Prince of Wales Theatre

Significance

The Prince of Wales Theatre opened in 1984 as a replacement of the town’s former theatre, The Forum (originally the Hippodrome Theatre). Part of a large town centre complex, the theatre itself sited between the Market Hall, which is now vacant, and a large car park which was closed due to structural concerns. The building is owned by Cannock Chase District Council and was operated by a charitable leisure trust.

The theatre has a seated capacity of around 427 and is the only cultural facility in its area. It offered a varied programme that included a mix of theatre, comedy and live music from touring companies as well as local groups.

Why is this theatre at risk?

The theatre was added to the Theatres at Risk Register in 2025.

Faced with a £1.3m shortfall in its 2025 / 26 budget, Cannock Chase Council commissioned a review of its leisure, culture and heritage provision to find savings. Unfortunately, the report failed to capture the essential benefits of the theatre to residents of Cannock including the effect on health and wellbeing, and its positive impact on the local economy. A survey of all council-owned leisure services buildings to assess the council’s future maintenance liabilities recommended closure of the Museum of Cannock Chase and the Prince of Wales Theatre at the end of April 2025.

The council was willing to consider bids from community groups to take on the building and Cannock Chase Theatre Trust, a community organisation formed due to the threat to the theatre, took part in this process. Unfortunately, the detailed assessment process led to a recommendation to not proceed with the group’s bid as it was felt that its business plan was not developed enough. This was disappointing as, even with Theatres Trust’s expert guidance, the process and timescales did not give sufficient opportunity for Cannock Chase Theatre Trust to fully develop its plans.

With no other potential operators coming forward, in December 2025, the council voted in favour of demolishing the theatre as a part of the Town Centre Regeneration programme and despite further examination by the Economic Prosperity Scrutiny Committee, this decision was upheld. No planning application has been submitted yet.

This is a huge change around in the theatre’s fortunes. It had previously been considered a key part of the Cannock town centre regeneration project which received £20m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund. The original proposal included provision of a new cultural hub with a two-screen cinema, a bar and restaurant and refurbishment of the theatre, including some necessary maintenance and repair work to the theatre’s roof and to its heating system.

Theatre potential

The Prince of Wales Theatre is a valued cultural facility within Cannock with visitor numbers reported as over 70,000 per year.

It hosted a mixture of touring shows, local amateur dramatics groups, musicians, local performing arts schools and children’s dance groups. It also played a crucial role in providing inclusive performance opportunities, particularly for groups supporting neurodiverse performers, and has been instrumental in preserving local heritage through original productions about the area's mining history and wartime experiences.

There is no other local cultural provision, and the closure has left many community groups without a space to perform and audiences without access to live performances. The proposed demolition of the theatre will also significantly impact the town centre's vitality and night-time economy.

The Prince of Wales has much local support, with an online petition to save the theatre gathering more than 21,000 signatures and the fundraising campaign by Cannock Chase Theatre Trust raising £27k before pausing. Cannock Chase Council’s own public consultation provided evidence that the theatre was valued by the public, which was acknowledged by the Cabinet.

Current situation

As detailed above, the Cabinet voted to demolish the Prince of Wales in December 2025. However, there was a further turn of events when on 21 January 2026, Cannock Chase Council voted against the proposed update to the capital programme for local regeneration work. This has effectively blocked the funds required to demolish the theatre.

Meanwhile, a member of the community has instigated a judicial review of the demolition decision, with proceedings ongoing.  The primary ground for the review is the council's failure to properly discharge its Public Sector Equality Duty in respect of a venue known for supporting neurodiverse performers. Cannock Chase Theatre Trust is publicly supportive of the proceedings.

Local elections in May 2026 have led to Cannock Chase Council changing to no overall control, which brings further uncertainty to the fate of the Prince of Wales. Theatres Trust is using this opportunity to continue to make our case to the council to give more detailed consideration to plans for the Prince of Wales. We have offered support to Cannock Chase Council to ensure that the necessary evidence is gathered to robustly assess the financial, social and economic impact of the venue and its closure, and due diligence delivered before any final irreversible decision on the future of the theatre is made. We have also requested that the council run a national tendering process for the future operation of the theatre.

Expert analysis carried out on our behalf shows the costs of upgrading the existing theatre would be significantly less than demolishing and building a new theatre of the same scale, as well as having less environmental impact, and protecting an established, well-loved community facility.

Theatres Trust is confident that there can be a viable future for the Prince of Wales and we will continue to seek to engage with the council to make the case for fulfilling the original ambition for a brighter future for Cannock Town Centre with an improved and enhanced Prince of Wales Theatre forming an essential part of the Levelling Up vision.

Main photo, The Prince of Wales, John M; Auditorium courtesty of theatre.