A NEW project that encourages youngsters to walk to school has been introduced in Whitehill and Bordon as part of the Healthy New Town programme.

The My Journey Park and Stride scheme, coordinated by Hampshire County Council with support from town developer the Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company and East Hampshire District Council’s Healthy New Town programme, encourages parents and pupils at Bordon Infant and Junior schools to walk to school from their homes or park in one of the four designated car parks and walk from there.

Park and Stride is being implemented in the town to encourage healthy and active lifestyles.

Walking to school is great for boosting brain power; becoming street savvy; enjoying quality family time and saving money. Children need at least 60 minutes of exercise a day and walking to school is an excellent way of doing this, with every minute walked being about 100 steps.

The four car parks that are available to use for the Park and Stride initiative are: Hampshire Road car park, with a capacity of 12 spaces and 300 metres from the schools; the Garrison Pool car park, with a capacity of 30 spaces and a 60-metre walk to the schools.; Guadeloupe car park, with 15 spaces and is a 600-metre walk to the schools, and Martinique car park which is only available until 8.45am for Park and Stride, with 10 spaces and being 300 metres from the schools.

District councillor Ferris Cowper (Con, Grayshott), portfolio holder for the town’s redevelopment, said: “This is an excellent way of incorporating exercise into people’s everyday lives. We are totally committed, here at East Hampshire District Council, to helping people, especially children, live as active lives as they can. I encourage all families to get involved in the scheme and help make Whitehill and Bordon an even healthier town.”