Salisbury City Hall moves step closer to reopening
Wiltshire Council has approved a preferred operator for the venue
Salisbury City Hall has taken another step towards opening it's doors to the public once again as a preferred tenant has been approved.
Wiltshire Council gave the prospective operator, which hasn't been named yet, the green light at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (21/1).
The providers identity is being kept under wraps as formal lease terms and agreements still need to be reached.
The site, which closed as a Covid-19 vaccination centre in January 2023, will be re-opened as an entertainment venue.
It's possible that the venue could now reopen later this year.
Council Leader Richard Clewer, who shared some previous experiences of visiting City Hall during the meeting, said he's pleased with the solution that's been found.
"I cannot thank officers enough for the work that has gone in here," he said.
Cllr Clewer added: "I think the outcome we have got to is absolutely ideal. It's taken a while, but if it creates something that is there and operating as far as we can see, that's exactly what we want.
"And that de-risks all of the other problems, and all of the other concerns we had. So I think the solution that we are coming to here is absolutely the right one."
One of the keys to opening the doors again was to ensure the venue is given a chance to thrive.
"Every year that I can find records for, City Hall has required significant subsidy to run and given the pressures that we face around adult social care, children's social care, the pressures on councils are building, it's really critical to my mind that we reopen City Hall in a way that is sustainable for the long term, for the residents of Salisbury and the surrounding area," Cllr Clewer said.
Council Leader dismisses claims of earlier reopening
The Council Leader also took aim at suggestions made on social media that City Hall could have re-opened three years ago.
In a robust response, Cllr Clewer said that wasn't ever going to happen.
"City Hall was still being used as a vaccination Centre 3 years ago. There is no way the Wilshire Council will going to kick out the NHS and the vaccination programme," he said.
Cllr Clewer added that some claims made on social media made him 'very cross', and that the reopening process has been 'far more frustrating than it should have been'.