WESTBURY could become the 'dance centre' of Wiltshire as part of a dramatic new vision for the town.

The town boasts a number of popular dance studios and locals support suggestions for a new arts centre to provide a focal point for performances.

The Leighton House gardens could also be used as a community orchard and as a market garden for growing vegetables.

Together, they could to help Westbury to regenerate its town centre and the surrounding area.

The suggestions are part of a new prospectus, Westbury Town Centre Vision, which will be discussed by councillors on Tuesday.

The Vision for Westbury sub-committee meeting at 2pm has been arranged to decide the town’s strategy for the future.

The council commissioned London-based architecture and urban planning practice Allies and Morrison in 2019 to produce an updated Vision for Westbury and then was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Vision document says: “People are thinking differently about how they want to live their lives and these changes will impact the way Westbury functions as a town.

“The updated vision takes these changes into consideration to deliver a robust and sustainable framework for Westbury’s future which can contribute to the development of the Neighbourhood Plan as well as stimulate other local initiatives.

“Strengthening the town centre is an important aspiration of the town council and local community, and this updated Vision and Scoping Study will provide a robust basis upon which improvements can be made.”

Allies and Morrison say the vision presents an invaluable opportunity to update the 2011 Vision, and clearly set out the principles and potential for development and investment in Westbury.

It says the prospectus will help define Westbury’s distinct role, ensuring a fantastic place to live and work for current and future residents, workers and visitors.

A key role of the vision is to identify how the town can be positively transformed, projects that will help achieve this, and funding opportunities collaborative working to deliver these.

The study area focuses on Westbury town centre but also encompasses the surrounding neighbourhoods and villages it serves.

After a call by the council’s neighbourhood plan group, local landowners have submitted details of 19 plots which will now be assessed for potential development.

The Westbury Town Centre Vision also recommends:

•Identifying local passions for dance and performance as an activity around which to grow participation and events;

•Nurturing and celebrating the diversity of food and drink production through festivals and events particularly involving local breweries;

•Anticipating the possibility that Leighton House could become a significant local park and that its gardens and orchard might be established for community use as well as commercial growing;

•Revitalising the Market Square with the Lopes Arms Hotel as a key anchor, particularly for the evening economy;

•Improving the image and functioning of the High Street to ensure that it is attractive to all the residents in the town and provides a good centre to shop and meet; and

•Activating the Angel Mill building and enhancing Edward Street with improved active frontage.