City Hall ‘crying out’ to be community hub says Salisbury historian
A petition was launched last week to re-open the venue now
With the future of Salisbury City Hall in the balance, a local historian and author has told Greatest Hits Radio that the venue is ‘crying out’ to be a community hub.
Frogg Moody, who last week revealed details of a David Bowie gig at City Hall in 1973, said the venue has ‘everything going for it’.
Wiltshire Council has been informed repairs to the buildings roof will cost £2 million, but a petition has been launched by Paul Sample as part of a campaign to re-open City Hall now.
Opportunities for young people and community hub
“I think it's crying out to be a community hub,” Frogg told us. “People forget that there's quite a lot of rooms upstairs above the actual main auditorium that perhaps could be turned over to recording studios for youngsters to learn techniques.”
The venue, which can fit around 1,000 people, would give youngsters a great venue to showcase their abilities.
Frogg explained that promoters are in need of decent size venues, with Salisbury’s location being beneficial with it’s good connections to London, Southampton, the West Country and Bristol.
And Moody feels City Hall’s spot in the City itself is advantageous.
“To me, it's the jewel in the crown. It's walkable from the centre of town. It's not too far from the train station, has got car parking and it's right in the centre of what they call the cultural, you know, cultural quarter.
“It's got literally everything going for it.”
Demolition mustn’t happen
Moody says the City Hall must not be torn down and rebuilt as a smaller venue – and least of all house a library.
“If it's housed with the library, because I don't think you're going to attract any act coming to Salisbury.
“If they hear it's a library, I mean, you know, they got a sound check in the afternoon, all those sorts of things. I think promoters would be put off instantly if they found that our fantastic Hall also housed a library.
Wiltshire Council has reaffirmed it’s commitment to re-opening the venue for live entertainment, once necessary repairs are made.
Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said:
“I know local people are very vocal and passionate about re-opening City Hall as soon as possible and, while we completely understand that sentiment, it is not a simple process.
“We can’t open a building which isn’t safe to allow live music to be played in. Given the scale of the work involved we are taking a couple of months to undertake an assessment on the best solution for City Hall as an entertainment venue that is sustainable for the long-term and to look at what degree of funding we could commit to significantly enhance the offer. We also have significant challenges with the building Salisbury Library is located in which has a flat roof and is going to need significant expenditure to remain fit for use. Part of the assessment will look at whether we can deliver on the Cultural Quarter concept of extending City Hall and bringing the library into the same building.
“I am speaking to officers regularly about this project and it’s incredibly important to me to get it re-opened safely and in a way and condition that’s befitting of Salisbury and complements the wider cultural offer the city provides.
“I would also ask decision makers in the city to work with us on this too, as I’m sure they’d agree that if there’s a chance to develop a much-improved City Hall that brings people into the city and a venue to really be proud of then surely that is the best option.”