Following the devastating impact coronavirus has had on Cannock Chase District, in common with other areas, the Council’s Cabinet has agreed a framework for recovery which will be key to the Council, local economy and the community all moving forward.

It has been agreed that `Supporting Recovery` will become the overarching priority for the remainder of its Corporate Plan covering 2018-23 and four key areas of focus have been identified: economic recovery, community recovery, the Council’s financial recovery and the Council’s organisational recovery.

The owner of the former Rugeley Power Station site, ENGIE, has submitted a revised planning application for the redevelopment of its site which includes the addition of either an All Through School (ATS) serving nursery pupils up to post 16 students or a stand alone primary school, along with new sports provision for both school and community use.

The revised outline planning application made to Cannock Chase Council and Lichfield District Council follows the granting in January 2020 of outline planning permission by both councils for the mixed-use redevelopment of the site.

Urgent work to tackle health and safety concerns on the closed multi-storey car park in Cannock Town Centre is set to begin on Monday and is due to last a couple of weeks subject to weather conditions.

During a recent safety inspection of the multi-storey car park, it became clear that some of the fixings of the cladding panels on the external façade were found to be coming loose. Remedial action is therefore required to protect the public who might be passing close by.

Cannock Chase Council officers have been working hard to process the emergency grants received from government to help eligible businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first payments were made on 6 April and it expects the vast majority of these grants to have been paid by the end of the month.

As of 15 April, the Council had made grant payments to businesses in the District worth £9 million, representing 40% of the anticipated number of eligible payments.

Cannock Chase Council has served prohibition notices on two pubs in Hednesford after people were found to be drinking in contravention of the regulations introduced by government at the end of last month.

Following a complaint received about people gathering in a pub, officers from Staffordshire Police entered the first premises on the afternoon of 28 March and discovered a number of people drinking within it. Following further enquiries, a similar notice was served on another nearby pub in the town.

As Cannock Chase Council prepares to make its first Business Support Grant payments after receiving funding from government, it is warning against a number of business scams that have been brought to its attention.

A district councillor was contacted by three businesses saying they had received phone calls purporting to be from the Council in which shop owners were asked for their bank details over the phone to enable them to have a grant payment paid direct in to their accounts.

Cannock Chase Council is focusing on providing the most essential services to residents and businesses as it deals with the current challenges.

With most staff working from home in line with government guidance this has changed the way the Council is delivering some of its services and has resulted in the Council having to suspend other services.

On a daily basis it is updating its website www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk and Facebook (search Cannock Chase Life) and Twitter (@cannockchasedc) sites on service information,  

An E-commerce fulfilment and last mile distribution service provider that has recently set up in Cannock has donated 10,000 free fluid resistant surgical face masks to Cannock Chase Council with 5,000 FFP2 standard face masks for NHS clinical use to follow.

Super Smart Service Limited based at Kingswood Lakeside in the town works closely in partnership with a large global logistics enterprise Zongteng Group headquartered in China, the country which has been at the forefront in fighting the coronavirus epidemic.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM MARCH 2020. Normal pay and display rates are in operation [this note added 21 December 2020]

Cannock Chase Council has lifted the pay and display requirements on its Brunswick Road Hospital car park in Cannock.

The car park adjacent to the hospital will have its pay and display requirements lifted until further notice for NHS workers and members of the public using the hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Chase Leisure Centre is celebrating achieving the ‘Excellent’ rating in the Quest UK Quality Scheme for Sport and Leisure for the third time running.

Run by Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles on behalf of Cannock Chase Council, Chase Leisure Centre has been not only achieved ‘Excellent’, it has appeared in the top five in the country for performance.