Cannock Chase's new police chief plays down Mill Green crime concerns

Chief Inspector Sarah Wainwright, who took over the reigns as Cannock Chase's local policing commander last month, told the Express & Star that her team has put in lots of preparatory work ahead of the multi-million pound designer outlet village opening, including visiting other similar sites to learn from their mistakes.

Mill Green, which is expected to boast stores such as Ralph Lauren and Superdry, is scheduled to open in the summer of 2019 at a cost of £115 million.

Speaking about the work Staffordshire Police has done to make the designer outlet village safe, Mrs Wainwright said: "I think Mill Green is a fantastic opportunity for Cannock but from our perspective we have been on a fact finding mission just to link in with other areas where they have designer villages because they have gone through planning, crime prevention and through that there are many ways we can be ahead of the game.

"For example Bicester Village used to have alleyways but they learnt they were hotspots in the area for crime so they have gated them. But what we can do is just make sure we have no alleyways from the start. Their cash collections were at the rear and so they were vulnerable, it is things like that.

"We have met with the developers and the council's CCTV team have checked in with them as well. We want to make sure we have some input to help prevent crime rather than just reacting if it does happen.

"It is almost another Cannock when you look at the footfall, so that is why we have been very proactive and got in early with meeting the developers and they have been very amenable. At the end of the day from their perspective if it gets known as an area where you are going to be robbed and lots of crime is taking place then that is not going to work in their favour it is going to put people off."

Asked if the new designer outlet village could become a hotspot for crime, Mrs Wainwright said: "I hope not."