THE NEW HEALTH HUB BUILDING IN BORDON TOWN CENTRE MOVES A STEP CLOSER AS THE DISTRICT COUNCIL APPROVES PLANNING
A key milestone in the delivery of a new Community Health Hub for Whitehill & Bordon has been achieved with the approval by East Hampshire District Council of the planning application submitted by the Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company (WBRC) on behalf of the landowner, the DIO.
The Community Health Hub, which is being developed in partnership with NHS Hampshire, Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board and East Hampshire District Council, will bring together Primary care (General Practice), Primary Care Network additional roles, Pharmacy, Community Health Services including both physical health and mental health services in a larger purpose-built facility. It will combine these services into a single hub and will promote collaborative, integrated, multi-health professional working and joined-up care, as well as delivering health care in the town in a convenient and more accessible area for patients. The new space provides ample room to expand with population growth.
WBRC is already working with the health service providers to put the formal legal arrangements in place by the end of this year so that the building work can be scoped and begin early next year. It is planned that the new Health Hub will be ready for services to move in progressively from the end of 2026. Service users and practice patients will be kept updated of progress and further health service engagement will be undertaken as the building process takes shape. All existing services will remain open until they have been transferred to the new facility.
The new Health Hub will sit alongside the existing Leisure Centre and The Shed, but will also integrate with the proposed town centre developments, including the new Supermarket, The Mess Hall, retail units and the residential accommodation, delivering another significant milestone in the regeneration of the former Army Garrison site.
James Child, Project Lead at The Whitehill & Bordon Regeneration Company, commenting on the submission said:
“This is a fantastic milestone for Whitehill & Bordon as the Health Hub is an intrinsic part of the plans for a new town centre delivering modern healthcare to the whole community with the ability to grow with the town. It is a key element towards providing an inclusive town centre offering a spectrum of services from health and wellbeing to food, recreation and entertainment.
Robert Smith, Head of Major Disposals at Defence Infrastructure Organisation said:
“I am delighted that we have secured planning for the Health Hub. Delivering a new Town Centre that offers everything the partners and community aspired to achieve, has been a top priority since we began this journey of regeneration. The Health Hub, delivering modern healthcare services in an integrated way, sits at the very heart of it, so I am extremely pleased to have secured this consent. This will now enable us to work to get the building of it under contract early next year.”
Lara Alloway, Chief Medical Officer at the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board, also said:
“This facility provided an exciting opportunity to provide health services for the town in a joined-up way. The building will deliver a sustainable solution to health care space which has been our goal for many years. Our community service providers will be able to utilise the space provided to most effectively deliver the much-needed services fit for the needs of the growing community, with significant new primary care purpose-built space, enhanced and maximised for the delivery of new funded primary care roles (Additional Role Reimbursement Scheme).
“The new area has been designed to include space for new services such as a minor operations suite and has space designed to deliver more diagnostic and screening services, which will mean that these services can be delivered in the most appropriate way for the residents of Whitehill and Bordon. We look forward to working with partners in the development over the next weeks and months to ensure that the health elements of the new facility are delivered as planned and our vision is realised as quickly as possible.”
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