WHITEHILL Town Council formally opened the Bordon Inclosure last week, with a little help from some friends.

David Cooper, the deputy mayor of Whitehill and Bordon and chairman of the green space sub-committee of the town council, opened the public space, near Trenchard and Quebec parks last Wednesday.

To mark the moment, pupils from Bordon Junior School, on Budds Lane, read a poem about wildlife in the area which they had written for the occasion.

“This is a very significant day in the life of Whitehill and Bordon because after 100 years of a dominant military presence we have reached the end of the first phase of the regeneration of the town,” Mr Cooper said.

“Our community formally becomes the proud owner of a wildlife park, which provides: recreational and educational opportunities for everyone in our community; safe walkways for those with push chairs; a woodland playground for the young and a peaceful environment for the rest of us.

“It is a most appropriate time of the year to be formally opening the Bordon Inclosure. Spring is in the air, the trees are coming into leaf and the birds are more numerous and active than at any other time of the year.

“The regeneration of the Bordon Inclosure is a culmination of a great deal of work by many organisations and you may well ask why this has been necessary.

“Our town is near the European-protected sites of Broxhead and Kingsley commons, which are used by a number of rare birds for breeding, notably the Dartford warbler.

“For the protection of those sites, we hope to encourage local residents, particularly those from Quebec Park, to walk here rather than in the sensitive areas.

“That is the reason that the Bordon Inclosure has been developed as a Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace (SANG).”

Whitehill Town Council took over management of the land on January 1 and will soon receive an injection of cash for its long-term upkeep.

“The Defence Infrastructure Organisation owns the Bordon Inclosure but we have acquired a long lease which will allow us to manage and develop the SANG,” Mr Cooper said.

“To support this task we are to receive £2.2m in the next few years. This may sound a lot of money but it has to last 80 years.

“Many of you will be aware of the high standard of preservation that has been achieved by the Deadwater Valley Trust in the Alexander Park and Deadwater Valley Local Nature Reserves. We are very fortunate that the trust, under the leadership of its chair Nora Dobson, has extended their responsibilities to the patrolling and maintenance of the Bordon Inclosure SANG. An additional ranger has been recruited - Freya Prince - to enhance the existing patrol service provided by the trust.”

While the town council will be taking the lead with managing the area, it hopes the community will help to “make it a success”.

For example, Mr Cooper highlighted the importance of residents’ vigilance when it came to issues such as fly tipping.

The day also saw the release of a leaflet telling residents all about the land.

“It gives me great pleasure to launch the leaflet which describes the SANG and the nearby green-space sites,” Mr Cooper said. “It has been produced by the Deadwater Valley Trust and it is a most informative and valuable guide to anyone using our green spaces.

“The leaflet consists of 24 pages of guidance and, on the reverse of the text pages, there is a large-scale map of the green-space sites, showing its many trails and the location of facilities. Its theme is ‘bringing the countryside into town’. It is the delivery of the benefits of the countryside to everyone in Whitehill and Bordon which is so important to our community.”

A poem was read by year-six pupils from Bordon Junior School who, as part of the Bordon Inclosure Community Arts Project, co-ordinated by Rob Allerston from The Phoenix Theatre, worked with the poet Matt West. The resulting poem celebrates the 12 native reptiles and amphibians that are unique to Whitehill and Bordon.