City councillors have voted in favour of a motion to enter into negotiations with Wiltshire Council on the possible takeover of Salisbury City Hall.

The vote was taken at Monday night's full meeting of Salisbury City Council. 

The building has been closed since the NHS ceased using it as a covid vaccination centre on Saturday, January 28 of this year, after which Wiltshire Council undertook an assessment of the facility’s condition.

Resulting reports claimed the structural integrity of the building was insufficient to safely hold live music events, which would create acoustic stress.

In response to Wiltshire Council’s decision to close City Hall to any use until an estimated £2m worth of repairs are completed, residents have expressed outrage, claiming that the building is still suitable for events that would not cause the level of acoustic stress as live music.

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A Facebook group entitled “RE-OPEN SALISBURY CITY HALL NOW” was founded by city councillor Paul Sample, who participated in the day-to-day operation of City Hall as a member of the former Salisbury District Council, before the facility’s transfer to Wiltshire Council.

Independent city councillor Annie Riddle, one of the leaders of the council said Monday night's vote was not a commitment on the part of the city council to take over the city hall, but a “decision to find out the terms and conditions on which Wiltshire might transfer the Hall, if it agreed in principle.”

Cllr Riddle added: “I supported that, as a way of starting a proper conversation between Trowbridge and the Guildhall, which has so far been lacking, about this vital facility, and impressing upon them the strength of public feeling that it needs to reopen.”

During the vote at the meeting on Monday, on whether to enter into negotiations with Wiltshire Council, cllr Ed Rimmer voiced concerns about the cost of running the facility.

Cllr Rimmer said: “We know that in order to make the building safe it will cost in the region of £2m, and we know that it makes a loss of an average of around about £200k per year and the improvement plans that Wiltshire Council have looked at mean that it’s going to be somewhere between £8m and £25 for the potential upgrades to the building, realistically £12m minimum, and even if we didn’t do any of that it would be £2m just to make it safe to open.”

Cllr Sample said he believes City Council’s takeover of the venue is feasible, and that the city should not have to pay the bill for £2m of repairs.

Cllr Sample said: “That all needs to be considered as part of the negotiations, and there are a number of funding options available to Salisbury City Council and local organisations to secure funding for some of the repairs. I believe that Wiltshire Council needs to return City Hall to Salisbury City Council in the same condition that it inherited it. The responsibility for the derelict state which we now find at Salisbury City Hall is entirely down to Wiltshire Council and it’s—I believe—morally, their responsibility to fix it.”

In response to the vote, leader of Wiltshire Council Councillor Richard Clewer reiterated that the unitary authority still wants to reopen the city hall as soon as possible.

Cllr Clewer added: “We are deep in the process of looking in detail at all the options available to us for City Hall and remain committed to re-opening it as an entertainment and cultural venue as soon as we’re able to and seeing it thrive for the long term.

“We acknowledge the discussion held at Salisbury City Council’s meeting and I’m sure they will contact us directly about it soon. We’ll ensure to keep them updated on our plans, as well as all the other key stakeholders, as soon as we’re in a position to do so.”