BUSINESS leaders are issuing a rallying cry to the people of Salisbury – help turn our “grimy and down at heel” city into a “brighter, cleaner and greener” place that encourages future investment.

Spurred on by the £6m investment from government towards clearing the ground ready for the Maltings and Central car park redevelopment, the Business Improvement District (BID) says now is the time for city leaders and the community to come together and act, before it’s too late.

BID director Ian Newman said: “Salisbury could become a backwater if we don’t get our act together. We believe Salisbury has so much to offer but we are in danger of being passed by – businesses are facing semi-stagnation, local authorities no longer have enough funding and the lack of investment shows.

“Recently we had a meeting of regional managers for the area – conglomerates like Marks & Spencer, Boots and Debenhams – we thought they were going to praise us for lifting Salisbury up but instead they attacked us.

“They told us, ‘your city is dirty and down at heel, we won’t invest in your streets unless you prove that you can invest and clean up the built environment in which we are situated’.

“That was a major shock to us, when somebody from outside tells you that, it gives you a dreadful wake-up call.”

Targeting the message at businesses, local authorities and people that live and work in the city, Mr Newman wants people to ask the question ‘What can we do for our city?’

“We want to make it a cleaner city but we cannot deliver unless there is money generation coming into the business community,” he said.

“We have this government funding for the Maltings – now we need to encourage the developers and others to see it for what it is,” he said.

“The concern is that the development might stall and we miss our chance. Let’s make it happen.”

Steve Godwin, BID business manager, added: “We can’t afford to miss the boat with this – we are in the middle of a mini population explosion here with thousands of homes being built on the edge of Salisbury, the Army rebasing and Boeing coming with 1,500 jobs.

“We want them to come into our city as their first destination, not Southampton or other nearby cities.”

It is expected the Maltings redevelopment by TH Real Estate and Stanhope will contain a mixture of retail, residential and leisure.

Business leaders hope it will include a cinema, bowling alley, cocktail bars, riverside restaurants and shops such as Primark as well as independents.

They hope developers’ funding will also help create a cultural quarter involving the City Hall and Playhouse, and provide opportunity for pedestrianisation of certain streets such as New Canal, Blue Boar Row, Minster Street and Silver Street.

“Salisbury is like a medieval shopping mall with wonderful shops and tourism but we need to show we can address some of the areas that are causing problems,” Mr Newman said.

“The economic vibrancy of Salisbury is connected to the Maltings redevelopment - our message is ‘come on, let’s get behind this, let’s smarten up our act to give our city a vibrant and beating heart’.”

Regeneration plans for the Maltings and Central car park will go on display later this year, Wiltshire Council confirmed on Tuesday.