SLOWLY but surely the message is getting out that the Wisbech 20-20 Vision will make a difference.

As if to emphasise the point Fenland District Council chief executive Paul Medd has been taking turns to man a stall on Wisbech Market Place talking to people about what the strategy means to them and to the town.

Earlier this year Councillor Alan Melton and Councillor Nick Clarke, the Leaders of Fenland District Council and Cambridgeshire County Council, came together with Stephen Barclay, MP for NE Cambridgeshire, and expressed their joint resolve to tackle some of the challenges facing the town. They committed themselves and their authorities to work together to improve the lives of all who live and work in the town.

Thus the Wisbech 2020 Vision was born. Its aim is to create a plan for the future success of the town and all its communities and to agree a route map of how to secure it.

The groups behind it say their ambition is long term, encompassing many strands - economic, social, cultural and educational. Work on developing the Vision has already begun. Key themes have been identified and a series of workshops designed to flesh out those themes will take place over the next few months. Participants will include local people.

The Vision has attracted enthusiastic backing from beyond Fenland’s borders. Academics from the University of Cambridge have agreed to undertake a detailed analysis of the town’s future economic role. Anglia Ruskin University has also expressed its interest and support, as has the Bishop of Ely.

On October 26 a Vision Summit will bring together all the key participants to review progress.

Detailed recommendations will then be drawn up to form an agreed programme that will be formally launched in January 2013.