Gordon Brown told the Labour Party conference last week that he intended to increase the number of eco-towns in the UK from five to 10.

The announcement was good news for the Whitehill and Bordon Opportunity group, who laid out a Green Town Vision document for the town in 2005.

The document has given Whitehill and Bordon a head start on other towns in winning eco-town status, with government inspectors meeting with opportunity leaders next Tuesday to assess its chances.

Winning eco-town status would mean easier access to funding and more government support.

Whitehill and Bordon Opportunity leader Ferris Cowper said: “We are very, very serious about trying to get Whitehill and Bordon recommended as one of the eco-towns.

“I think the Green Town Vision is possibly one of the best (documents) at articulating how a town should be environmentally friendly that I have seen anywhere.

“The only slight snag would be that the town is not large enough, but I think that could be off-set because we know this is a growth town and not a static one.”

Cllr Cowper defined an eco-town as having carbon efficient transport systems and buildings.

His vision included a carbon friendly light railway for the town and pedestrian and cycling zones for the residents.

Green spaces such as the Deadwater Valley were vitally important, but it is in the building of thousands of new homes that eco-town status would really make a mark.

Cllr Cowper said: “Everybody knows we have a house building programme in the town for between 4,000 and 5,500 houses.

“We can specify that these homes are to be fully carbon efficient.

“What I would like to see is all the heating and installation systems driven by renewable energy sources.

“For example heat exchanges in roof tiles – using the natural heating from the sun to warm up the roof tiles.”

He said although it would be difficult to make developers agree to zero carbon homes, they could be persuaded by East Hampshire District Council to design low carbon houses.

He added that Bordon housing associations were keen for zero carbon homes in any new social housing.

Cllr Cowper was also convinced an eco-town would be a unique selling point when attracting big employers to the town.

“We need jobs to drive this thing, then everything else will follow,” he said.

“All big companies have a ‘corporate social responsibility’ published in their reports.

“If a major employer can say ‘we have just set up our head office in Bordon, one of the only 10 eco-towns in the country,’ that is a major marketing tool for the town.”