In 2003, the country’s first pay-as-you-drive motorway opened, with a junction (T7) at Churchbridge, just a mile from Cannock Town Centre. This brought about significant economic and transport benefits to the District and has been a major factor in the success of a key employment site (Kingswood Lakeside) due to its proximity to both M6 Toll (Junction T7) and the M6 motorway (Junctions 11 and 12) which attracted many distribution companies.

Acknowledged as one of the centres of enterprise on the rim of the West Midlands, the District has a number of distinct advantages from a business point of view – a central location with excellent access to the national road network, a stable workforce with a pool of skilled labour, competitive costs and a good quality of life.

Although much of the investment has been in business projects there has also been a large amount of projects aimed at improving the quality of life for the community.

There has been a recent increase in the housing stock in the Cannock Chase District with a mixture of new private, affordable and Council houses being built in Lime Pit Lane and Green Lane, which is a huge benefit to the local community and area.

There has also been redevelopment of the leisure facilities in the district; Cannock Leisure Centre has been refreshed with a multi-million pound investment to include a state of the art gym and a new swimming pool with a moveable floor. Hednesford has also seen large levels of investment from the national lottery to build the 2 storey Hednesford Pavilion Cafe, a new skate park and replace the children’s park with new equipment.

Shopping in the District has also seen an improvement recently, with big brands such as TK Maxx, The Range and Sports Direct investing in the area, giving shoppers a wider range of choice. The shopping offer will improve further with the opening of the Mill Green Designer Outlet Village which is programmed to open during 2020.

Cannock Chase was designated as the smallest AONB in England and Wales at 68sq m (26 square miles) in 1958 because of its beautiful landscape, its wildlife and its history. It is one of the region’s most popular and accessible beauty spots; attracting walkers, mountain bikers, naturalists, picnickers and those just looking to enjoy its rural beauty and peace & quiet.

There is a wide variety of commercial space available in the District ranging from office space, workshops to large industrial space. Over the years the District has seen multiple international businesses set up home here, including: Amazon, DHL, JCB and Finnings.
 

Kingswood Lakeside

Kingswood Lakeside is situated in a prime location adjacent to the M6 Toll Junction T7 at Churchbridge just to the east of Cannock town centre and 21 miles north of Birmingham City Centre. With its close proximity to the M6 motorway (Junctions 11 and 12) and direct access to the A5 and A34 there is unrivalled access to the national motorway network.

The Existing Employment Areas Assessment (2011) identifies Kingswood Lakeside as one of the key, highest quality employment sites in the District for ‘B’ use classes to include Warehouse, Industrial and Offices. As a result of its location the site is nearly full and has seen multiple speculative builds gain planning approval which are available for Leasehold or Freehold and are currently under construction along with many purpose built commercial property investments being made too. 

Rugeley Power Station
Rugeley Power Station was a series of two coal fired power stations located to the east of Rugeley adjacent to the River Trent traversing the boundary between Cannock Chase District and Lichfield District. Rugeley Power Station A was decommissioned and demolished in 1994 with residential development still ongoing to replace the facility.

Rugeley Power Station B was commissioned to work alongside Rugeley Power Station A in 1970. It was announced in February 2016 that due to deterioration in market conditions the Station would cease operating and it closed in June 2016.  The Station and its supporting infrastructure are currently being decommissioned with demolition to follow. It is anticipated demolition will commence in 2018 and take up to two years.

The overall aim for the 155 hectare brownfield site is to develop the land for a minimum of 800 homes, employment use, power/storage production, along with supporting infrastructure, including a school, open space, play facilities and public art. The site is ideal for a housing and business development with access to two railway stations and its close proximity to the countryside. It is envisaged that the new development will become a popular residential neighbourhood and place of work, creating a network of pedestrian and cycle routes and open spaces which connect the site with the surrounding area and respond to the local context.

Cannock Chase Council and Lichfield District Council ran a joint consultation on the future of the Rugeley Power Station Site. The consultation ran from Monday 24 July to Monday 4 September 2017 and the two local authorities asked people from both Districts to have their say on how the site should be developed in the future.

Mill Green Designer Outlet Village

Mill Green Designer Outlet Village (MGDOV) secured planning approval in September 2016 and an aim to start construction in early 2018.  The outlet village will provide a high quality, sustainable development with approximately 130 retail units, restaurants, play area and visitor centre along with ample free car parking.  MGDOV will be the home of big brands currently only found at Bicester Village, Cheshire Oaks and Birmingham and will become a regional shopping destination attracting around 3.5 million visitors per year. 

The joint venture of U+I, Rioja Developments and Aviva Investors on behalf of Aviva Life & Pensions, Richardson Family Property Business and McArthurGlen will see a combined investment of more than £160 million in the project with the development spanning 26,500 sq. m (285,000 sq. ft.) in two phases and includes improvements to local roads. McArthurGlen will run the new outlet which is expected to create more than 1000 jobs when it opens Phase 1 in spring 2020.

Phase I will feature over 80 stores plus restaurants and cafes, a children’s play area and 1,400 parking spaces.

Gestamp location – Wolverhampton Road

Gestamp Tallent, who are relocating to a new £70 million site in Four Ashes, has submitted plans to turn its factory on Wolverhampton Road in Cannock into 180 homes and 30,000 sq. ft. of industrial space. There are also ambitions to create a state of the art skills/training academy based at the site.