September 2006
New Nene Waterfront Project Community Consultation Forum bursting with ideas
Enthusiasm was the word best able to describe the inaugural meeting of the Nene Community Consultation Forum, set up to create the framework for community groups to become involved in the £47million Nene Waterfront development that is going transform the fortunes of Wisbech and the Fens.
More than 20 representatives from groups as diverse as the Queens School, Nene Infants School, the Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Earth, the police, Peckover House, the yacht harbour, Wisard ,the Wisbech Tourism Development Group, the Wisbech Tenants Association, Fenvac (the Fenland Visual Arts Collective) and Age Concern.Fenland District Council convened the meeting of interested parties to share the progress already made on the derelict 9.5 hectare site in the heart of the town and the projects’ future development plans and to explore how community groups can get involved and gain maximum value from what is the biggest development in Wisbech for decades.
The council agreed to chair the Forum meetings, to be held four times a year, and to help the groups realise any of the ideas and schemes put forward to enhance the community life of the town. The council will also help and advise on how community projects can attract funding.At an enthusiastic first meeting, the group representatives brainstormed ideas included a giant 300ft high heron sculpture as a Wisbech landmark, murals and sculptures, sponsored planting schemes, a river Festival/pageant, promoting Wisbech as the gateway to the Wash for bird watching and fishing enthusiasts, developing stronger links between the port and the town by creating a Tide Clock in the Market Square, a history of the Cut displayed prominently on public interpretation panels, educational links for children to learn about every stage of the development project, the naming of squares to reflect the history of Wisbech, the creation of a Wisbech Yacht Club, the creation of bus and cycle routes and even model duck racing.The ideas came so thick and fast that the members of the forum agreed to create sub-groups that would be responsible for investigating the feasibility of a number of the ideas. Five sub-groups were divided into: The Arts, Young People and Education, Heritage and Tourism, the River Group, and Access and the Environment.
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