Cannock Town Centre is Changing

From Funding Bid to Demolition

Back in 2021 the Council was awarded £20m of Government funding to support an ambitious programme of redevelopment within Cannock town centre. When the funding bid was submitted the total cost of the scheme was £44m with a deadline for spending the grant element of funding by 31 March 2025. In addition to the £20m grant award in February 2022 the Council committed a further £17.2m investment with a further £6.8m anticipated to be met by a private sector investor. As the project has progressed through to detailed designs up to date cost plans were produced and with the volatility of both construction costs and inflation the total project as originally set out was no longer deliverable within the previously approved budget.

A full review of the project costs led to a new phased approach to a different kind of redevelopment scheme that would be achievable within the conditions of the grant funding. The first phase of works around demolition of the multistorey car park and units 1, 2 and 3 of Cannock Shopping Centre and the creation of the Northern Gateway from Beecroft Road was approved by the Council’s Cabinet in March 2024. This was followed closely by Phase 2 in June 2024 which centres on land acquisition to support a large scale mixed use redevelopment scheme in the heart of the town centre. Further Phases that will ensure all of the grant funding is spent will be reported to Cabinet.

What’s changing?

The multi-storey car park is coming down, the subway crossing from Beecroft Road is being filled in and replaced with a new pedestrian crossing and the first three units of Cannock Shopping Centre are being demolished to make way for the new Northern Gateway. This is Phase 1 of the changing town centre.

Northern Gateway

What else is happening?

In February 2025 the Council bought the Forum shopping centre and a number of retail units on Church Street, Market Hall Street and Market Place as part of Phase 2 of the changes. Work has already started on a Town Centre Prospectus which will look at the scale and type of development that the new look town centre could become home to.

Where can I see plans and other information on this?

The planning applications for demolition of the car park and the creation of the Northern Gateway can be found here [Car Park Demolition] and here [Northern Gateway Plans].

Documents like Design and Access Statements are a good place to find an overview of the plans.

For a summary of what’s included in the project phases have a read of the June 2024 report to Cabinet which can be found here [Cabinet Report June 2024]

What will we be able to see in the coming months?

Demolition of the multistorey car park and former units 1, 2 and 3 of Cannock Shopping Centre is already underway following removal of the glass canopy that was attached to the car park.

As we move through Spring into Summer works to fill in the subway are due to start and an application for planning permission relating to the Forum will be available to view on our website whilst the multistorey demolition will take us into the run up to Christmas.

Who can I ask for more information?