environmental standards in all the new homes built in Whitehill and Bordon.

The houses, particularly at Radian housing group’s Quebec Park development, are being built to be energy efficient thereby, it is said, providing long-term savings for residents.

Radian has been shortlisted for a national award for sustainable new-build project of the year by SHIFT (the Sustainable Homes Index For Tomorrow), which is a scheme that demonstrates organisations are delivering against environmental targets.

A range of renewable technologies, which use natural resources such as sunlight and heat to create energy, are being installed across the town, particularly solar panels in the new developments.

The district council said it had also ensured that more than £800,000 had been used towards energy efficiency measures in existing homes.

The council offers an interest-free loan, Cosy, to residents of Whitehill and Bordon and Lindford, which can be put towards energy saving home improvements, such as insulation, a new boiler, double or triple-glazed windows or solar panels (visit easthants.gov.uk/cosy-east-hampshire).

The Hogmoor and Bordon Inclosures provide the town with 79 hectares (195 acres) of green open space and have been improved over the past two years.

The Hogmoor Inclosure now has a natural play area, made from materials such as logs and mounds, and the Bordon Inclosure has seen enhancements designed by the Community Arts Project, led by The Phoenix Theatre, making it more attractive and accessible.

Dave Axam, chairman of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “I am delighted that the LEP is continuing to support growth in Whitehill and Bordon, building on maximising the benefits from our investment in the relief road.

“This project is the next stage in providing infrastructure and supporting access to new development sites in the town. It is a key component in the transformation of the area into a more attractive investment proposition for businesses, supported by a more reliable local transport network.

“Overall our investment will help bring forward the delivery of 3,350 new homes, approximately 63,000 square metres of new employment, commercial and community floor space and create up to 5,500 jobs as part of the redevelopment of Whitehill and Bordon into a thriving new green town.”