New plan to smarten up Cannock town centre before designer outlet opens
Almost £100,000 will be spent smarting up Cannock town centre to attract visitors heading for the new £160m designer outlet.
Work on the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet West Midlands is gathering pace with the shopping destination opening in September.
Now councillors want to ensure the town centre is looking its best to welcome potential visitors brought into the town by the outlet.
Around £53,000 will be spent on improvements on the 'dated' outside of The Prince of Wales Theatre, say Cannock Chase District Council.
And there will be a further £31,000 spent on a painting sites in the town.
The council says £8,500 will be spent on a new graffiti art scheme which will also see roller shutter doors improved for council-owned empty units.
And there will be £1,500 spent on updating display cabinets in and around the town centre.
The authority wants to have the improvements carried out before the opening to attract some of the millions predicted to visit into the town centre.
In a report going to the meeting it says: "There is a need to make sure the existing town centre looks as welcoming as it can, even if only a small proportion of the predicted growth of three to four million per annum visitors, to the outlet, carry out a dual trip in to the town centre."
If approved, the £94,000 will be spent on putting updated maps and promotional material in and repairing display cabinets and painting welcome signs.
Around 1,000 jobs are expected to be created at the shopping village, which will feature around 80 brands, restaurants, cafes and 1,400 car parking spaces.
George Adamson, the leader of Cannock Chase District Council, has labelled the development “the best thing to happen to Cannock in decades”.
Cannock Chase Council's cabinet is set to discuss the plans on Thursday.
