Cannock Chase Council’s Parks, Culture, and Heritage Portfolio Leader, Councillor John Preece, has given an update on the future of the Museum of Cannock Chase in Hednesford.

Speaking at a Cabinet meeting last Thursday (13 July), he made the following statement:

“I would like to update Cabinet on the petition received at the Annual Council Meeting on the potential relocation of the Museum of Cannock Chase, where the Council received a petition with 3,200 signatures asking that it stays in Hednesford. The petition was set up by Darrell Mawle.

Tenants in Rugeley have received over 600 food parcels from Rugeley Foodbank in the last three years.

Cannock Chase Council formed a partnership with Rugeley Foodbank just as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and since then have assisted nearly 2000 adults and children.

 

Cannock Chase Council’s Neighbourhood Officer for Rugeley, holds surgeries every Tuesday at Rugeley Foodbank from 2-4pm for Council tenants.

Cannock’s rich history will soon be just a click away thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Staff at the Museum of Cannock Chase are celebrating following an award of £87,120 which will see Cannock Chase’s history available as a digital online catalogue.

Reacting to this evening’s news from Amazon, Cannock Chase Council Leader, Councillor Tony Johnson said: 

“This is a really sad day for Rugeley and we feel for the workers who will be directly affected by Amazon’s proposal to close the Rugeley site and move operations to a new site in Sutton Coldfield, especially during these challenging economic times. 

“Amazon is the biggest employer in Cannock Chase District with around 1,000 workers, several hundred of whom live locally. This will also impact the town’s wider economy.

To celebrate Insect Week, students from South Staffordshire College, who are studying  motor vehicle studies have been working with Cronimet, a Cannock based company that recycles scrap stainless steel, to make insects and bugs out of scrap metal.

The students have learnt various metal working skills, which have enabled them to produce some amazing sculptures, which will be displayed in the garden of the signal box in Hednesford Park.

Earlier this year, the Council and Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles’ health and wellbeing app ‘Cannock Chase Can’ was shortlisted in the Innovation category for the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards 2023.

The official awards ceremony took place earlier this month in London which saw Cannock Chase Council in partnership with IHL as one of nine local authority entries in the LGC Awards Innovation category. 

Residents living near the park in Barnard Way in Cannock are being given the opportunity to feedback on the design of the new play area which is due to be completed this year.

In January 2023, Cannock Chase Council’s Cabinet agreed to fund improvements to this play area in Cannock.

The costs to deliver the improvements will be met from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds from the Cannock East ward at a cost of £88,000.

As part of its £20 million Levelling Up Fund scheme to create a leisure and cultural hub in Cannock town centre, Cannock Chase Council has made a compulsory purchase order and is now issuing a legal `Notice of Making a Compulsory Purchase Order`.

The notice, which is required to be published in one or more local newspapers for two consecutive weeks, sets out the Council’s intention to acquire 65 parcels of land, all located within the town centre.

A coalition between Labour, Green and the Liberal Democrat parties will run Cannock Chase Council for the next 12 months up to the May 2024 elections, it has been confirmed. 

After the elections on 4 May no single party had overall control on the Council, with the Conservative Party winning 18 seats, the Labour Party 17 seats, the Green Party 5 seats and the Liberal Democrats 1 seat.

The situation was resolved at the Annual Council Meeting held last week when Councillor Tony Johnson from the Labour Party was appointed Leader.