Community campus plans move forward (From Salisbury Journal)

Community campus plans move forward

8:48am Tuesday 12th February 2013 in News By Morwenna Blake

PLANS for a community campus in Salisbury have taken a step forward as the first meeting has been held between the Shadow Community Operations Board and architects.

The board met with The Bush Consultancy last week for an initial discussion on plans for the new £8.5million campus, which aims to provide a ‘one stop shop’ for a wide range of community facilities at the site of Five Rivers Leisure Centre.

Shadow board chairman Patricia Fagan said: “The campus is fantastic for Salisbury. It is an extensive development with enhanced leisure facilities, the development of Wiltshire Council services for youth, music, and people with learning disabilities, as well as office accommodation and exciting new spaces for local community use.”

The campus project was give the go-ahead by Wiltshire Council in December 2011, and the Community Operations Board was set up to ensure the views of local people are taken into account on the design and what services should be housed there.

Consultations have taken place with local residents and service providers and events have been held to gather views on the project.

The board will now use this information to work on the development of designs for the campus alongside the architects.

“The building will include activity spaces, improved café facilities, a welcoming reception and IT provision,” said Mrs Fagan. “We have taken time to listen to what people are saying they want and we are very excited about moving onto the next phase with the architects.

Wiltshire Council wants to sell of other buildings and concentrate services under one roof, getting rid of ageing facilities that are costly to maintain.

The plans for the campus will have to go through the planning process and there will be further opportunities for local people to put forward their views.

The campus is due to be completed in late 2014 to early 2015.