STEPS to combat vandalism and improve communication between traders have been agreed to kick-start a revival at the Forest Shopping Centre in Bordon.

The centreÕs owner, traders, Whitehill Town Council, East Hampshire District Council and local police officers met to discuss the future of the centre which has been plagued by problems for more than a year.

The meeting last week was chaired by local MP James Arbuthnot and hopes are high that some positive moves can be made.

In a statement the Forest Centre Association said: ÒMany positive actions were agreed.

ÒImmediate steps are to be taken to reduce vandalism, to improve communication between those who were attending, to enhance the appearance of the centre through improved cleaning and a closer liaison between all parties involved.Ó

Moves to improve the centre come after managers warned that traders could quit the town if instances of intimidation, vandalism and violence continue.

Local residents were urged to support the centre while local councils were contacted in a bid to find a solution to the troubles.

Association chairman Derek Seale said: ÒI think that the meeting was very productive and if everybody does what they said they were going to do then we will take a big step forward.

ÒIf people do not come to the centre then we will not make money to pay for improvements, but if we donÕt make any improvements, then people will not come to the centre.

ÒIt is a big circle and a circle which I think needs to be squared.Ó

Mr Seale told The Herald that increased security measures and new investment were essential to the Bordon shopping centreÕs revival.

ÒThe landlord is looking into the possibility of putting non-drying paint on the roof and hopefully CCTV will be installed in the near future.

ÒThe gardens in the centre are also being looked at because they are not the way that new shopping centre gardens are now designed.

ÒNew and ÔunfriendlyÕ plants could be put there to stop people from climbing onto the roof and then jumping down into the gardens for a soft landing.

ÒWe also need improved lighting because when it is dark and murky it just encourages people other than shoppers into the centre.

ÒTraders are already worried about the impact that Tesco will have on the centre so it is in everybodyÕs best interests to act now. We have got to make the centre a success because when the leases are renewed traders will not stay unless this situation has got better.

ÒThe landlord is also talking with Threshers to decide the best way to make the empty unit in the centre available.Ó

Bordon MP James Arbuthnot said that he hoped that the first steps were being taken to secure the future of the centre after he was contacted by traders about the problems.

He said: ÒThere was really quite strong concern about the feeling that the Forest Centre might be running down hill because of all sorts of problems like vandalism.

ÒI said that if I could help to bring people together for example to bring tenants together with managing agents and local councils and the police because I thought that was exactly the sort of thing that the MP should be doing.

ÒIt was a very important part of Bordon which needed to have a positive future so on Friday I did chair this meeting. It was an extremely constructive meeting in which everybody did their bit to look forward to the ways that we could help to make the Forest Centre thriving and a lively shopping centre that would attract people in from roundabout villages and Bordon itself.

ÒI found that the attitude of everybody was extremely positive and everybody was doing their utmost to work out how best to revitalise the Forest Centre and how best to work with everybody else.

ÒI was very encouraged by the meeting and we agreed that individuals should get together as quickly as possible to work on specific projects but that we should meet again in three months time to check progress and see how things were going.

ÒEverybodyÕs interest is the same mainly to have a thriving Forest Shopping Centre that makes people want to come and shop there and I think we may have done useful work in bringing people together to start that.