SALISBURY has marked the 799th anniversary of its city charter, with preparations continuing to build towards next year’s major celebrations.

As civic pride grows ahead of the Salisbury 800 milestone, MP John Glen has announced a significant personal contribution to help ensure the anniversary is properly celebrated.

John Glen, Salisbury MP

For several years, Mr Glen has chaired the Salisbury Place Partnership, which brings together major local organisations to promote the city.

One of the group’s long-held ambitions has been to deliver a wide-ranging programme of community events to celebrate Salisbury 800, but progress has been limited by a lack of funding.

That challenge has now been eased after Mr Glen was invited to become a non-executive director of Open Banking Limited, an organisation established by the Competition and Markets Authority to improve access to financial services.

The role aligns closely with work he undertook while serving as Economic Secretary to the Treasury between 2018 and 2022, particularly around tackling financial exclusion.

The position will require up to 30 hours of work a month, and Mr Glen has confirmed he will donate the full salary from the role to Salisbury 800.

Permission to take on the post has been granted by Sir Laurie Magnus.

Mr Glen said the opportunity had unexpectedly resolved a long-standing issue around funding the celebrations, while allowing him to contribute to work he values at a national level.

He stressed that the donation would be unconditional and that he would have no role in directing the Salisbury 800 programme.

He also confirmed his ongoing commitment to supporting local charities would remain unchanged.