BORDON will miss out on getting huge sums of government cash to aid with its economic regeneration because the town is not deprived enough.
The news came at a meeting of East Hampshire District CouncilÕs economic development panel where Valerie Carter, rural sector director for the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA) briefed councillors and businessmen about SEEDAÕs plans for the regional economy.
The meeting last week provided the district council with an opportunity to promote the districtÕs interest and highlight problems such as transport, affordable housing, agriculture, broadband technology, market towns and a shortage of skilled workers. Councillors were also anticipating that she would provide some insight into ways to aid the district councilÕs future plans to rejuvenate Bordon and Whitehill Ðbut their hopes were soon dashed.
EHDC officer Eric Norman explained: ÒThe biggest thing that came out of the meeting was not good news. We discovered that Bordon will not qualify for special large government grants because it does not score enough points on a national indicator.
ÒIt is not a deprived enough area to warrant the extra investment.
ÒOnly areas in the bottom 20 per cent are eligible to receive the extra help and nowhere in east Hampshire is in that bottom 20 per cent.
ÒWe can still get little bits of money, such as the money that the town got for its town health check, but nothing on a large scale.
ÒThat money only gets directed to the really deprived pockets of the country.Ó
The news means that the district council, along with the town council, faces extra problems in getting the townÕs economy back on track.
The lack of a huge grant means that the councilÕs cannot implement huge structural changes to the town which could have possibly included the relocation of the Forest Shopping Centre or the creation of a traditional High Street.
It now means that councils have to look on a smaller scale and hope that by promoting the town businesses will want to invest in it.
The district councilÕs ideas will be included in its Economic Development Strategy for East Hampshire which will go out for consultation in the early part of next year.
It will also use the information gathered from the townÕs on-going health check.
Mr Norman explained: ÒWe want to do a master planning exercise following up from the health check and want to decide what we want certain areas of land to become if, as we all seem to believe, the forces decide to give up large areas of land in Bordon.
ÒWe have got to examine things on a large scale and look at where we want new houses to go, extra retail facilities and of course where we want industry to go.Ó