Proposals to bring high quality environmentally sustainable homes and new jobs to a Hampshire town have taken a significant step forward, thanks to a £3m investment from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA).

The HCA has bought the Quebec Barracks site in Whitehill & Bordon, East Hampshire, from the Ministry of Defence, which will see 100 much-needed homes built and employment space for up to 100 new jobs created.

This investment enables work to start to transform the former barracks into a high quality sustainable neighbourhood as part of the ambitious Whitehill & Bordon Eco-town project. The overall plan for the regeneration of the town will see 4,000 environmentally sustainable homes and 5,500 jobs created.

The new homes will meet official zero carbon standards and be attractively designed to set the benchmark for new homes in the rest of the town.

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Investment in this site will also help the area address the expected loss of jobs as a result of the MoD closing the Bordon Garrison and relocating its operations to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire by the end of 2015, as set out in the Defence Training Review.

The HCA's purchase of the site will be followed by the selection of a development partner who will submit a planning application for the homes and employment space by the end of the year. Building work is expected to start in 2014, with completion anticipated by the end of 2015. Part of the HCA's investment has supported completion of the masterplan, which has involved extensive and ongoing consultation with residents and provides a framework for the future regeneration of the town.

Kevin Bourner, HCA Head of Area, said: "This investment enables partners to take the first steps towards regenerating Whitehill & Bordon in an environmentally and economically sustainable way. The homes will be built to a much higher standard than originally envisaged, which will raise the bar in terms of the development of the rest of the project and act as a catalyst for lasting change here. There is a lot of work that needs to be done over the next year, but it is exciting to have got to this stage and see that progress is going to happen in the months ahead."

(CD/GK)