The centre of Salisbury buzzed with interest over the past weekend. Markets in the square, entertainment in the Arts Centre grounds and a Craft and Heritage Fayre in the Cathedral Close combined to make the most of our unique city centre.

The organisers, sponsors and stall holders of the Heritage Fayre deserve a thunderous round of applause for putting on a show that was not only wonderful in itself, but a marker for the future.

It spoke of what can be achieved if we put our collective minds to it.

Salisbury both needs and deserves a permanent, city-centre craft fayre that attracts top quality craftsmen working in the graphic and material arts.

We need it because our economic future depends upon fostering a vibrant, long-term economy. We deserve it because of our history, location and human potential.

Historically, we are a city based on wool, weaving and the ambition to be successful. In the Middle Ages we became the eighth – some say tenth - most prosperous city in the land.

It was at Old Sarum that William the Conqueror asserted his leadership and authority over his barons from across the country.

Two hundred years later skilled craftsmen from across Europe were drawn together in the valley below the hill-top city to create one of the most modern, daring and beautiful buildings in the world.

Our cathedral and surrounding city remains a potent inspiration for all who have the ambition and vision to seize the moment by building for the future.

Our location is ideal for craftspeople who enjoy a rural centre at the heart of Wessex with easy access to London, Southampton and the south coast. We also have the capacity to make the project a success.

With the coming of the Business Improvement District, the reconfiguration of the Salisbury Vision and the continuing support of those who have promoted the craft fayre, we have the means to create a permanent craft centre with retail, workshops and shared services.

The covered markets of Covent Garden, Oxford and Barcelona offer examples of what we need to achieve.

The ‘Old Bus Station’ would serve our city far better as an urban craft centre than as an additional old people’s home, which could readily be built elsewhere.

John Potter, chairman of Salisbury, RSA Network