WHITEHILL and Bordon has been called an eco town, a green town and now a pioneer town as part of an NHS plan to build estates to help people live longer, healthier lives.

The town – 10 miles north of Petersfield where 3,350 homes will be built by 2036 – this week topped the list as one of England’s 10 “healthy new towns”. Thanks to its planned developments on former barracks land, Whitehill and Bordon has topped the list as one of Britain’s 10 new healthy towns designed to stave off obesity and dementia which is being pioneered by the NHS.

The new healthy areas will ban takeaway outlets near schools and put up signs encouraging the public to walk rather than drive. Pavements will have splipfail surfaces to prevent falls, and a 1960’s themed cafes to help elderly people with dementia feel more at home.

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, spoke of the plans last week and the hope that 300,000 people will live in one of the 10 estates being built.

Whitehill and Bordon’s 3,500 environmentally-friendly homes could then become the blueprint for all new residential areas with the aim of preventing ill health across the generations. It is also be a bid to get children playing outside again and encouraging more people to exercise as one-in-six deaths are caused by people who don’t do any games or walk and, as a result, two-thirds of British people are officially overweight or obese, costing the economy £7.4bn per year.

The emphasis is also helping older people integrate with the community to prevent loneliness which can often bring on early Alzheimer’s.

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

It is anticipated that the healthy new towns will be nationally significant and will become the blueprint for how other areas across the country can focus more intensely on health – and by doing this help create healthier vibrant communities elsewhere.

When the news broke last week, there were celebrations at East Hampshire District Council as Whitehill and Bordon was one of 114 fiercely competing for healthy new town status.

The Healthy New Town status will see various experts advise the partnership 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, leading academics, technologists 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 support package, which Whitehill and Bordon will receive as part of the scheme, includes specialist input into the design of health and care services, help to bring enterprise and innovators to the table, securing national sponsorship and designing technology-enabled ‘smart’ developments which support digital and mobile health.

The scheme will also support the planning process by providing capacity and expertise at key points, and it will help planners and developers work together to secure the best health facilities for the town – which may involve some funding for partners.

Methods for evaluating the impact on health and well-being will be used to assess the benefits to the community.

Whitehill and Bordon is already planning for a state-of-the-art health campus in the new town centre as part of the transformation with 3,350 new homes, 5,500 new jobs, new schools and new facilities.