PLANS for putting up a permanent stage in Salisbury are to be explored.

A motion to look at the possibility of having a permanent stage in the market or Guildhall Square was put forward by Cllr Jo King to Salisbury City Council during its meeting on Monday, June 27.

Cllr King said it would be an "opportunity" to have arts, music and drama in the city and could also be used for school and college performances as well as by the various music groups in the area. 

“There is so much creativity in the city that through the schools, colleges and the bands and soloists, choirs and everybody. It would be amazing to become a city that encourages creativity," she added. 

Cllr Annie Riddle said the feasibility of the project needed to be looked at and also questioned whether a permanent stage would be supported by Wiltshire Council conservation officers.

While Cllr Brian Dalton raised concerns over having a working group meeting behind closed doors and suggested it be brought to the relevant sub committee with a discussion in public.

In addition to this he raised concerns about "blocking" access for the Charter Fair. 

Cllr Ian Tomes welcomed the motivation behind the idea, which he said was “great”, but felt the budget was an issue as well as access for the charter market and the fair.

He also raised concerns about the weather and the need for staging to be able to withstand that.

“Over the years there’s been proposals to put a fountain there, a bandstand, and now were looking at putting a stage there. Had we gone down the route of doing all of that there wouldn’t be a market square there. It would be filled up by other building," said Cllr Tomes who felt there there would be “hurdles” in getting support from conservation officers.

The need to look more "broadly" at a proposed permanent stage was suggested by Cllr Paul Sample who said market square was maybe “not the right place” but that other areas could be looked at like the city’s parks.

The "enormous" benefits brought to areas with a permanent stage was highlighted by Cllr Ricky Rogers who said activities and music brought people out. 

Cllr Jo Broom said the proposal was “very early doors” and that Cllr King had the “will” and wanted to explore this. She added: “We certainly should support her idea and allow her to go away and explore the options and come back to us.”

The motion was supported by the council and the proposal will be explored further by a working group who will report back with more information. 

 

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