Two Staffordshire councils will be sharing nearly all their services after the proposals were overwhelmingly approved by councillors this week.

The move is aimed at improving services to residents and businesses in Stafford Borough and Cannock Chase District while saving local taxpayers around £1.2 million.

The business case for sharing has also been given the seal of approval by the Local Government Association (LGA) - the national organisation which supports local authorities - who said it was “compelling” and had been “well researched and evidenced.”

News Release from the Local Government Boundary Commission for England

New boundaries are being proposed for council wards in Cannock Chase Council.  

The Local Government Boundary Commission wants to hear what residents and local organisations think about the proposals. A 10-week consultation on the proposals will run until 6 February 2023. 

Two Staffordshire councils are looking to share their top teams in a move aimed at saving taxpayers’ money and improving services.

The proposed move is the first stage in sharing more services between Cannock Chase District Council and Stafford Borough Council.

But leaders of both local authorities stress that the councils will maintain their individual identities - meaning elected members will still be in control of decision making for their respective councils.

Nearly three months on from the Commonwealth Games mountain biking event at Cannock Chase Forest, local organisations are calling on mountain bikers to respect this well-loved landscape as more cyclists head to its forest and heaths to take a ride.

Forestry England, working with Cannock Chase Council and Birmingham 2022, hosted the event back in August at Cannock Chase Forest. There has been an increase in cyclists riding on the Chase since the intermediate level Perry’s trail was launched in May that formed part of the Games’ trail. 

Cannock Chase Council is running a series of drop in sessions during October to provide information to local residents about its £20 million Levelling Up Fund scheme for Cannock town centre.

The drop in sessions will provide an opportunity for residents to find out more about the Levelling Up Fund project and residents will also be able to complete a survey to submit their views about it.

Cannock Chase Council are consulting on their Local Validation List which is required for all planning applications. 

The Local Validation List (LVL) provides guidance about the level and type of information which is required to be submitted with a planning application. The requirements are proportional to the scale of the proposal.  

Local authorities are required to publish the LVL checklists they use to validate the planning applications they receive.  Due to changes in legislation, policy and guidance the Government requires that LVL are reviewed every two years.

A critical stage has been reached in the development of Cannock town centre following the awarding of £20 million of Levelling Up Fund money by the Government nearly 12 months ago.

With considerable `behind the scenes` work taking place in recent months, Cannock Chase Council now needs to take its next steps, legally and formally with all and any affected parties, and begin a process of land acquisition around the town centre’s disused and unsightly former multi-storey car park and towards Church Street. 

Cannock Chase Council’s Cabinet have agreed to adopt the refreshed Economic Prosperity Strategy, which was presented at their meeting last night.

The Council published its Economic Prosperity Strategy for 2020-2030 in January 2020.  However, due to economic changes, and the fact that the Council has refreshed its Corporate Plan, it was felt necessary to update the Economic Prosperity Strategy.  

Local businesses that did not qualify for rate relief funded by the Government to help them get through the COVID-19 pandemic are being invited to apply for new rate relief support as part of a further allocation of money received by Cannock Chase Council from the Government.

The funding, available now, is from the Government’s COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund known as CARF.