Salisbury Area Board backs my motion to re-open Salisbury City Hall
Salisbury Area Board, which is made up of Wiltshire Councillors from Salisbury, last night voted (by 5 votes to 1 )to support my motion to re-open Salisbury City Hall.
I'd like to thank all of those people from our community who turned up in the rain at Five Rivers Leisure Centre to make their voices heard. They asked Wiltshire Council Officers several really good questions about what progress has been made to re-open it (not much as it turned out).
I'd also like to thank the four councillors who voted for the motion, despite vocal opposition from the only Conservative Councillor.
For the record, the voting was as follows:
VOTED FOR THE MOTION
Cllr Sam Charleston (Salisbury St Paul's - Liberal Democrats)
Cllr Caroline Corbin (Salisbury Bemerton Heath - Labour)
Cllr Brian Dalton (Salisbury Harnham West - Liberal Democrats)
Cllr Ricky Rogers (Salisbury Fisherton & Bemerton Village - Labour)
Cllr Paul Sample JP (Salisbury St Edmund's - Liberal Democrats)
VOTED AGAINST THE MOTION
Cllr Mark McClelland (Salisbury St Francis & Stratford - Conservative).
My motion was as follows:
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SALISBURY CITY HALL
(1) Since local government re-organisation the administration of Wiltshire Council has allowed Salisbury City Hall, a War Memorial, to fall into disrepair
(2) It is now permanently shut and the staff have been made redundant.
(3) Community consultations over the future use of Salisbury City Hall should be delivered through Salisbury Area Board - in line with its decision of 3rd December 2020.
(4) Salisbury City Council has resolved to open negotiations with Wiltshire Council to ascertain the proposed terms and conditions upon which a transfer of Salisbury City Hall from Wiltshire Council to Salisbury City Council could be achieved.
(5) If negotiations with Salisbury City Council fail, Salisbury Area Board will invite interested parties in the Salisbury community to discuss the management and operation of the City Hall through:
a. the formation of a Salisbury City Hall Trust (a registered charity) similar to the Trust which operates Portsmouth Guildhall, or
b. the creation of a Community Interest Company (a charitable company limited by guarantee) similar to St John’s Place, Bemerton.
(6) Salisbury Area Board is committed to supporting that all future Wiltshire Council Salisbury-based meetings, including Salisbury Area Board, will be held at Salisbury City Hall.
(7) Training in support of the Learning Disabilities community return to the City Hall thereby enabling local families much-needed support without the need to travel to Trowbridge.
(8) Wiltshire Council should ensure that Salisbury City Hall be open during Remembrance Commemorations in November 2023.
(9) Wiltshire Council should hand back Salisbury City Hall to the next operators in at least “as good as” condition as it inherited from Salisbury District Council in 2009.
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The campaign continues. I'll let you know how we get on.