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The city's business leaders have welcomed Wiltshire Council's confirmation that the £3 million Market Place project will go ahead within the next 12 months.

Originally planned to start in 2009 it was feared at one stage that the project was being cancelled due to difficulties with the funding. But in a letter to Ian Newman, Chairman of Salisbury City Centre Management Jane Scott, Leader of Wiltshire Council said that the council is committed to working with partners to take the Vision forward. As an illustration of this commitment she said that the council would do its best to deliver the Market Place project as promised.

Ian Newman said: "On behalf of the members of City Centre Management and the wider business community I would like to thank Jane Scott for her part in ensuring that this important project goes ahead. This will be the first major Vision project to be delivered and it will play a major part in helping Salisbury compete with its neighbouring towns and cities who are all investing millions of pounds in new developments."

Wiltshire Council's decision on the Market Place was also welcomed by other members of the city's economic partners group - the South Wiltshire Economic Partnership (SWEP), the Salisbury & District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses, Visit Wiltshire, Salisbury City Council and Salisbury Cathedral.

Wiltshire Council's commitment to the Market Place was raised at the last Vision Board meeting at which it was also confirmed that the council had appointed a team led by Letts Wheeler architects to develop a public realm strategy for the city. This would set out a long term plan for an improvement to the city's other public areas including its streets and pavements.

This was seen as a very important step by Ian Newman, who said: "One of biggest complaints that we hear about Salisbury concerns the sorry state of the city's streets. They have been left to fall into disrepair for too long. At least now we will have a costed plan showing when and where the city's streets will be repaired and improved."

A detailed timetable for the public realm strategy and the Market Place project is to be produced in January.