Hope for Cannock town centre upgrade

Multi-million pound plans to redevelop Cannock town centre could still go ahead with major clothes retailers Debenhams and Next expressing an interest.

Councillor Neil Stanley, leader of Cannock Chase Council, is still hopeful that the development on the site of the multi-storey car park and market can continue despite the woeful current economic climate.

The plans were put on hold in 2008 following the credit crunch.

Councillor Stanley says Debenhams and Next had showed an interest in coming to Cannock but were reluctant to commit to the town at the moment due to the economic situation.

But he is adamant the plans will receive lift off in the future and believes the development would be fantastic for the town in giving it an economic boost.

Councillor Stanley said: "A number of retailers including Next and Debenhams have expressed an interest in coming to Cannock.

"At the moment there are no solid plans due to the current economic climate but they are waiting to come into Cannock when the time is right.

"We believe that when the development does take off it will it will have a domino affect with more and more major retailers wanting to come to Cannock.

"At the moment the plans have been put on hold but they have not been forgotten. Admittedly we are still some way off before anything solid can be put on the table."

The plans would see the relocation of the Prince of Wales Centre and market.

The Prince of Wales theatre would be demolished along with market hall and multi-storey car park and replaced with a modern shopping complex and new theatre.