A PROJECT which hopes to tell the story of people living in Whitehill and Bordon can now embark on its first chapter.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has given housing group Radian, which is building homes at Quebec Park, in partnership with the Hampshire Cultural Trust, a £10,000 grant for a new project called Welcome to Bordon.

This community-heritage idea will tell the story of people living in Bordon, through interviews and oral histories. Over six months, the project also aims to use the town’s heritage to connect with, and welcome, new residents moving into the area.

Michelle Roffe, head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the South East, said: “We are delighted to support this project which, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, will mean that more people will be able to get involved with, protect and learn about the exciting heritage right on their doorstep.”

The Heritage Lottery Fund explained that, through the recruitment of 30 volunteers, including children from a local school, the Welcome to Bordon project will encourage both new and existing residents to explore the town’s “tangible and hidden heritage” in a new way, giving people a “sense of place and ownership at a time when the area is going through a period of regeneration”.

The project will also help to “capture memories of Bordon”, including its history as a garrison town, and document them using audio recordings and artwork inspired by the heritage.

Paula Windebank, community development officer at Radian, added: “We are really pleased to have been awarded this funding and to be given the opportunity to work more closely with the Hampshire Cultural Trust and the residents of Whitehill and Bordon.

“We’ve already had interest from local residents to help support the project and are looking forward to unearthing some of the historical and cultural aspects of the area.”

County councillor Adam Carew congratulated Eastleigh-based Radian and the Hampshire Cultural Trust, and added: “My only request is that they work with our local historians at the Woolmer Forest Heritage Society (see story on page 14) and actually get the name of our town right.

“This is pretty fundamental stuff and it is important not just for our existing residents but the new people already joining our community. It (the name) is Whitehill and Bordon in that order. Bordon is part of Whitehill Parish and has been since 1929.

“We are one town and any project here needs to be inclusive or it risks alienating half our community.

“Having said this, it sounds like a very exciting initiative. There has long been a need to conduct oral history, particularly recording the memories of older residents who remember what our town was like during and before the Second World War and the 1950s and 1960s. Any such oral history project is important.

“Unless these voices are recorded now for posterity they will be lost forever.”

Laura Bullivant, cultural engagement manager at the Hampshire Cultural Trust, said: “We are thrilled to have received support thanks to National Lottery players and are looking forward to working with residents in Bordon to explore their heritage.”

The Hampshire Cultural Trust operates and funds 23 museums, galleries and art centres across the county. The independent charity champions world-class culture and exists to “showcase, connect and empower” Hampshire’s creative economy.