Walking around Salisbury is an odd experience at the moment, there are some very large empty buildings. The most obvious is the former BHS and Debenhams stores, prime retail spaces that are currently unused. In addition to this is the former bingo hall (Regal Theatre) on Endless street, then diagonally opposite are the former social work offices and at the…
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Dear Salisbury, You are the place that I was born and grew up, my family have a longstanding history of being Sarumites. I have at times grown tired of you, resented you and even moved away. When I have lived elsewhere, I have felt and seen first hand the passion that people have for their home towns and cities. They…
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FINALLY! A plan to save one of Salisbury’s historic treasures is ready for take-off. The badly neglected Grade 2* listed Hangar Three at Old Sarum Airfield has been added to Historic England’s register of buildings which are officially at risk. That means the heritage body’s experts can work with Wiltshire Council officers to draw up plans for its restoration, using…
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DO you, like me, worry about the Big Brother tendency in British society, particularly in the midst of all these COVID diktats? I’m not saying that restrictions to quash the pandemic aren’t needed, just that I can’t quite believe how meek and mild we lovers of liberty are in accepting the increasingly confused authoritarianism of a plainly incompetent government. And…
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ANOTHER day, another business warning that the plans to make Salisbury more pedestrian and cycle friendly will cost them a fortune. This time it’s the Cathedral View B&B in Exeter Street, where residents’ parking will make way for a cycle lane. The proprietor reckons it will lose him 50% of his takings. Who drew up these plans? Was it in…
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Resident expresses concern in an open letter… Dear Sir/Madam, I fear that Harnham is facing a second lockdown – not because of coronavirus, but because of the planned closure of Downton Road from the Harnham roundabout to the Britford turn. You may have seen the roadside notices that appeared last week, stating that the road will be fully closed, 24…
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It’s been coming for a while, but the time is almost here. On the first of September, Spire FM will become Greatest Hits Radio. Ever since 1992, Salisbury has had its own local radio station. It proclaimed to be the Spirit of Salisbury and delivered #properlocalradio. Love it or hate it Spire FM has done some great things in this…
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HUSBANDS do have their uses, and this week mine made a valuable contribution to my inner debate about how to unclog Salisbury’s roads. “You can’t predict the traffic patterns of the future based on what’s happened in the past,” he pointed out, “because after this pandemic people will be working from home more. We hope.” Well, I had got so…
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The operators of Old Sarum Airfield are aggrieved. Again. Having failed to persuade a government inspector and a High Court judge with arguments in favour of their development plans, they’re issuing a writ against Wiltshire Council alleging breach of contract. The council, or at any rate its Salisbury District predecessor, flirted with them and led them on, they complain, and…
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“I’m talking to my tomatoes,” said my husband, as he prepared breakfast in the lovely tree house where we were spending the weekend. That’ll teach me not to interrupt his concentration. Classic “men can’t multitask” territory! And to be fair, he had brought the tomatoes with us from our greenhouse, where he’s been tending them for several weeks now. Anyway,…
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