One of the most successful campaigns ever held in Brighton and Hove was The Place to Be, which ended with the Government granting city status to the towns.

Now the city has quietly been concocting an ambitious programme which could be called The Place We Want It To Be.

With many partners, the city council has been looking at the years up to 2020 to produce not only a structured vision of the resort but also, a way of getting there.

The authority is using power from the Local Government Act 2000, giving it permission to do anything likely to improve its areas.

Called 2020 Community Brighton and Hove, the plan has already been under discussion for the best part of two years.

The council has demonstrated its commitment by putting some of its top people, including leader Ken Bodfish and chief executive David Panter, on to the Local Strategic Partnership.

Other organisations have responded in a similar way.

The public service representatives include Chief Superintendent Doug Rattray from Brighton and Hove police and Alan Jenkins, principal of Varndean College.

Included in the business sector are Simon Fanshawe, who chairs the Economic Partnership, and Peter Field who heads the Regeneration Partnership.

There are regional representatives from the Government Office for the South East, the South East England Development Agency and a host of neighbourhood representatives.

There is also strong representation from the community and voluntary sector.

At a meeting later this month, the partnership is likely to agree seven priority areas for the years ahead.

They are:

Affordable City. This will tackle the housing problems and much of Brighton and Hove being a low-wage economy.

Accessible City.

Includes integrated transport, making better use of open spaces and attracting visitors.

Health City. Improving public health, developing a much-needed strategy for sport and stopping Brighton and Hove becoming Britain's drugs capital.

Safe City. This will try to improve community policing while increasing help given by ordinary people.

Clean Green City. As well as ensuring good dustbin collection and street sweeping, this will concentrate on what people can do to reduce waste.

Enterprise City. This will cover learning, training, development and childcare.

Caring city. This will include what can be done to help the increasing number of vulnerable people, ranging from the elderly to young children.

Chairing the partnership is leading Labour councillor Sue John.

She said the city had achieved great successes over the last 20 years but there had also been some failures.

Successes include the city's lead as a conference resort and pulling down the slum-like Portland Gate flats in Hove to be replaced with fine new social housing.

But she said the city needed to look ahead at firm objectives for the years up to 2020 to avoid things being haphazard.

She said: "We have had the Place To Be and now we should aim towards the place we want it to be."

The City of Culture campaign has given an idea of what Brighton and Hove could achieve as a leading arts and entertainment source.

Coun John is also keen to see a new sports strategy for the city so that it can realise its potential in many areas.

And she added one of the biggest challenges for the future would be working out how to replace the ageing Brighton Centre with a modern, flexible building.

The council will face strong opposition over some of its schemes, such as providing housing to produce the cash for renovating the King Alfred Leisure Centre.

But other work is going on quietly with general agreement. This includes an ambitious programme of neighbourhood renewal over the next eight years.

Many of these are concentrated in the eastern half of Brighton such as Bevendean and parts of Kemp Town.

A programme of modernising city housing will start with flats and homes in Hollingdean. They will all be brought up to the Government Decent Homes Standard.

The city council is also likely to sign a local public service agreement with Government ministers later this year.

This will include action on a wide range of tough targets, from increasing bus usage to promoting independence for older people.

Some of the council's partners are being cautious about praising the planning until it gets further forward.

Coun John applauded contemporary leaders such as Dr Anthony Seldon whose book Brave New City has been serialised in The Argus.

By working together, the partnership hopes to achieve progress in almost every area affecting the city.