A PLANNING application to improve the Forest Shopping Centre has been submitted to East Hampshire District Council.

The scheme hopes to breathe new life into the centre, which has recently struggled with a series of shop closures.

As well as work on the centre itself, new owner Orchard Grove Asset Management, based in London, wants permission to build 37 new flats. These will take the shape of two detached buildings, comprising 16 flats and eight flats respectively, in Heathcote and Pinehill roads, as well as the conversion of vacant space above retail units one to three and nine to 13 to create 13 additional flats.

Plans for the inside of the shopping centre will see the creation of two new retail units, as well as a raft of improvements which aim to make the centre “feel more open and welcoming”.

These will include the removal of the eastern and western entrance doors and canopies; removal of the brick planters; repainting the existing canopy from black to white; providing new signage; removing the polycarbonate atrium roof, and then installing new lighting, planters and a “green wall” of plants.

Some residents have taken to East Hampshire District Council’s online planning portal to log their responses to the application, with many comments objecting to the plans.

Core to the concerns is the residential side of the application, particularly Heathcote Lodge which, some fear, at four storeys will be too large and out of keeping with neighbouring properties.

“This is a shopping centre which unfortunately has very few retail shops to attract shoppers and has been going slowly downhill for a long time, but I still don’t feel that turning it into a residential area, with a large number of small properties, is a good idea,” one resident said. But the applicant maintains that the developments are suitable, sustainable and “essential” as part of the package with the other works.

Documents, produced by Silver & Co on behalf of the applicant, explain how the centre has become “somewhat outmoded” in terms of format and has been “losing tenants and footfall as a result”. But, the documents say, the centre is “well located at the very heart of Bordon”, with a population of around 15,000 within “potential walking distance”. It is said the centre exhibits “clear opportunities for new residential development”.

For these reasons, and despite the “constraints” and its “run-down appearance”, the developer feels there is a strong future for the site, boosted by “retained local affection”.

The applicant says that with the removal of the doors, will come increased CCTV technology. The residential element on site will also increase “natural surveillance and a sense of community to the area”.

And the changes will not only attract more permanent tenants but may also mean the centre can host community events, such as farmers and Christmas markets and festivals.

As part of the project, a separate application will be made to Hampshire County Council’s highways department to rescind the traffic regulation order in Pinehill Road and reinstate two-way traffic along its complete length.

According to the applicant, the reason for the closure in the first place was “to facilitate the public event area”, but as it is “rarely used” and, even when it is, an application still has to be made to close the road, it is felt the order serves “no useful purpose”.

“This scheme offers a unique opportunity to rejuvenate the Forest Shopping Centre and provide much-needed housing at the same time,” its statement added.

“It is proposed as a package because the two elements together are greater than the sum of the parts.

“The proposed improvements to the shopping centre will attract tenants and customers making it a lively and vibrant hub for the community of Bordon.

“The residential element will add footfall and ensure it is a social and secure district, providing opportunities for extended evening trading and an even wider range of services.

“The overall vision for the scheme is modern mixed-use development - a pleasurable and social place to live with many essential amenities within easy walking distance.”

Whitehill Town Council leader Adam Carew said members “are aware of the very urgent need to regenerate the Forest Shopping Centre”, adding they “will be listening carefully to residents’ views for and against”. “The main concerns at present seem to be the four-storey height of the flats and parking issues, although there is obviously a great deal of support for reopening Pinehill Road to traffic (so the eastern car park can be properly used), creating a new unit between Lidl and Boots and some very positive green measures,” he added.