Cannock Chase Cannock Chase
Chamber of Commerce
Council member to
take on marathon A Cannock Chase Chamber of Commerce council member is to undertake his sixth marathon next month. Paul Reeves (pictured), former head of
customer banking, Birmingham, at Yorkshire Bank and currently non-executive director of Morecambe Bay Wines and Spirits, will be donning his running shoes for the 26-mile London marathon on 26 April, in aid of Katharine House Hospice in Stafford. Katharine House provides free hospice care services in mid-Staffordshire for people faced with illnesses which cannot be cured. Mr Reeves caught the running bug shortly after turning 50 in 2014, where he decided to do something special to
celebrate his birthday. Out of his five marathons,
Paul’s best time was in 2015 when
he completed the gruelling trial of fitness in four hours and 34 minutes, and he hopes to complete this year’s marathon in under five hours. Explaining why he has decided to take on
another marathon, and support Katharine House, Mr Reeves said: “To be honest, once you run one you want more. The whole buzz of the occasion gets to you. “Katharine House is special for me as I ran my
first marathon for them and this will be my third time. When I moved down to Staffordshire I wanted to engage with a local charity and give something back to a community which had accepted and adopted me so well. Katharine House just resonated with me as being a local charity for local people.” Mr Reeves is hoping to raise £1,500 for the
charity. LEP announces new chairman
The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has announced the appointment of a new chairman, Alun Rogers. Mr Rogers, an LEP board member for two-and-
a-half years, has succeeded David Frost, who retired last September after five years in the role. The new chairman will head a board with 17
other business and public sector member. Mr Rogers, who co-founded a Stafford-based
IT company in 2005, has been closely involved with the development of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Local Industrial Strategy. This strategy established a framework for
productivity growth across Stoke and Staffordshire during the next decade, and is currently out for consultation. Mr Rogers said: “I stepped up my involvement
in the LEP work last year, taking on the acting chair’s role. I learnt a great deal during the summer while leading a comprehensive review
52 CHAMBERLINK March 2020
of the organisation and its work. We have restructured the board and secretariat, increasing our direct engagement with our business base and civic leaders and working together on our challenges, opportunities and priorities for economic growth. “I now feel ready to take on the role of LEP chairman and am both honoured and excited to be working for the benefit of Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire businesses.” Philip Atkins, leader of Staffordshire County
Council, said: “Alun’s appointment is great news for both Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and we know he will ensure our great county can fulfil its potential. He has served on the local enterprise partnership board for some time now and most recently as acting chairman, so is familiar with the role. He will ensure Staffordshire remains an influential partner in the workings of the Midlands Engine and Midlands Connect.”
Contact: Chris Plant T: 0845 6036650
Chase Chamber Patrons
Indoor market to close ahead of town revamp
The doors of Cannock Indoor Market Hall are set to close for good in November. Cannock Chase Council has been forced into
this decision following dwindling numbers of traders and shoppers. Only 16 traders are currently left at the
market, out of 58 spaces. The council has blamed the situation on changing shopping habits. The surviving traders will be offered the
chance to move to another location, the Prince of Wales Market, or to take a stall in the town’s street market, which will be held on Tuesdays and Fridays from November.
‘Our challenge is to find the best way forward for the town centre’
The doomed indoor market itself will now
become part of the council’s plans to redevelop the town centre. The closure follows a consultation exercise
last October, which was aimed at addressing concerns that the indoor market had become increasingly financially unviable and expensive to maintain, despite regular promotions to attract customers, reviews of trading times and improvements to the market entrance to raise its profile within the town. Council deputy leader Gordon Alcott said:
“As a council we do not like closing facilities used by the public but the reality is that the indoor market, sadly, no longer has a long term
future although markets generally are popular with the public who shop in the town centre. “The reality is that we currently have a
vacancy rate of 42 stalls in the indoor market while the number of people using the facility is modest, meaning it is simply no longer fit for purpose. “We will now offer assistance to traders
who want to explore the alternatives we have provided and are giving stallholders time to consider their options. “The fact is that Cannock is not immune to changes in shopping habits which are happening across the country. Our challenge is to find the best way forward for the town centre, which we are doing through the Cannock Town Centre Development Prospectus we launched last autumn and with it our proposals to test the market for a new cinema and eating outlets scheme. We hope to launch a procurement exercise as part of this, later this year.”
Alun Rogers
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