HOPES are high that construction work on the new Whitehill Club building should finally get under way next month, now that contracts have been put out to tender.

A slightly amended design has now been approved by the clubÕs members and it is hoped that the finished building will be opened before Christmas.

Club president Brian Seager told The Herald that members had been waiting a long time for the first brick to be laid, but he was hopeful that the wait would soon come to an end.

ÒThe new club should be finished in November or December and it should be open by December,Ó Mr Seager said.

ÒThere should be some on-site work soon, once everything is in place. It has gone out to tender now, so hopefully within five weeks the work will finally start.Ó

The new club building will boast a steel structure with ceder panelling and, as Mr Seager said when the plans were unveiled in April last year, Òit will be a gateway to Bordon and Whitehill.

ÒWhen you are driving up from Petersfield, this will be the first thing you will see to indicate that you have arrived in Whitehill.Ó

The new building will also include a function room, a lounge bar and a games room.

Part of the club, in Petersfield Road, will be elevated so that the lounge bar overlooks a play area outside, with the building being around the same size overall as the previous one.

It will replace the building which was burnt to the ground during a late-night fire in January 2000.

Members of Whitehill Club hope to refurbish the neighbouring bungalow - which is still standing - using the frame of the existing building.

It is also hoped that the club will be able to relay the bowling green and repair the play equipment which was damaged while travellers were on the site in October 2000, leaving behind a trail of rubbish, destruction and waste.

However the plans for the sports pavilion, which was the scene of a second fire, also in 2000, are not yet clear.

Members of the Whitehill Club have had a bumpy couple of years since the original building was burnt down.

Months of negotiations took place to secure planning permission for the new building and the site plans had to be altered to appease plannersÕ fears over the provision of car parking.

Lengthy negotiations also took place with the insurance company over the cost of the new building.

However, it is hoped that club members and members of the clubÕs many sports teams will come flocking back once the new building is open.

Many have had a difficult time and have had to relocate to other venues, including buildings in Grayshott and the Bordon and Oakhanger Sports Club.