City Hall could be set for entertaining future - with significant investment

WILTSHIRE Council is investigating different funding options that could see the existing City Hall in Salisbury completely redeveloped into a modern entertainment venue. This, it is hoped, would bring with it wider economic benefits to Salisbury and the surrounding areas, while complementing the city’s existing and emerging cultural offer.

Cllr Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire Council, made the announcement at his latest Ask the Leader session, which took place on 17 May at Bourne Hill. The council has been carrying out repair surveys on the existing City Hall building to find out how much it would cost to get it into a fit state to reopen.

However, the cost of simply making the building usable would be more than £2m. To then improve the overall quality of experience for a visitor to the venue, would cost far more and so the council has been looking into other options to do more.

Being able to make a significant investment would also open up the intriguing option of moving the city’s library and Young Gallery into the redeveloped site.

The current library will need around £1m of repairs and it may be a sensible option to embed it as part of the new City Hall project, given it wouldn’t need to close while that site is being worked on.

The council has stated that it is committed to developing an innovative library service in the city in a building fit for the future.

However, no final decisions have been made regarding the library and all stakeholders will be kept up to date.

The council is still looking to work with a third party to help bring its City Hall vision to life and operate the venue, and will now continue to develop a comprehensive project plan.

Cllr Richard Clewer said: “The subject of the future of City Hall is regularly brought up in meetings I go to in the city or when I’m out and about, and it’s abundantly clear people are passionate about it, as am I.

“We’ve always had ambitions to not simply reopen City Hall as it was but to do so much more with a venue that has such potential, which is why we bid for Levelling Up Funding.

“However, we are now looking at other funding sources to broaden the scope of what we can do. Our aim is a brand new venue the city can be proud of, which will add to the cultural offer and drive economic growth and regeneration.

“These plans are at a very early stage, but we are determined to bring a first-class entertainment venue to the city by reopening City Hall and delivering our commitment to a cultural quarter.

“We will comprehensively develop our vision and will keep people up-to-date on our plans, but the community can be assured this is a top priority for me and I’m determined to see it through.”

Any formal plans will be subject to relevant planning and development processes.

Wiltshire Council’s £1m for cycling and walking schemes

SALISBURY, Amesbury and Larkhill will benefit from new walking and cycling paths thanks to Wiltshire Council’s award of £978,000 from Active Travel England’s Active Travel Fund 4 (ATF4).

In Salisbury, a pedestrian footbridge will link the coach park to Central car park, and will be completed by April 2024 at a cost of £458,000.

A cycle route will also link Amesbury to Larkhill, with £200,000 put towards the development and design of a scheme along Countess Road.

When submitting the bid, Active Travel England had indicated a funding allocation of £878,366 for Wiltshire, and so the council received around £100,000 more than the initial allocation.

The council had originally prioritised the Salisbury and Hilperton scheme as the first and second priorities, while the Amesbury to Larkhill was identified as the sixth priority, but Active Travel England decided to award funding for these three projects.

It will now seek alternative funding sources for the other priority schemes.

Cllr Caroline Thomas, cabinet member for transport, said: “We’re delighted to receive more than our initial allocation from Active Travel England for these three projects that will offer safer walking and cycling opportunities in Wiltshire.

“Choosing to walk, wheel or cycle can help to save people money, improve health and also reduce carbon emissions, and that’s why we’re committed to active travel as part of our Business Plan.

“We look forward to the Salisbury and Hilperton schemes being constructed, while the Amesbury scheme can move forward to the detailed design stage thanks to this funding.” www.wiltshire.gov.uk/highwaysnew-active-travel-schemes

All schemes in the council’s bid had to meet a minimum assessment threshold to ensure they promote and encourage walking and wheeling.