THE district council planning officer shaping policy on Bordon High Street has confirmed the council will consider all approaches to regeneration. Steve Proctor told The Herald this week that the council will listen to any suggestions which do not "prejudice longer-term development" during talks with landowners and leaseholders in the High Street. His comments came in response to claims last week by businessman John Brice, owner of the former dairy in the High Street, that he was twice refused planning permission for the site because the council was holding out for one comprehensive development of the whole street. Mr Proctor said: "We were concerned that any development needed to fit into a wider picture of the whole area, and we discussed this with Mr Brice." He revealed that he was working on a brief for commercial consultants to gather information from all those directly affected by the scheme. The consultants' study will inform future prog-ress. He said: "There are a number of options to look at for improvement of the area and that includes small-scale redevelopments. The consultants will look at all options as long as they can fit in with the whole picture. "We have really been taking on board previous consultation with Mr Brice and the public in the development brief for the High Street. "It is not just a case of looking at comprehensive development of the whole area. It may be that will not prove a viable option, but we cannot decide until the consultants have completed their study." Mr Proctor said on parking: "There is a long- standing proposal in the development brief to provide car parking on the eastern side of the High Street (the same side as the shops) because the existing car park is on the wrong side of the road." But he would not say which areas were being considered for a permanent car park on the eastern side of the street, adding that temporary parking on that side would be costly and might hit problems with landowners. Mr Proctor confirmed the council reserved a power of compulsory purchase over the buildings in the High Street but had "always indicated that it saw this as a last resort". He pointed out that the Whitehill and Bordon Opportunities Steering Group had done a lot of work to encourage retail and community facilities into the town, but faced constant uncertainty over the future of the Army in Bordon. "Work has been done to see what kind of retail could be attracted to the town," he explained, "but we cannot attract retailers when there is nothing to attract them to." But he said as work progressed, there would be commitment to attracting the right commercial and retail businesses. The High Street, he said, would be the "logical place" for a new town centre because it was a "central area with existing retail". But he added that planners did not want to "impact on the vitality and use of the Forest Centre" and would look at proposals in the High Street in conjunction with efforts by other groups to enhance the area around the Forest centres. He said the consultants' study would take until next April to complete and would, therefore, take account of the Ministry of Defence's decision on its future in the town, expected at the end of this year. He added there was a "need to move forward now", saying that proposals agreed for the High Street would not be stalled until groundwork began on any of the military changes.
