Salisbury City Council votes to reopen City Hall 'now'

This decision came after Councillor Paul Sample put forward the idea at an extraordinary full council meeting held in the Guildhall on Tuesday, July 18.

An hour-long debate about the safety and usage of City Hall ended with 10 councillors voting to open the venue 'now', with six voting against and one abstaining.

The live music venue initially closed in 2020 due to Covid before it was hired by the NHS as a vaccination centre.

In December 2018 a piece of the acoustic ceiling "the size of a plate" fell onto the stage but no one was injured.

Read more: ​Salisbury roofer Clive Brown remembered following cancer battle

Now, Wiltshire Council has projected a cost of £2m to carry out 'urgent repair work' to the building before it would reopen it.

Cllr Sample, who started the campaign group 're-open Salisbury City Hall now', called upon Wiltshire Council to "get its act together and stop mucking about".

Councillor Paul Sample's motion to request City Hall opens 'now' was successful. (Image: Salisbury Journal)

"It needs to open without delay. It's a massive loss to the income of our city," he said.

When asked what 'now' meant to Cllr Sample, he responded with: "Now is a moment in time and it's as long as you want it to be."

Cllr Atiqul Hoque, mayor of Salisbury, responded by backing up the county council and asked Cllr Sample if he is going against the officer's recommendations.

He said: "Wiltshire Council always said it will remain open. I can't for a second risk the public's life for a building that has a huge concern."

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Cllr Tom Corbin seconded Cllr Sample's motion, adding: "It's a bit of a 'pull your finger out'. The piece of ceiling fell in December 2018. It is a very long time to not actually get to the point of deciding what work is needed."

The council agreed it would like to see the structural engineer's report outlining the issues with City Hall.

Salisbury City Council members voting against the motion. (Image: Salisbury Journal)

Cllr Sven Hocking warned members of putting too much pressure on Wiltshire Council and said: "Be careful what you wish for because it might come true.

"There might be an opportunity to build something much better than we have at the moment. If you put enough pressure on councils and officers they may think 'every time we do something in Salisbury everyone complains.'"

Cllr Hocking told members he had received a text from Cllr Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire Council, during the meeting which said he would be happy to meet Cllr Sample "tomorrow" to sign a change of ownership contract to the city council if it wished to do so.

Councillors suggested Wiltshire Council reopens sections of City Hall for purposes other than live music, such as meetings, since the NHS used it.