Museum and theatre in Cannock could close due to budget restraints

The theatre was set to be refurbished as part of the ambitious town centre regeneration project being part-funded by a £20m Government Levelling Up grant.

And thousands of residents supported a campaign to keep the popular museum in its current home in Hednesford after plans were put forward by a previous Conservative council administration to consider relocating it.

But on Thursday members of the current Labour cabinet at Cannock Chase Council will consider new proposals to close both venues. 

A report to the cabinet said that the authority was facing a £1.3m gap in its budget for 2025/26 and closing the theatre and museum at the end of April 2025 was being proposed “to put the remaining leisure and wellbeing offer onto a sustainable footing.”

The report said: “Following a turbulent five years for the leisure sector with Covid, high energy costs and a cost-of-living crisis, the council have appointed consultants SLC to carry out a review of the leisure, culture, and heritage provision in Cannock Chase. 

"This review aimed to understand where financial savings could be made within the contract and, how to ensure the sustainability of the leisure, culture and heritage offer going forward.

“Stock conditions surveys were carried out on all the buildings being run by Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles (IHL) to enable the council to understand the condition of the buildings and the maintenance liabilities over the next 10 years. 

"Considering the findings of these two pieces of work, it is currently recommended to close the Museum of Cannock Chase and the Prince of Wales Theatre at the end of April 2025.

“Like all other councils, Cannock Chase has experienced a sustained period of austerity and has had to make savings year on year in order to balance its budget. 

"Savings have been achieved through outsourcing services, stopping, and reducing services as well as sharing back-office functions with Stafford Borough Council.

“The council has undertaken a number of rounds of savings in recent years and is now in a position where it is no longer possible to find further efficiency savings. 

"This has meant the council has had to look at reductions in non-statutory services to balance its budget for next year.”

Closing the museum and theatre would save more than £350,000 a year – and would help safeguard other key services to residents and businesses, the authority has said. 

A four-week consultation is due to start on Friday  “to seek views on what an alternative culture and heritage offer could look like in the district”.

Council leader Tony Johnson said keeping the Museum of Cannock Chase open at its current location was one of the administration’s priorities when he when he took on the leadership of the authority last year.

Speaking this week ahead of Thursday’s cabinet meeting, Councillor Johnson revealed the current proposal for the museum was one of the hardest decisions he had ever been involved in as a councillor. 

He added: “My family association with the site of the museum goes back generations.

“My grandfather worked at the Valley Pit. My place of birth was within a few hundred yards of the location.

“I started my first full time job there when it was the Valley Training Centre – and I did part of my deputy and my shot firing training at the site. It was also in my portfolio as it became the Valley Heritage Centre and then our museum.

“I was the portfolio holder for Leisure and Culture in the late 1990s, early 2000s, when the Prince of Wales was thriving and have enjoyed visiting the theatre on many occasions as a customer or on council business.

“Nobody wants to be in this position – it is an extremely difficult decision to have to make. But alternatives, such as inflation busting taxes that would hit every household, including those already struggling to make ends meet, or reducing or cutting services which many residents and businesses rely on, is not one we want to contemplate.

“One of our top priorities is to be a responsible authority that lives within its means and is accountable for its actions. This means managing the money we receive from the government, residents and businesses prudently to ensure the best outcome for local taxpayers.

“This is especially important to remember when you see other councils across the country effectively going bankrupt and having to shut swimming pools or ask for permission to raise taxes significantly.”