A FORMER school could become the new administrative home of Salisbury Cathedral, if plans are approved.
Dittrich Hudson Vasetti Architects, on behalf of the cathedral, have applied to Wiltshire Council for permission to change the use of Leaden Hall.
The Grade I-listed building, the former base of Leaden Hall School, would become an “administrative office for the cathedral organisation with reception and meeting room facilities”, the plans said.
As well as changes to the building, the school tennis courts would also be removed, being replaced by solar panels and a heat pump, while a purpose-built cathedral archive building is also proposed on The Close site.
Former Stephenson Hall classroom blocks would be removed, with landscaped gardens reinstated.
“The historic Leaden Hall canonry house is currently in poor condition,” the application went on.
“It suffered from a long period of solely reactive maintenance, particularly of the roof and gutters, before it was returned to the cathedral a few years ago.
“The building has now been empty for a number of years.”
Leaden Hall, in The Close, Salisbury, was formerly the school of the same name. Picture: Dittrich Hudson Vasetti Architects/Wiltshire Council
The application outlines plans to retain much of the original layout of the building, retaining “an air of Regency grandeur”.
If approved, the project would bring much of the cathedral administration into one place.
“A new office faclity for the cathedral organisation is a high priority and was included in the 2017 masterplan, endorsed by Wiltshire Council,” the application added.
“Few locations in The Close have sufficient space or are commensurate for the offices of such a prestigious cathedral.
“No other alternative site is currently free for use by the cathedral, or likely to be so in the near future.”
The archive, meanwhile, would provide a bespoke home for several thousand documents detailing the history of the cathedral and the city itself.
Currently split between two buildings – neither of which conform to storage standards for such archives – the application would see the creation of an archive store and reading room.
At Stephenson Hall, a 200-person auditorium would be retained, while a number of outside buildings would be removed.
To see the plans in more detail, log on to www.wiltshire.gov.uk and search for application reference PL/2024/00720.
How misleading can you be? Chapter have been in sole possession of Leadenhall for seven years! Whos neglect is here on display??