A MASTER plan for bringing the operations of Salisbury district council under one roof has won the approval of the council cabinet.

The outline plan for centralising all the council's offices and departments - currently scattered around the city - on the Bourne Hill headquarters site in Salisbury was submitted by architects Stanton Williams following three months of consultation, including a public meeting.

Under the plan the historic Grade 2 listed facade of the existing Bourne Hill building will be retained and new building will all take place at the rear, following the demolition of the Victorian extension and temporary huts.

The rebuild will accommodate all of the council's office requirements and the architects say there will be space left over for some shared use of the site with outside and partner organisations.

Council meetings will take place away from the building - with the City Hall as the most likely venue. But other possibilities are still being investigated.

Another key part of the plan is to include space for a "one-stop shop" and customer services contact centre near to the front of the building for visitors and users of council services.

As part of the consultation SDC has had had discussions with a range of organisations, which have previously expressed an interest in having their own public offices on the site.

These include the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registrar, which has shown an interest in moving from Bedwin Street to Bourne Hill.

And Wiltshire county council is interested in taking office space for up to 140 employees connected with children's services.

The South Wiltshire Primary Care Trust and Wiltshire county council adult service are currently reviewing their office requirements in Salisbury and will consider whether any part of the development around Bourne Hill is suitable.

They may also consider whether other existing SDC premises that could become redundant as a result of the office centralising programme are suitable.