The redevelopment of Cannock town centre and hopes of building a new Prince of Wales theatre are at serious risk.

Bosses say the multi-million pound plan is now unlikely to happen for a number of years.

It had hoped to sign a deal with a developer to demolish the Prince of Wales theatre, market hall and multi-storey car park and replace them with a modern shopping complex and new theatre.

But the scheme has been thrown into doubt because Cannock Chase Council hasn’t got the cash it needed to attract a developer.

This is partly due to the failure to gain planning permission for the sale of Cannock Stadium, as the council hoped to use £4million from the sale of the stadium as a contribution to a new theatre.

Without this cash any developer is unlikely to volunteer to build a new theatre and the economic recession is making companies think twice before sinking millions of pounds into new projects.

Council leader Councillor Neil Stanley reckons this was another consequence of the stadium decision.

He said: “Clearly, as a result of the Government’s decision on stadium site, the £4million funding is no longer available and so the development is at risk.”

Head of regeneration at the council Bob Phillips added that the report would consider a replacement theatre option.