THE new organisation in charge of Salisbury Arts Centre has axed a popular Sunday music event that has been running for 10 years.

Girls Only Jazz Orchestra (GOJO) entertain audiences at the venue with their Big Band Brunch shows.

The announcement made by GOJO at its concert on Sunday said: “Unfortunately this new administration has decided that Salisbury Arts Centre will no longer be opening on Sundays so this sadly means that today will be our last Big Band Brunch.

“GOJO have been playing here at the arts centre for 10 very happy years and we would like to thank you all for your support and encouragement during this time.

“Many of you have been coming for years and you have all made us feel very welcome and given the band a big reason to exist.

“We would also like to thank all the staff here at the arts centre for manning the box office, making and serving the brunches and serving drinks and for the technical support with the sound and lighting.”

Wiltshire Creative, which has been set up for the merged Salisbury Arts Centre, Salisbury Playhouse and Salisbury International Arts Festival, says it is “taking stock” of its opening times.

David Andrews, who started GOJO, said: “It is just really sad.”

He says the brunch event “fills the place every single time” and attracts a regular following.

“Most of them are regulars and keep coming so you get to know them. It is like having lunch with a lot of friends,” said Mr Andrews.“The Sunday morning vibe is so special.”

Mr Andrews says it was suggested the band consider switching to Saturday performances but there were problems in terms of the group’s availability and concerns audiences could be put off by the traffic and parking.

A Wiltshire Creative spokesman said: “Salisbury Arts Centre has not opened regularly on Sundays since January 2016, following Wiltshire Council’s cut to its funding to the arts centre – this was a decision made by the previous management.

“Since then Salisbury Arts Centre has only opened on Sundays occasionally. Since the merger on 1 February, Wiltshire Creative is taking stock of opening times, to ensure that we can programme a wide variety of events across both sites within current resources.

“For this reason we have had to pause Big Band Brunch, while we consider how it might fit into the programme in a way that is manageable and allows us to offer audiences a wider choice of events.