IT’S BEEN a long time coming but plans to build a Health Hub in the heart of Bordon town centre have finally arrived.
The Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company (WBRC) has heralded the application as “another significant milestone” in the regeneration of the former garrison site.
A five-storey building has been proposed with health services, retail units and café, with 85 apartments on the floors above.
The hub – developed in partnership with NHS Hampshire and the district council – will accommodate the services provided by the Chase Community Hospital.
It will also provide a base for community nursing teams, physical and mental health services and will include space for a relocated Forest GP Surgery and Chase Pharmacy.
The application by the WBRC on behalf of landlords, the MOD, has been nearly half a decade in the making as an outline application proposing 15 less apartments was lodged in 2019.
If approval is granted hopes are high the “new modern facility” will be completed in early 2026 with services moving in progressively afterwards.
The man at the helm of the firm spearing the regeneration of Whitehill and Bordon has hailed its arrival of a “really important” milestone in the beating heart of the town.
James Child, project lead at The WBRC, called the Health Hub an “intrinsic part of the new town centre” and a claimed it's sign of things to come.
He said: “It will deliver modern healthcare to the whole community with the ability to grow with the town.
“It is a key element towards providing an inclusive town centre catering for a spectrum of services from health and wellbeing to food, recreation and entertainment.”
The application marks the end of the design phase while the public played their part with more than 400 attending consultation events.
Dr Anthony Leung from the Forest Surgery, which is set to move to the Hub, is looking forward to the extra space.
He said: “This is great news for us looking to deliver modern primary healthcare to a growing community in Whitehill and Bordon.
“We can look to double the number of consulting rooms we have and provide a more integrated service right in the heart of the town.”
Cllr Andy Tree of the Whitehill & Bordon Community Party has welcomed the development, but has raised eyebrows with some facets of the scheme.
He said: “My personal policy and that of the Whitehill & Bordon Community Party has always been to support Chase Hospital and expect the NHS to honour the 2013 Chase Charter.
“Now we finally have a planning application to review, noting it includes residential flats above it to a five-floor height. It is for the developer to explain to us why so many flats are needed to make it viable.
“We deserve locally provided health provision in our growing town and it is this that the public need to see and be confident about. I will continue to challenge and scrutinise this as part of my role as Hampshire County Councillor for Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford on the Health & Adult Social Care Select Committee.”