A MAJOR global technology corporation has expressed interest in setting up a “significant facility” in Whitehill and Bordon, which could provide hundreds of jobs.

In a report to East Hampshire District Council last Thursday, leader Ferris Cowper told fellow members that talks were going on behind the scenes with the company, but he could not shed light on any specifics.

Briefing councillors on progress the of the redevelopment Whitehill and Bordon, Mr Cowper said: “Very exciting and detailed discussions are under way with a major global technology corporation, which is interested in setting up a significant facility in the town which could bring hundreds of new jobs, possibly over 1,000.

“The meetings included a private meeting between me and the UK president of the corporation. Despite the good progress, much still needs to be done.”

After the meeting, a district council spokesman said that no more detail was available and he could not disclose the name of the company.

Mr Cowper spoke of the “excellent progress” of the Whitehill and Bordon project. “Housebuilding has begun at Quebec Park and will start soon at the former Louisburg barracks,” he added.

“The relief road, which has been under way since last summer, is making good progress.

“Detailed proposals for the new town centre and health campus (at Prince Philip Barracks) are being reviewed by the district council prior to public consultation.

“The curiosity of Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) funding, which isn’t designed to cope with multi-year projects, has caused Hampshire County Council to underwrite the second year of LEP funding for the relief road until that funding is confirmed. The district council is grateful to the county council for acting as guarantor for the £8m.

“The county council has also ringfenced £10m for the new schools into the 2017-2018 fiscal year while we await confirmation from the Department for Education that it will fund the remaining balance of the capital cost. We have been awaiting Department for Education confirmation for more than six months now.”

The leader’s report also discussed finance and the recent Government Budget.

“Council tax demands have been posted to all homes in the district,” he said.

“The district council is the only council at first or second tier to have reduced its council tax.

“The Budget introduced significant reliefs from business rates for smaller businesses. The lower rate threshold was raised from £6,000 to £15,000 and the higher rate threshold from £18,000 to £51,000. This is great news for local businesses and in the short term council funding is unaffected as the Government will make good the shortfall by an S31 grant.

“However, for how long? When that grant stops, the Government’s idea of replacing central grants with business rates will have even more holes in it than it does today. At the moment the tariff and top-up system means that Hampshire and Isle of Wight councils can only keep 88 per cent of their business rates as the other 12 per cent is subject to a tariff system that sends the money elsewhere in the UK. There is no such thing as 100 per cent retention of business rates.

“Now the remaining 88 per cent is to be reduced further by raising the thresholds at which rates are chargeable. There is no chance that, at this greatly reduced level of business-rates income, that they can replace central grants for local council funding. The only credible scheme to refinance local government with any degree of assurance and predictability is our strategy to generate new sources of income.”