Salisbury City Hall to remain an NHS vaccination centre until next year, as the council plans the venue's future
Thousands of people have been vaccinated at City Hall
Wiltshire Council has confirmed that its Salisbury entertainment venue, City Hall, will remain an NHS vaccination centre until at least March 2022.
The hall has not been used as an entertainment venue since the start of the pandemic, but from early 2021 it has been used as a large vaccination centre by the NHS, to help protect as many people as possible from COVID-19.
The council has been using this time as an opportunity to look at the best way for the venue to reopen and continue to be one of the city's cultural landmarks.
Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said:
We are proud to continue to support the NHS in its efforts to combat COVID-19. City Hall has played a significant role in ensuring many thousands of people in the county are as protected as possible.
Looking ahead, it's vital that when we do reopen City Hall that it is an attractive venue for people to visit time and time again, and a place that complements the wider cultural offer of Salisbury.
We know that people will want to see it reopen as quickly as possible, but the pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainty in the sector so we need to take our time and get this right. City Hall remains an important cultural landmark of the city and our plans are to reopen it as soon as we're able to.
Therefore, we are making best use of this time while the venue is being used by the NHS to plan as effectively as possible for its future. As soon as we're in a position to provide more details we will do so.
Gill May, Director of Nursing and Quality, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, said:
As one of two large vaccination centres in our region, Salisbury City Hall, along with Bath Racecourse, has been instrumental in our rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine to thousands of local people.
Both of these sites will be listed on the National Booking Service for people needing a booster vaccination over the coming months, as well as for any person to have either their first or second vaccine dose.
An update on City Hall, confirming that the NHS will continue to use the building for the time being, was provided at Salisbury Area Board on 30 September.