Plan for Culver Street car park to be demolished to make way for 100-bed Hilton hotel

The 528-space Culver Street multi-storey car park has been earmarked to become a top-end hotel – including conference facilities and a rooftop restaurant with cathedral views.

Talks have been ongoing for almost a year and top council planners are keen on the idea, which would be backed by money from the United Arab Emirates.

So far, only a pre-application has been submitted, meaning a final decision is some way off.

Hilton would have to buy or lease the site from Wiltshire Council, and it is not yet earmarked for sale.

Richard Greenwood, acting on behalf of Hilton Worldwide, said the latest figures showed the car park was only ten per cent full on average.

“The design would need to be very carefully considered and discussed widely over several months,” he said.

“The proposals would be to build a good-quality hotel that reports indicate would add to Salisbury’s attraction. We are hoping to be close to the start of a great project for Salisbury — but it will be a long and complex process.”

Concerns have been raised that Salisbury would lack parking if the plan went ahead, and bosses at County Hall still do not know how many spaces will be included in the Maltings redevelopment.

But Hilton hopes to include 100 public parking spaces, as well as those for its customers.

Division councillor Atiqul Hoque welcomed the proposals, provided residents were happy with the plans.

“It is a fantastic proposal and it is certainly a step in the right direction for Salisbury,” he said.

Culver Street car stack, as it was known then, opened in 1985 costing £1.7million and was immediately derided as “a glorious white elephant”.

Salisbury’s Ratepayers Association accused the council at the time of “throwing money away”.

The car park has rarely been filled, although a recent Salisbury BID offer of free parking after 3pm has proved popular.

Amanda Newbury, chairman of Salisbury BID, backed the plans, describing Hilton as a “great brand”.

“Inwards investment in Salisbury of this type is absolutely what the business community needs,” she said.

A recent VisitWiltshire survey found Salisbury needed a “boutique hotel”, while former Salisbury Vision chairman Alex Tregellas last year called for a hotel with “world class conference facilities”.

David Andrews from VisitWiltshire said: “The one thing I want to do is get in touch with Hilton to make sure the hotel meets clearly identified needs.

“But any interest from a globally recognisable brand such as Hilton has to be a good thing for Salisbury and would not have happened four or five years ago.”