PLANS to build a new Future Skills Centre in Whitehill and Bordon have arrived at Hampshire County Council.

The centre for vocational training, mainly for post-16 students, will focus on the construction sector alongside “employability and enterprise skills” and, according to the council, will be “the first phase of an excellence campus vision”.

It is estimated that the new facility, delivered as part of the Louisburg Barracks redevelopment, will be ready by early 2017, teaching the first intake of students skills such as carpentry and bricklaying.

Providing employment is a key aim of the Whitehill and Bordon regeneration project and, with thousands of homes expected over the next 15 or so years, there should be ample roles for people who want to work in construction.

Although the county council will decide whether or not to grant planning permission for the project, the plans, which Whitehill and Bordon’s regeneration team have been broadly discussing for years, have been welcomed by East Hampshire District Council.

Nick Drew, the district council’s portfolio holder for economic development, said the education facility would benefit people of a wide age range.

“If planning permission is granted, the future skills centre is going to be great for Whitehill and Bordon’s residents,” he said. “The centre will help get young people and adults into work by teaching them essential employment skills, with a focus on the construction sector. Students will learn about brickwork, carpentry, electrical work and plumbing, and the centre will also be used to support the district council’s successful apprenticeship programme - which fits into its economic development strategy.

“It’s important that we equip residents with the skills they need to take advantage of the construction jobs which will become available as Whitehill and Bordon is regenerated with 3,350 new homes, 5,500 new jobs, a thriving new town centre and a whole host of new facilities.

“Subject to planning permission, the Future Skills Centre is expected to be open and ready to take students in spring 2017.”

The £4m project would be owned by Hampshire County Council which, in its design statement, outlined the principle aims of the facility.

“The centre is intended to deliver a curriculum that is responsive to the future skills needs of employers and local businesses, and is to act as a valuable resource for the wider community,” the statement said.

“Particular objectives are to address the construction worker demand created throughout the development period of Whitehill and Bordon; to help address the wider construction skills’ shortage across the region and support the construction sector to meet growth demands in the wider Enterprise M3 area; to maximise the job opportunities created for local people in Whitehill and Bordon as a result of the regeneration and help create a sustainable community; to meet the skills’ shortage while addressing relatively high youth unemployment, low participation in post-16 learning and higher education and the lack of accessible vocational provision in the area; and to create confidence in the town as a place for skills and business and to act as a catalyst to further market investment.

In November 2014, outline planning permission for 500 homes and employment space was granted by the district council’s planning committee. The proposal, submitted by the Homes and Communities Agency, also sought full permission for the northern section of the new relief road, which has since been granted.

The centre would be situated at the north-east corner of the redevelopment, accessed via a roundabout from the new road. The application follows the announcement of plans to transform Louisburg’s Broxhead House into a business-and-enterprise centre.

The specifics – such as layout, materials and the design of all the new buildings on Louisburg – are yet to be ironed out, and will be subject to public consultation as this section of the town takes shape.

n The public and consultees have until September 23 to comment on the plans at hants.gov.uk.