A recent survey of the District's town centres has shown that vacancy rates across Cannock, Rugeley and Hednesford are currently half that of the national average.

Cannock Chase Council are delighted to announce that E G Skett & Co. have been appointed as the new street market operator in Cannock for the next three years.

Following the successful trial of a street market in Cannock town centre Cannock Chase Council has appointed E G Skett & Co. as the Council’s new street market operator on a three year contract.  Skett & Co. will take over the management of the street market from Bescot Promotions and the first Skett & Co. market will be held in Cannock on 20^th November.

Cannock residents are reminded to understand the importance of putting the right item in the right bin after another load of dry recycling was rejected on Tuesday this week due to contamination.

This is the third load that has been rejected in the District since April this year.  Each rejected recycling load can cost up to £1,500; a cost that can be avoided if all residents used their dry recycling bins correctly.

Take care and be aware this halloween! Please think about how your actions affect others - and Be Safe Yourself.

DO:

• Only visit houses where you or your friends know who lives there
• Only visit areas where there are street lights and take a torch just in case
• Stay in a group - don't spit into smaller groups unless and adult goes with you
• Always take care when crossing the road and make sure you can be seen

DON'T:

Bring your unused or unwanted electrical appliances to one of Staffordshire's Household Waste Recycling Centres, and we'll find them a new home.

For more information please visit www.adoptanappliance.co.uk

There is a lot of news coverage today about a cyber crime attack on ‘Talk Talk’ the phone and broadband provider. If you are a customer of ‘Talk Talk’ or not we urge you to review your cyber security.

Not just your ‘Talk Talk’ one – chances are you use the same one on other services so change them.

Existing companies or those looking to start a new business across the District are urged to take advantage of a new one-stop-shop for support for businesses.

The Growth Hub which launched on 7^th October, is run by the Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP), it comprises a web portal, phoneline and one-to-one specialist advice. It is the new home for all business advice, funding and support in the area – providing a route for businesses to local organisations offering business support or funding.

Cannock Chase Council has become the top performing District Council in Staffordshire and the West Midlands after scooping a fifth Green Flag award.

The latest award was for Stile Cop Cemetery which has recently undergone improvements and extension works.  As well as retaining Green Flags at Cannock Park, Ravenhill Park, Castle Ring (plus Green Heritage Award) and Elmore Park.

Cannock Chase Council has volunteered to participate in the vulnerable persons scheme (VPR) and has offered to accept Syrian refugee families, as part of an overall offer confirmed with the West Midlands Migration Partnership.

The Council believes that support to refugee families, rather than single individuals, will enable the best outcome with key partners working together to support the housing/educational/social/language and all other needs of the vulnerable persons within this relocation scheme.

Six historic town centre buildings in Rugeley have been improved to support ongoing regeneration and attract new investment as part of a joint programme.

High quality external repairs have been carried out as part of the Rugeley Town Centre Partnership Scheme, meaning they can be brought back into full commercial use. The three-year scheme has been jointly funded by Historic England, which led the project, Staffordshire County Council and Cannock Chase Council. Grants were made available to the owners of the buildings with a total allocation of around £320,000 to the project.