Whitehill & Bordon’s Green Loop has been honoured in the national Planning Awards for the benefits it will bring to the local community.

The Green Loop is a 7km network of walking and cycling paths that encircle and criss-cross the expanding town and is often used by walkers, runners and cyclists.

On June 9 the project won the Planning Award in the best use of arts, culture or sport in place-making category.

The award recognised the inspirational design of the way markers installed alongside the path, including totems, benches and blocks.

Judges were impressed with the project’s approach to green infrastructure, factoring in health, history and the environment.

The project was managed in partnership by East Hampshire District Council, Hampshire County Council, Whitehill Town Council and the Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company, and used local company Urban Place Lab.

It was funded by the EM3 Local Enterprise Partnership and developers’ contributions.

Designed as a series of totems, benches and blocks, the way markers make it easy to navigate through the town.

They are bespoke to Whitehill & Bordon, using locally significant materials and motifs that reflect the history of the area.

James Gross, founder and director of Urban Place Lab, said: “Working alongside our design colleagues at Feria Urbanism and Wolfstrome Design, we engaged with the community to design and develop a way finding ‘family’ of signs, benches, blocks and seats, that were then fabricated and installed by local tradespeople with local materials, ensuring funding for the project remained within the local economy.”