I have been perplexed to receive lots of emails from constituents asking me to ‘save’ Salisbury City Hall.

Presumably, the fact that a petition has been started calling on Wiltshire Council to reopen City Hall has given some people the erroneous impression that the council was not already planning to reopen it.

Nothing could be further from the truth. I have been in numerous meetings where Wiltshire Council’s commitment to restore City Hall to full use has been repeated in no uncertain terms. I have heard these assurances in public and seen them published on the front page by no less an authority than the Journal.

Read more: Salisbury City Hall: 'We can’t open a building which isn’t safe for live music'

There seems to be only one thing the petition calls for that is not possible, namely that the building opens for business NOW.

Survey work has discovered that the suspended plaster ceiling has deteriorated and, if loud music were played in the auditorium, there is a real danger of collapse.

I hope it is a given that, as well as having a responsibility to maintain City Hall as a war memorial and public asset, the council also has a duty to keep concertgoers safe.

The City Hall cannot open now, but it can and will stage shows again as soon as it is practical and safe to do so.

This information is in the public domain and was communicated direct to campaigners several weeks ago. While the task of restoring the venue is going to be unexpectedly expensive, the council has never said it is ‘too expensive’, as some campaigners claim, and it has invested considerable effort in finding the necessary funding.

Most people who have written to me think the City Hall was perfect.

But one man alone wrote to say that he is a regular gig-goer, and, in his opinion, City Hall lacked atmosphere whenever niche performers attracted smaller or more subdued audiences. He concluded his email by demanding that it be shut down. Obviously, I disagree strenuously with his conclusion, but he did make a fair point.

Long before the City Hall’s stint as a vaccination centre, people had been telling me for years that the acoustics needed upgrading, and staging limitations were putting off some of the quality artistes the venue should be attracting. As major work has to be carried out for public safety, I think we should consider whether there are other things that should be done to make the facility fit for the next 60 years. This is a valid question, and it makes sense to ask it now. To all those who care deeply about the City Hall - thank you.

Instead of worrying needlessly, it would be great if you could consider exactly what you love about it and whether you think there are other things it could do to entertain and enrich Salisbury even more in the future.