THE Salisbury Vision scheme to refurbish the city’s Market Place looks to be dead in the water.

Faced with huge public opposition to aspects of the design such as tree felling and relocating the war memorial, the Vision board has decided to concentrate instead on what it sees as more important projects to revitalise the city – redeveloping the Maltings and central car park and Churchfields.

It is expected to withdraw its planning application and hand responsibility for the Market Place’s future to Wiltshire Council’s Salisbury area board, which will carry out more widespread public consultation and is likely to come up with more modest proposals.

Vision chief executive Richard Walters called it “an opportunity lost” for Salisbury, but said the £200,000 spent so far would not be wasted, as it had paid for work such as drain surveys which would be vital for any future renovation.

A public meeting that has been called for Monday by the area board to debate each element of the Vision scheme will still go ahead.

Area board chairman cllr Richard Clewer urged people to turn up at South Wilts Grammar School at 7pm to have their say as this could be the first step in producing more acceptable plans.

Business leader Ian Newman is concerned that the collapse of the scheme could damage developers’ confidence in the Vision as a whole.

The City Centre Management chairman said he was also very worried about what would happen to the £3million given to the Vision by Wiltshire to kick-start the city’s regeneration, and he would hate to see Salisbury lose the money.

Wiltshire Cabinet member Fleur de Rhe-Philipe said: “What the public appear to want is frankly a repair and maintenance job, and that isn’t a visionary project.

“A repair job would come from a different source of funding, not the £3million. That £3million will hopefully go into other Vision projects in Salisbury but I can’t be certain about that now.”

Cabinet colleague John Brady said: “We are going to see democracy at work on this one, and I hope the people of Salisbury will respond and give us their views.”