Demolition of Cannock shopping centre approved - but Prince of Wales Theatre is safe
A former shopping centre in Cannock town centre is set to be pulled down – but council officers have stressed that the neighbouring Prince of Wales Theatre will not be demolished as part of the work.
Work to demolish The Forum Shopping Centre in Cannock is due to start soon, Cannock Chase Council has said, while work to take down the old multi-storey car park nears completion.
On Wednesday (October 15) the council’s planning committee gave the green light for the demolition of the shopping centre. The site was bought by the authority in February, as part of wider town centre regeneration plans, and will contribute to the footprint for future development.
Concerns had been raised about the extent of the demolition work, because the neighbouring Prince of Wales Theatre building was included within the application area detailed in reports. On Wednesday planning committee members were told this was because the theatre site included an access required for demolition work on the shopping centre, and there was a ramp that needed to be severed.
Council officers clarified that the theatre building itself was excluded from the proposed demolition works, and extra condition was added to the permission to strengthen this position.
Mike Kehoe of C&D Demolition Consultants, who spoke at the meeting, has also been involved in the work to pull down the multi-storey car park. He said: “The great thing about the theatre and the Forum is they’re completely independent buildings – there’s a two-inch gap and there’s no joining steelworks or brickwork.
“Once we have put the scaffolding in we can bring it down by hand. No big machinery is going to be going on.
“The theatre is not in this application; we will not be demolishing the theatre. Once [The Forum] is demolished we will waterproof the back of the theatre.”
The committee was also told that measures would be taken to minimise noise from the demolition site while services, such as weddings and funerals, were being held at the nearby St Luke’s Church. Mr Kehoe said: “We have already spoken to the church.
“[Demolition work] will be behind scaffolding and you will see a white screen at all times keeping the dust in. With the multi-storey car park we have managed to divert 97 per cent of the material away from landfill – the only thing we were unable to divert was the asbestos element.”
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Maureen Freeman, portfolio leader for regeneration and high streets, said: “I’m really pleased that the next phase of work to transform Cannock town centre can now get started onsite. While progress on the demolition of the multi-storey may appear slow, it’s important that strict health and safety requirements are met and this same high standard will be applied to The Forum.”
Council leader Steve Thornley added: “This is another key step in our regeneration programme. Removing The Forum opens more space for future investment and development opportunities.”
