The news comes as newly-appointed town project officer Chris Paterson settles into his role to help improve the vitality of the community.
The post is jointly funded by Hampshire County Council, the Countryside Agency and the town and district council.
Mr Paterson told The Herald that he will spend the next three years working with local residents, businesses, and community leaders to ensure that their plans for Bordon and Whitehill are realised.
Speaking to The Herald for the first time about his new task, Mr Paterson explained that he will spend the next few months helping to complete the town health check before helping to shape Òa visionÓ blueprint.
ÒI will be seeing what opportunities there are that can be taken advantage of,Ó he said.
ÒA health check, consisting of mostly statistical data, establishes what there is here so that we can work out what opportunities are here to help with the regeneration of Bordon and Whitehill.
ÒA lot of work has already been done on the health check, about 70 per cent, so as soon as we have got all that information together I can make a real start.Ó
Mr Paterson will be working closely with Whitehill Town Council clerk Linda Tiley as well as other local groups including the youth umbrella group. Among the areas which will be looked at are training and education, housing, libraries, legal services, a choice of employment, culture and entertainment, and the opportunity to buy most of the things needed in everyday life.
Mr Paterson will use information gained from the town council and volunteers involved in the consultation to develop a vision - a view of how people would like to see their community in the next five, 10 or 15 yearsÕ time.
He will then play a major role in transforming this ÒvisionÓ, into an action plan and projects based on local situations, local solutions, and local knowledge.
ÒI will be helping out in any way that I can with existing projects such as the skateboard park, as well as looking to the future,Ó he explained.
ÒI will also be putting together a five-to-15-year plan with some of the projects able to get under way within the year, and obviously other large projects which will take a matter of years.
ÒHopefully, we should start seeing some results by the end of the year.
ÒThere are going to be a variety of different projects looking at all kinds of things, including youth activities and the economy.
ÒThis may be extending the hours of the youth centre at schools or perhaps setting up environmental projects as I think that the townÕs proximity to the South Downs National Park will be a key factor in its development.Ó
A key date will be March 17 when community groups and leaders will be invited to a special workshop to draw up the blueprints for Bordon and WhitehillÕs future development.
ÒWe will put together a vision for Bordon and Whitehill that will be a manual for us to work from.
ÒOnce we have that vision, we can set about creating action plans to bring it all about.Ó
Hampshire County CouncilÕs cabinet member for economic development, Michael Woodhall, said that Mr Paterson would be instrumental in ensuring that residentsÕ ideals are not lost in a sea of planning applications and upheaval over the future of the Army in Bordon.
He said: ÒFor centuries, HampshireÕs market towns were the focus of social and commercial activity for the countyÕs rural areas, but urgent action is now needed to reverse the decline of economic viability in some of our market towns.
ÒThe health check is just one element of the market townsÕ toolkit that we are promoting in partnership with the Countryside Agency.
ÒWe welcome Chris on board and hope he enjoys taking forward some of the good work that has already been achieved in Bordon.Ó
¥ For more information about becoming a volunteer in the health check process, contact Elizabeth Dalton, Hampshire market townsÕ officer, on 01962 846558
or e-mail: [email protected]">[email protected].