OVER the weekend, it was a great pleasure to join the Diwali celebrations at Sarum Academy alongside SDH chief executive Cara Charles-Barks and many others.

This event seems to get bigger and better every year and it is a testament to the Salisbury’s Indian community that they welcome guests with such warmth and hospitality.

This week, I am looking forward to hosting the latest in a series of strategic conversations about the future of Salisbury and, in particular, how to boost the vibrancy and economic viability of the city centre.

The people who write to me all the time concerned about footfall, the ageing population and the city’s limited night-time economy have everything to gain from a redesigned Maltings that delivers new leisure and entertainment alongside retail opportunities.

Shopping habits are changing and, in order to move with the times, we need to accept that high street footfall is increasingly driven by experiences. People leave the comfort of their sofas and computer screens to eat, exercise, socialise and be inspired and entertained – not just to shop.

I am, by nature, an optimist. However, given the chance to completely reimagine an important part of the city centre, I don’t think that optimism is a luxury – it is a necessity.

That is why I am particularly excited about what the Maltings redevelopment could deliver for the arts in Salisbury.

I am hugely ambitious for the project and I envisage a cultural quarter that is an integral part of the city centre and includes a state of the art library and gallery space as well as improved auditoria, social areas and multi-media performance space for both The Playhouse and the City Hall.

My dream would be to see much of this achieved via a new landmark building.

During my time as the Arts Minister, I saw over and over again across the country how great architecture inspires creative people and how innovative buildings act as a magnet, driving regeneration and benefiting whole communities.

Salisbury has a strong cultural tradition and I believe the arts could now be the key to helping us recover – not just back to where we were before March 2018 – but stronger, bolder and more forward-looking.

This is a conversation that has only just begun but one that I look forward to continuing in the weeks and months ahead.