A YOUTH hostel should remain in Salisbury, city councillors have said.

The Youth Hostel Association (YHA) says Salisbury’s hostel on Milford Hill is no longer viable and doesn’t provide the service people want but councillors say the hostel plays an important role in providing budget accommodation for people visiting Salisbury and Stonehenge.

At a full city council meeting on Monday, Cllr Margaret Willmot asked the council to consider a motion to make representations to the chief executive of the YHA urging the organisation to consider options either to retain a youth hostel at the current site or at some other location in Salisbury.

The YHA applied for planning permission for the site to be turned into retirement homes, converting Milford Hill House into four two-bed apartments with 11 new homes built in the grounds, but the plans were refused by Wiltshire Council’s planning department in January.

Tourist organisation VisitWiltshire also supports the retention of a youth hostel in the city and a local operator has expressed an interest in continuing to run a facility at the current site.

The city councillors fully supported the motion and the YHA will now be informed of the council’s position.