WHITEHILL and Bordon has been called an “eco town”, a “green town” and now a “healthy new town” as part of an NHS plan to ensure estates being built help residents to live longer, healthier lives.

Whitehill and Bordon - where 3,350 homes will be built by 2036 - this week topped the list as one of England’s 10 planned “healthy new towns”, where measures will be put in place to stave off conditions like obesity and dementia, as part of the pioneering NHS scheme.

In the new healthy towns takeaway outlets near schools will be banned and signs will be put up encouraging the public to walk rather than drive.

Pavements will have anti-trip surfaces, and it has been suggested that Sixties-themed cafes could help elderly people with dementia to feel more at home.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, announced the plans on Tuesday and the hope is that 170,000 people will live in one of the 10 estates being built. The health chief is hoping they will become the blueprint for all new residential areas to prevent ill health at all ages.

Last year, NHS England invited councils, builders and NHS clinical commissioning groups to submit proposals for healthy housing developments. They offered to provide successful bids with public health and town planning expertise to help complete their plans.

The money to build the homes will come from councils and private partners rather than the NHS.

The plan will aim to encourage children to play outside again and adults to get more exercise. According to Mr Stevens, a lack of exercise contributes to one in six deaths. Two thirds of Britons are overweight or obese, making them more likely to have strokes or develop dementia and heart disease. Under the plan, older people would be helped to integrate in the community to prevent loneliness which can bring on early Alzheimer’s disease.

“We want to see neighbourhoods and homes designed that make it easier for older people to continue to live independently,” said Mr Stevens.

The news that Whitehill and Bordon had been chosen as one of the 10 places with healthy-new-town status was welcomed by East Hampshire District Council, which submitted the bid with the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Partnership, NHS South Eastern Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group, Hampshire County Council, Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company, GPs, Defence Infrastructure Organisation, Radian, Wessex Academic Health Science Network, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Property Services, Homes and Communities Agency, Royal Society for Public Health, Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership and Community First Havant East Hampshire.

Whitehill and Bordon forward was one of 114 applicants for the status.

A team for Whitehill and Bordon attended a selection event with 15 other shortlisted towns on February 3, when it presented its proposal to a panel including chairman of NHS England Sir Malcolm Grant CBE.

The healthy-new-town status will see experts advise the district council and its partners on creating a town which is as healthy as possible. This will include advice and support from national policymakers, global leaders in healthy built environments, cutting-edge designers, behavioural economists, technologists, leading academics and other innovators.

One of the aims of being a healthy new town is to speed up the time it takes to build new health facilities.

The scheme will support the planning process and, it is hoped, will help planners and developers to work together to secure the best health facilities for the town, which may involve some funding for partners.

The district council and the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company are already planning to create a health campus, as part of the transformation of Prince Philip Barracks, where facilities could include GPs, nurses, therapists, hospital consultants and pharmacists.

Headley Badgerswood Surgery GP Anthony Leung, who was instrumental in the success of the healthy-new-town bid, said: “Healthy-new-town status will bring the political will, notice and support to Whitehill and Bordon.

“For so long now, residents have had to fight for attention and investment in healthcare. It is a rare opportunity to build not only new facilities, but to design health into the core fabric of the new town.

“Freed from legacy constraints, we can work out how best to deliver the services that our population needs. We have already been leading the way with bringing specialists into local surgeries so patients can be seen sooner and closer to home. We are working hard to improve access, figure out how we can use technology, and how we build strong communities that promote health and wellbeing.

“We will work with other sectors - such as education, social care, industry, voluntary groups, academia and research - and patients in designing this future and to secure commitment from government, payers and other providers. We want Whitehill and Bordon to be known as the place where healthcare innovation and excellence is to be found.”

The nine other locations selected were Darlington in County Durham, Cranbrook in Devon, Ebbsfleet Garden City in Kent, Barking Riverside in London, Bicester in Oxfordshire, Northstowe in Cambrid-geshire, Whyndyke Farm in Lancashire’s Fylde, Barton Park in Oxford and Halton Lea in Runcorn, Cheshire.