Cannock Chase councillors feel misled over plans to demolish a town centre theatre that closed last April.
In October, Cannock Chase District Council’s planning committee gave the green light for the Forum Shopping Centre in Cannock to be demolished as part of regeneration plans.
Officials had clarified at the time that the neighbouring Prince of Wales Theatre would be kept out of the scheme, and a condition was added to strengthen its protection.
However, at the December 4 cabinet meeting, members voted to include the venue within the regeneration project’s boundaries, stating the theatre would be demolished “subject to planning consent.”
On Tuesday, the council’s economic prosperity scrutiny committee called for the cabinet’s decision to be referred back for review.
Councillor Darrell Mawle, who tabled the motion, described the situation as “quite shocking” and said there wasn’t enough evidence to justify moving ahead with demolition.
“There has been no clear social and economic impact assessment to support the decision to demolish it, and there hasn’t been a thorough process to explore alternative options for continuing the theatre’s operation,” he asserted.
Fellow scrutiny committee member Samantha Thompson, who also sits on the planning committee, said there was substantial optimism about the Prince of Wales Theatre and felt “conned.”
Thompson added: “We were given a condition that the Prince of Wales would be protected, and it seems like people were simply telling us what we wanted to hear. I find that very disappointing; I feel let down and a bit hoodwinked.”
The 427-seat venue closed as part of cost-saving measures aimed at addressing a £1.3 million shortfall in the council’s budget.
In September, the cabinet voted against transferring the theatre to the Cannock Chase Theatre Trust (CCTT), despite a local residents’ campaign supporting the move.
At the time the shopping centre application was filed, scrutiny members heard that the decision not to transfer the theatre as a community asset to the CCTT had not yet been made.
This report was compiled by Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service bodies.
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