Councillors vote to demolish Cannock's Prince of Wales Theatre as part of town centre regeneration plan

The theatre was closed in April as part of controversial measures to close a council budget gap.

Planning permission was granted in October for the neighbouring Forum Shopping Centre to be pulled down as part of the regeneration project - and on Thursday cabinet members were asked to “agree to the inclusion of the former theatre within the red line for the regeneration programme with the intention to demolish, subject to planning consent”.

The plans have proved hugely controversial and protesters had gathered outside the council chamber in Cannock ahead of Thursday night's meeting with placards and signs, before taking up seats in the public portion of the chamber for the meeting.

Cannock Chase Theatre Trust had put together a bid for a Community Asset Transfer, which would have enabled the trust to take on the running of the cultural venue. But consultants The Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy, who evaluated the submission, recommended the council should not proceed with the transfer.

Council leader Steve Thornley said at the meeting: "The regeneration of Cannock town centre is the number one priority of this council, this administration and this cabinet. 

"Closing the Prince of Wales Theatre was the hardest decision that members of the council have had to take. We didn’t want to do it but the council has lost so much funding from central government over 15 or more years of austerity that we could no longer afford to keep it open.

"We were encouraged when a group of local theatre enthusiasts wanted to take over the running of the theatre, and we were very disappointed when, despite their best efforts, their bid was not viable.

"We have had discussions with a number of interested parties since the budget decision in March but to date these have not resulted in any other bid to take over the theatre. To refurbish the building to make it safe and watertight and comfortable and attractive would costs millions of pounds and we would need to be convinced that any organisation that wants to take on the theatre could make it a going concern. This is public money and we need to spend it wisely.

"The recommendation we have before us is to include the theatre within the regeneration site with the intention to demolish it, subject to planning consent. It was never intended to include the theatre site as part of the area for redevelopment because we had hoped to invest in it and keep it open. If that proves to be impossible it would be wrong to leave the old theatre building to decay with no chance of opening its doors in the future. We still remain open to a different outcome but time is desperately running out.

"What I am determined about is that Cannock will have a cultural life in the future."

To that some members of the public shouted "where?" One person left the chamber after being asked to "stop shouting".

Councillor Maureen Freeman, portfolio holder for regeneration and high streets, said: "[The proposal] does include the very difficult decision to demolish the former Prince of Wales theatre building, subject to planning, and to include the site in our up-and-coming Development Framework. As the leader has said, refurbishing the building would be extremely expensive and without an operator the building will continue to stand empty."

When the vote was taken, councillors approved the proposal. Groans were heard in the council chamber from the public as the decision was confirmed.

As members of the public left, one was heard to say: "Happy Christmas. How am I going to explain this to my kids?"

Another said: "Worst council ever."