Saturday 10th March 2007
The Warminster Town Centre Conservation Area Assessment (Informative Document), published in March 2007, noted:
Warminster’s landscape setting, as well as the reason for the town’s containment, now proved to be a source of employment and wealth within the local economy. The large expanses of uninterrupted terrain upon Salisbury Plain attracted the military as a good environment for training. The influx of military workers in the early 20th century, and the establishment of War Department Barracks in 1938, brought with it employment opportunities and fuelled the service sector by considerably increasing Warminster’s population and providing a source of custom. The army’s arrival was followed by the building of fighting vehicle workshops and, finally, the establishment of the School of Infantry, located on the northern edge of the settlement.
The attractiveness of the town’s setting, the needs of the military, and changes in lifestyles in the mid 20th century, led to the town’s considerable expansion, with the development of residential suburbs really taking off in the 1960s. In addition to military personnel, Warminster has also become an attractive place for retirement.