The rallying call comes after the town has had to cope with more and more houses being built over the years, with scant facilities to cope with the increase in the population.
Now, after losing an important planning appeal in March this year because an approved development brief, which is a requirement of the district councilÕs adopted local plan, had not been prepared, town councillors are calling on the district council to put proper measures in place for the town.
Losing the appeal over the RE Lines and St Lucia Lodge sites to the MoD meant that dreams of a hotel, college, business or leisure facility on the site had to be scrapped, as permission was granted for around 65 new homes.
On Monday three of the townÕs district and town councillors, Zoya Faddy, Michael Watkinson and Don Mayes, put forward four proposals at a full council meeting in a bid to get a development strategy prepared for the townÕs future.
The first motion asked the district council to set up a committee comprising executive members of regional and local government to identify the measures needed to address the failure of planning policies at all levels to meet the social, economic community and infrastructure needs of Whitehill and Bordon.
Mrs Faddy told the meeting that the town had a Ògolden opportunityÓ, with the Army moving out, to correct previous planning errors which have been made in the town.
ÒIt is no secret to members of this council that there is real concern about what happens in the future of Bordon and Whitehill when the Army pull out,Ó she said.
ÒIt could be in the next seven years - it could happen quickly or slowly. I think the whole community is behind this proposal. This is a golden opportunity to put right the wrongs that have been done in the past over many planning issues. We need this to give us the jobs and the facilities that this population has been asking for for so many years.Ó
She said the district council should be asked to set it up a committee which will include SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) and Hampshire County Council.
ÒWhat we want to know is how quickly they can process this because time is not on our side. We need the strategy in place. They need to grasp this and do it quickly.Ó
The second motion requested the district council to conduct an immediate review of the second review of the local plan, and all references to MoD land, and that a new and separate chapter be drawn up, following the announcement that the Army is planning to move out of the area.
Dr Watkinson said that at the development advisory committee of the district council, of which he is a member, he raised the issue of why there was not a chapter for MoD land in Whitehill/Bordon in the local plan when 98 per cent of MoD land in East Hampshire is in Whitehill/Bordon.
ÒUnfortunately I was unable to persuade my fellow members that such a chapter was necessary. They felt that the second review of the local plan covered this.
ÒBut, when you read it you will see that there are references to the MoD all over the place. You need to read all 280 pages of it to pick up what the MoD is doing and for this area I donÕt think that this is quite good enough.
ÒThe loss of RE Lines and St Lucia Lodge because we had not prepared a development brief was tragic. This cannot be allowed to continue. This area as far as planning is concerned is one error after another.Ó
The third motion inquired when the town council would be asked for its input into the Chalet Hill/High Street development brief after the district councilÕs decision in 1998 to Òprepare a new development brief as soon as possibleÓ.
The vision for the redevelopment of the town centre would involve the area between the new Tesco store and the Forest Shopping Centre being transformed into a pedestrianised shopping precinct.
However, Dr Watkinson said that apparently work on a development brief for the future development of Chalet Hill and High Street had been put on the back burner.
He called on Elizabeth Cartwright, district council leader, and the councilÕs cabinet to ensure that work resumed on the brief as soon as possible.
ÒWe have so many problems that need looking at,Ó he said. ÒThey seem very much to have forgotten that we exist because it is much more convenient to pretend that we donÕt exist.Ó
The final motion asked the district council to agree with the town council a list of MoD sites which, were they to be declared redundant by the MoD, would require development briefs to be drawn up, and to agree a priority order and timetable for the preparation and publication of these.
Mrs Faddy said that the release of MoD land was ÒcrucialÓ to the future development of the town.
Dr Watkinson stressed that measures were needed to ensure maximum benefit to the town as well as the MoD.
ÒWe have already seen a letter from Defence Estates saying that the garrison expects to have left Bordon by 2007, but that is a piece of paper and lots of things can change,Ó he said.
ÒIf you and I were a member of the MoD, and their brief is to get the maximum amount of money for the land, then of course we would be looking at the highest bid. When you think that the MoD has nearly half of the land in Whitehill, if all of it went for housing imagine what state we would be in.
ÒWe are not against housing. We just need to have a balance. There are a lot of important resources belonging to the MoD which can be utilised by the community once the Army go. We want to work with the MoD for the best solution for them and the best solution for the community of Bordon and Whitehill.Ó
Mrs Faddy added: ÒWe are asking the district council to get this moving as soon as possible.Ó
Members agreed to back all four motions.