The right headlines…

It’s been another eventful week in Salisbury and Amesbury. Since March we’ve experienced highs and lows and last week certainly followed that pattern.

The incident at Prezzo was a worrying moment which as we have all heard is now being investigated by the police as a possible hoax. Hard to believe, I know. As our local MP John Glen said it’s certainly not in the least bit funny and I couldn’t agree more.

The relief that what happened is in no way connected to any nerve agent is reassuring and I hope that everyone will continue to focus on getting back to normal.
Last week there were a number of positive milestones. The last of the Salisbury City Centre sites, Zizzi, was handed back with a clean bill of health to its owners. This means all the affected sites in our city centre have now been returned and will be back in normal use by the end of the year.

The only remaining site in Salisbury is the Skripal house in Christie Miller Road where the clean-up has now started. And, last weekend there was also good news in Amesbury when the clean-up got underway at Boots pharmacy in Stonehenge Walk, Amesbury Baptist Church and Charlie Rowley’s home in Muggleton Road.

While the Prezzo incident may have dominated the media headlines for a few days, the real headline is that we’re moving forward and making good progress in returning to business as usual. This week international and influential food bloggers will visit our beautiful city to help promote what makes it so special and why people should take the time to visit. Now that’s the media headlines we want and need right now and I hope is a sign of more highs and a lot fewer lows…

Six months on and normality is becoming reality

We’ve been living in extraordinary times since March and last week was truly an extraordinary week.
We’ve all known that, behind the scenes, the police have been working painstakingly and meticulously to find out what happened on March 4, six months ago, and who was responsible.
Just how involved, challenging and difficult the work was became clear to all of us last week when the UK’s counter terrorism police and Crown Prosecution Service announced that two Russian agents had been identified and charged with the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
That despicable act also seriously injured DS Nick Bailey and, ultimately, caused the tragic death of Dawn Sturgess and injured her partner Charlie Rowley.
It was surreal, shocking and extraordinary to see the CCTV images of the alleged attackers at our city’s station and streets and it highlighted the magnitude of the investigative work that has been quietly but urgently been going on.
I would like to add my voice to the many others and say thank you to the police for their hard work and diligence to reach this position.
The communities of Salisbury and Amesbury continue to show determination to reclaim their city and town.
One by one the sites affected have been cleaned up and handed back helping the Salisbury we know and love to get back to normal.
After the dramatic news last week, we were also updated that work to clean-up the Skripal home in Christie Miller Road was under way.
The residents of Christie Miller Road; particularly those within the inner cordon, have endured six months of disruption, inconvenience and media attention.
They have been stoic and patient and I’m sure they will welcome the clean-up and while it’s likely to take some time, it is another illustration that Salisbury is turning a corner and normality is becoming reality.
Let’s hope that in six months from now we will have put this extraordinary time behind us and our focus will be on a positive and buoyant year ahead.

Six months on...

The Maltings

Can you believe it’s been six months since our city was thrust into the international spotlight in a way that none of us could ever have imagined.
Following the dreadful attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal we began the long process to get Salisbury back to normal and we were making good progress when the second incident occurred that also impacted on Amesbury.
Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess fell seriously ill after finding a bottle that we now know contained a nerve agent. They had visited several places in Amesbury and Salisbury and tragically Dawn died on 8th July.
This week marks six months since the 4th March incident and a period when two communities have had to deal with so much. It’s time now to take a breath and reflect.
The fabulous Lift Off! festival over the bank holiday weekend was a great example of that attitude. As part of this festival I attended an amazing opera in St Thomas’s Church call PUSH, the story of Simon Gronowski. As a young boy his life was saved by his mother pushing him off a train bound for Auschwitz. The moving performance of 120 local singers coming together fuelled with emotion and the three words “I forgive you”, sung to the Auschwitz guard in the most sweetest way by baritone James Newby, gave us all a heartening assertion of the goodness of the human spirit and its will to survive.
It’s clear to me how determined and focused we are on reclaiming our city, our town and our communities. Life will never be quite the same, as we won’t forget, but six-months on its time for us to look forward.
Every cordon that comes down, every place, area, facility that’s handed back and re-opens is a positive step forwards. Last week’s opening of Lizzie Gardens was a real boost. Now we’ve been told The Mill will be open again for business by Christmas and Zizzi’s will be handed back shortly. All this is getting us back to normal life.
Over the bank holiday the city was packed with more than 13,000 people enjoying dance, music, theatre and crafts. It was a weekend filled with colour, vibrancy, fun, happiness and it sent the strong message that Salisbury’s confidence is returning. It was a true celebration of this creative, beautiful city showing the world that we don’t intend to just survive, but to flourish.

The Tour Series Cycling Grand final

Samba fun at the Tour Series Cycling Grand final

The Tour Series Cycling Grand final

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall visit Salisbury

Queen Elizabeth Gardens

Umbrellas on Salisbury's High Street

Theresa May visits Salisbury