ALTON and Basingstoke Cardiac Rehab has a new chief executive.

Sarah Quarterman joins Rehab from the UK plant conservation charity Plant Heritage, where she was chief executive for four years.

She brings a fundraising background to the role, having worked in the charity sector for 12 years, previously in healthcare and hospice charities. Her early career was with John Lewis in retail and IT project management.

Mrs Quarterman’s arrival coincided with the start of work on the £20m project to build a new sports centre for Alton, between the existing centre and the Rehab building, off Chawton Park Road.

A partnership between East Hampshire District Council and Everyone Active, the new centre is expected to be open to the public next autumn, with full completion by early 2020.

While in its early stages, the first deliverable part of the project has come in the form of a new car park for the Cardiac Rehab Unit which will, according to Mrs Quarterman, “provide improved facilities for both clients and staff” and “the capacity to offer free parking to our growing numbers of exercisers”.

Mrs Quarterman said: “I am thrilled to be joining Cardiac Rehab at this exciting time in our development with the new sports centre building work under way, our new car park having been completed, and our exercise programme expansion progressing well.

“We have been working in close co-operation with (sports centre) building contractors Metnor to ensure a smooth transition to the new facilities.”

And she added: “I look forward to welcoming many more exercisers to the centre from the surrounding area as part of our Phase IV Cardiac rehabilitation (continuing exercise open to anyone, referred by a health professional, who has had cardiac intervention in hospital or has a stable form of cardiovascular disease) and the preventative ‘Staywell’ exercise programme.”