COUNCIL bosses have pledged their support for turning Bicester into a "healthy town" with a cash injection of £20,000.

That funding aims to attract further investment to create health-lead design such as fast-food free zones and "dementia-friendly" streets.

It follows the announcement from NHS England in March that the town had been selected as one of ten to trial new ways of merging health into future building.

Cherwell District Council leader Barry Wood said: "There was a lot of interest in this programme from across the country and Bicester was one of a small number of towns to be selected for it.

"Participating in the Healthy New Town Programme is a way of future-proofing Bicester’s new communities against the challenges the 21st century will pose to human health, whether in terms of obesity, dementia or digital lifestyles.

"We can make Bicester a national leader in the delivery of integrated healthy living.

"We want to integrate healthy new town work with the work in respect of Bicester as a garden town."

At the meeting on Monday, Mr Wood said the £20,000 would be a "sprat to catch a mackerel" – a small investment to attract further outside funding.

NHS England noted Bicester's 6,000-home eco town as an example of how healthy living can be integrated into the design and build of a town.

It is hoped that eco town designs such as designated green space, homes within 400m of a bus stop and 800m of a primary school could be rolled out across the town.

Local government, Oxford universities, health organisations and developers will work together on plans to bring in further funding.

Lead eco town developer A2Dominion strategic partnership manager Louise Caves said: "The scale of development planned across the wider town is such that lessons from early exemplary developments like Elmsbrook (phase one of the eco town).

"There are great synergies between the eco-town at NW Bicester and the Healthy New Town agenda.

"Elmsbrook is very much a catalyst for healthy living, 40 per cent of the site will offer green, walkable communities and it is the first HeartSafe new build community in the UK with public defibrillators at each bus stop."

The first homes built at the eco town also include a smart tablet for each family showing energy-use, travel information such as bus times and digital healthcare services which is hoped to promote healthy living.