Officers from Cannock Chase Council visited hundreds of businesses over the Easter bank holiday weekend to check that those required to be closed were complying with the law. 

Across the District officers visited places including shops, restaurants, gyms, nail bars, pubs, hotels, hair salons, playgrounds, cafes, churches, betting shops, tattooists, and car showrooms and none of them were found to be open illegally.

Council Officers were also on hand to give advice and support to places that are allowed to remain open including takeaways and certain shops.

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.

Residents of Cannock Chase have been leaving messages of thanks attached to their bins, thanking refuse crews for their hard work and dedication during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bin men completing their collections have been overwhelmed by the brightly coloured pictures and messages of thanks and have even been left gifts such as Easter eggs as thanks for their hard work.

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.

Cannock Chase Council would like to reassure residents that waste and recycling collections, including the brown bin collections are continuing as normal in the District during the COVID-19 outbreak for the time being.

Council officers are talking daily with our contractors Biffa and updates are being posted daily on our website and social media pages.  Should there be any disruption to the service, due to operatives being taken ill, this will be posted on our website; Facebook and Twitter accounts as early as possible.

Cannock Chase Council will be processing Government grants to support local businesses across Cannock Chase District during the COVID-19 emergency.

Cannock Chase Council will be locking car parks located next to parks until further notice, from tomorrow (Friday 27 March).

Following reports of members of the public congregating in Council owned public spaces, we have taken to decision to close the gates to car parks at Cannock Park, Cannock Stadium, Hednesford Park, Heath Hayes Park, Elmore Park, Ravenhill Park (Armitage Road only), Hazelslade Nature Reserve and Castle Ring.

Cannock Chase Council has trialled its first remote Planning Control Committee meeting with 15 members dialing in to make planning decisions during COVID-19.

The national planning system is experiencing extreme disruption as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, but Cannock Chase Council is continuing to operate its service and continue to make decisions.