NEW figures released by Wiltshire Council reveal that the NHS paid £291k to use the City Hall as a Covid-19 vaccination centre.

It comes as the council says it is continuing to plan for the “remobilisation” of the venue as an entertainment venue, and is analysing the best way forward for a third-party organisation to run it.

It was also confirmed at last week’s Salisbury Area Board that it could be January 2024 before the venue is back up and running.

Speaking at the Area Board, David Redfern, Wiltshire Council’s assistant director for leisure, culture and communities, said the NHS will be using it until March 2023 and after that, there are “urgent works” that need doing before it can reopen.

Figures obtained by the Journal show that the NHS paid Wiltshire Council £291,000 to use the venue as a vaccination centre, from December 2, 2020, to March 31, 2022.

This sum includes utilities. In 2019-20, the last year in which Salisbury City Hall was operational as an arts venue, it made an operating loss of £265,799.

During 2020-21 and 2021- 22 it was hired by the NHS as a vaccination centre, but Wiltshire Council says “significant refunds were paid back to customers”, leading to an overall operating loss of £458,931 for 2020/21.

City Hall continued to be hired by the NHS throughout 2021-22 generating an income of £98,392 after costs. While the building is not unsafe, Mr Redfern said there are structural issues with the roof that would need fixing before it could be used as an entertainment venue once more.

In October, the council confirmed that it is seeking to work with an organisation to run the venue on Wiltshire Council’s behalf, as this is the most likely option to provide long-term financial sustainability to enable the venue to thrive and to safeguard its future.

Wiltshire Council confirmed at the Area Board that it has been undertaking a preliminary market consultation so it can better understand the type of arrangement a third-party operator would potentially enter into.

The council also confirmed at the meeting that it has not yet heard the outcome of a bid for funding under the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

If successful, this funding would be used to make improvements to Salisbury’s cultural offer, including City Hall and Salisbury Playhouse.

However, the outcome of the bid will not determine whether City Hall reopens as an entertainment, community and cultural venue. The outcome of the bid should be known by the end of the year or early in 2023