Whitehill and Bordon

Following over 100 years as a garrison town, the Army left in December 2015 to move to a new base at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire. This has freed up over 100 hectares, presenting a unique, once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the town into green, healthy and connected town. In March 2016, Whitehill & Bordon was selected as one of 10 NHS England Healthy New Town demonstrator sites across the country.

fabrik have been involved with this exciting project from the outset, providing arboriculture and landscape planning advice, landscape design services, site surveys, detailed design and construction expertise, through to long-term maintenance and management, including management of the existing tree stock and invasive species. Our work with the masterplanners, architects, ecologists and developers has been focused around the creation, design and delivery of the green spaces that weave the new town together, and ensuring new development is sensitive to extensive woodland and trees, with all parties committed to building an environmentally sustainable town. Through the Healthy New Towns programme, plans are continually reviewed to further enhance the built environment to make it easier to live healthy, active, and independent lives.

A new green network circles the town, providing green and sustainable links through the landscape to the countryside beyond.  The landscape proposals include the retention of large areas of woodland to connect to priority habitat areas, Ancient Woodland, SSSIs and existing watercourses, as well as the introduction of native planting for visual amenity.  Planting responds positively to the site’s climatic and geological conditions.

A series of swales weave through the site, managing water from the development and link to the re-designed Oxney Drain, creating new biodiverse wildlife habitats.  A linear park is located in the centre of the site, alongside the BOSC sporting facility and a new town centre with associated amenities.  Tangible benefits to these green fingers include bringing nature and wildlife to resident’s doorsteps, creating a meaningful depth of functional landscape and facilitating a unique and close contact with nature.

Around 150 hectares of green space is protected and enhanced, including the provision of two suitable alternative natural greenspaces (SANGs) at Bordon Inclosure and Hogmoor Inclosure. The Hogmoor Inclosure is the third largest SANG in the UK at 54 hectares (equivalent to 70 football pitches), comprising woodland and heathland available for the community to use for enhanced recreation for walking, play, picnics, wildlife spotting, to sit and relax, and be involved in a whole range of events and activities. The SANG is undergoing work to ensure it is accessible to people with mental health problems and physical disabilities and encourage residents, particularly families, to be more active. Café Hogmoor, run by the Whitehill and Bordon Community Trust, is a community facility situated in the heart of the Inclosure.  Not only does it provide food and drink, but it also offers the Beehive education room for hire.

This project is an example of a strong collaboration between Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company, the county, LPA, community and stakeholders, that has delivered a valuable development that connects residents to nature, improving health and wellbeing by creating a strong and focused landscape that is accessible to all.