PHASE one of the Maltings and Central car park redevelopment is due to be completed by October 2020 at a cost of more than £85m.

Council papers published ahead of a meeting yesterday state that the major city centre development of shops, leisure facilities and housing is on track and detailed plans are due to be submitted as soon as December.

The council is still saying it aims to hold a public consultation on the designs this year, but has not yet confirmed when this will happen.

Work is expected to begin on site by September 2018.

Salisbury City Council leader Matthew Dean said he was “really pleased” that progress was being made and that plans would be made public later in the year.

“There’s a huge amount of interest in this,” he said.

Salisbury MP John Glen said: “I look forward to the earliest possible public consultation. This is a key moment for the people of Salisbury to help shape the most significant development in a generation.”

Earlier this month the Journal revealed that the Council’s development partner Stanhope was in the process of withdrawing from the project leaving the council and TH Real Estate to deliver the development.

That process is still ongoing as the council looks to reach a settlement with Stanhope.

Steve Godwin of Salisbury BID said he was “very excited by the growth that a quality development is likely to bring to the city”.

He said: “With new jobs coming to the area, major housing already underway and more planned for the future, our population is expanding and with it, trading opportunities.”

But he said the development must be of the right mix and quality to complement the city’s history.

Susi Mason, owner of Casa Fina in the High Street and chairman of Salisbury Independents said: “I can’t speak for all the independent businesses but I would say generally anything that’s going to make the city more vibrant and increase the offer is a good thing for Salisbury because it will make people more likely to shop here rather than go elsewhere.

“My only concern is while they are doing the building work the car park will be closed. In that period we are going to lose an awful lot of regular customers who will just get fed up of not being able to park in Salisbury.

“I think businesses will close. I don’t think Salisbury businesses can cope with another knock on parking. It’s such a difficult time the last thing we need is not to have enough parking.”

Previously the Journal reported that a £6million government grant had been awarded to the council to clear buried builders’ rubble from the site to make the project financially viable.

A Wiltshire Council spokesman said: “The plans are progressing very well and we are looking forward to sharing these development proposals with the community later this year.”