A detailed Freedom of Information (FOI) response has shed new light on the workings of the Wisbech Town Board — the body set up to steer regeneration efforts in the Fenland market town. The response, issued by Fenland District Council, sets out the board’s membership, recent meeting decisions, and the status of its long-awaited funding and governance processes. It also includes records of several spending approvals made under the government’s “Plan for Neighbourhoods” programme.
Who’s who on the Wisbech Town Board
According to the council, the board is chaired by Iain Kirkbright, a local businessman who “has used his businesses to put the needs of the local community first and give back through a raft of fundraising schemes over the years.”
Its vice-chairman is Cllr Chris Boden, who represents the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and also serves as leader of Fenland District Council.
Other members include MP Steve Barclay, the Conservative MP for North East Cambridgeshire , alongside Cllr Steve Tierney, Cllr Sam Hoy, Cllr Susan Wallwork, and a representative of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Ben Martin, “now commander for Peterborough and Fenland, looking after local policing for the northern half of Cambridgeshire.”
Five community members also sit on the board: Paul Faulkner, Okanlawon Oluwafemi, Louise Pitt, Amanda Scott, and Richard Scott, Executive Principal of the Wisbech Campus overseeing Thomas Clarkson Academy and Wisbech Academy.
Two appointments — Richard Scott and Oluwafemi — were made “specifically by the chair under his delegated authority,” the FOI states.
Supporting officers from Fenland District Council, including Matt Wright, Simon Machen and Jo Blackmore, attend meetings but have “no voting rights.”
How the board operates
The council released the board’s Terms of Reference and Code of Conduct, which require meetings, agendas and minutes to be published publicly “unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.”
The FOI explains that delays in publishing minutes were “caused by delay in the delivery of the forthcoming Town Board website and ongoing officer resource pressures,” but that “in future all documentation will be published on a Town Board specific website.”
Transparency, it says, is an explicit principle: “Members of the Board should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner … Information will therefore be made publicly available unless the publication of that information would breach information governance requirements.”
Meetings and decisions to date
Meetings have been held periodically since the board’s formation. The FOI release includes detailed minutes from its summer and autumn 2025 sessions, revealing discussions on finances, local projects, and the long-term regeneration plan.
At the most recent recorded meeting, held on 11 September 2025, the board confirmed the addition of Richard Scott as a new member. The minutes note: “The Board voted for Richard Scott to join the panel and share his knowledge from an educational point of view.”
Early in the meeting, members debated confidentiality. Cllr Boden asked, “if this meeting was to be confidential considering the subjects that will be discussed,” while officers confirmed that although it was a “formal meeting where decisions will be made,” certain future financial matters could be held confidentially “when making financial decisions and considerations.”
The board then reviewed its finances. Officer Matt Wright presented figures showing the budget “is in a good position” but reminded members that “the money has not entered the FDC account yet” and that the board “will need to start paying corporate charges for the back office from April 2026.”
Cllr Boden queried whether “the £100,000 for the corporate fund is separate to the £250,000 that has already been received and the £200,000 that is yet to be received next year.” Wright clarified that “the £100,000 is prior to April 2026 … the budget allowed for the wardens is an up to estimate and is the maximum it will cost.”
Two later agenda items were marked “Confidential – Commercially Sensitive,” before the board turned to revisions of its four-year regeneration plan.
Projects under discussion
Consultants Avison Young advised the board to “submit [the revised plan] no later than November in order for the money to be released.”
Several members debated local priorities. Amanda Scott suggested focusing on “refurbishing the café” at Wisbech Castle, while Cllr Tierney agreed that the “little café building could do with replacing.”
However, Cllr Hoy opposed making it a formal scheme, arguing it “would not be effective,” and that such work should be led by the Town Council through a “business grant … with the inclusion of community groups and town councillors.”
Hoy added that the board should avoid funding basic maintenance: “The Leisure Centre enhancements should only be new items as the Board should not be paying for things that are FDC responsibility.”
She did, however, support ideas such as “access grants and business grants … but it needs to be capital only,” and suggested that “education could be included.”
The minutes show officers and consultants discussed potential support for family hubs and school initiatives, with Hoy asking whether “there was the revenue funding available to support the family hub.”
By the end of the meeting, it was agreed that consultant Stephen Rosevear would “present a pitch at the next meeting with details of what the school is looking for and some idea of prices,” and that Fenland’s Simon Machen would “develop a form to fill in so every time there is financial transaction there is a paper trail.”
Leisure centre and publicity
The board also heard that new inflatables had been purchased for youth sessions at the Hudson Leisure Centre. Matt Wright said training had taken place and that “they will be running activities Saturday and Sunday mornings,” with a press release planned.
However, Cllr Tierney opposed publicity at this stage, saying “he would prefer if the Hudson just thanked the Town Board … he would like to avoid opening the Board up to criticism and would rather wait until the Board has built up a good platform of delivery.”
Town centre wardens and small grants
One of the most significant financial approvals to date is the £99,999 grant for town centre wardens, awarded to Wisbech Town Council as delivery partner.
The FOI clarifies that this figure is a “drawdown grant amount ‘up to’ … estimated based upon cost of 2–3 hires + equipment + admin and oncosts between now and 31 March 2026.”
When asked whether it had been deliberately set just below the £100,000 key decision threshold, the council replied: “It is not, it was an estimate based upon the items highlighted above and private sector quotations explored by members of the Town Board.”
The portfolio-holder decision record shows the grant was approved “to authorise the release of £99,999 of grant funding to Wisbech Town Council … as a Town Board partner,” describing its purpose as “the provision of Town Centre Wardens.”
According to the council, the programme will “be delivered by the Wisbech Town Council in partnership with the Town Board” using government “Plan for Neighbourhoods” funding, and “no FDC funding is being used.”
Exact breakdowns of staffing and operational costs “would be held by Wisbech Town Council,” the FOI adds.
The minutes reveal wider discussions about how future grants should be managed. Officers proposed designing “a system … easy to use in terms of submitting funding,” possibly through “an application form … accessed through the new website.”
Cllr Hoy argued that processes “need to be ready to go by 1 April [2026] or else people are just going to be fed up waiting,” and that “the Board need to have an oversight of this … three day a week for just a few grants she feels is a joke.”
Chair Iain Kirkbright suggested “a group of people get notified that the forms are there and they log in to tick yes or no,” while Cllr Tierney said small grants were popular locally: “People do love to look at grants for up to £2,000 … it makes the council feel like it is doing some good.”
Other decisions recorded
Three formal Officer Decision Records (ODRs) have been logged so far:
- Plan for Neighbourhoods – Consultancy Support: appointment of external consultants.
- Plan for Neighbourhoods – Payment of Capacity Building for Leisure Facilities: a £10,000 grant for youth equipment at Hudson Leisure Centre, authorised “to encourage youth activities for adolescents in Wisbech.”
- Plan for Neighbourhoods – Appointment of Chaos Media: a £9,805 contract “to design and build a website in line with the Town Board brief.”
The Hudson Leisure Centre award, dated 31 July 2025, is described as “a test of investments in the community asset ahead of future planned investment as part of the 4-year investment plan.”
The website project, meanwhile, was commissioned after a tender process in which “six contractors were approached, three quotations were received and the cheapest … has been chosen to deliver the works at a value of £9,805.”
Community engagement and next steps
The FOI release lists several key background studies informing the board’s strategy, including the Zencity Plan for Neighbourhoods Survey (2025), the High Streets Taskforce Report (2023), I Love Wisbech (2019), Wisbech Growing Fenland Report, and Wisbech 2020 Vision (2016) — all available via the Fenland District Council website.
Consultation events are planned for late November 2025, with board members setting up stalls at the Market Place and Hudson Leisure Centre to speak with residents. “There has been £1,000 allocated for marketing,” Wright told members, with Chair Kirkbright offering to supply “some banners and a marquee.”
FACT FILE
The Wisbech Town Board is the Neighbourhood Board responsible for creating a renewal plan under the Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods. Launched in April 2025, the plan offers up to £20 million for Wisbech over ten years. The Board, formed in 2024 under the previous Long-Term Plan for Towns, was retained under the new initiative. It comprises local residents, businesses, campaigners, workplace representatives, faith and community leaders, and others with strong local ties. The Government directs the Board to produce a ten-year Regeneration Plan and a detailed four-year Investment Plan, guiding the town’s long-term vision and early-stage priorities.
