Cannock going upmarket, Jo?

[TheOstrich]

https://www.mcarthurglen.com/en/outlets ... t-cannock/

…. described as "The Bicester of the Midlands" - well, according to the Birmingham Mail

[Workingman]

Does it have the hinterland and population to support it? Why travel 30 minutes from Birmingham which already has plenty of shops?

[JoM]

Yep, it's well underway!

It's dividing public opinion though. Many are for it (I can't wait, it'll save us travelling up to Cheshire Oaks every now and again as it's within walking distance of home and not, for once, on an inaccessible out of town site) but many are against. Their argument being that it'll kill off the town centre. It won't. That for the most part died off years ago, and anyway the clue is in the name - designer outlet village - so it's not as if the likes of Poundland and Jessica's fruit and veg are going to relocate there.
Being right across the road from the railway station too will hopefully see improvements in the service and there are plans to improve the facilities there too (currently we have a shelter on each of the two platforms and a temperamental ticket machine on the 'Birmingham' side).

[JoM]

Does it have the hinterland and population to support it? Why travel 30 minutes from Birmingham which already has plenty of shops?

It's a different thing though Frank. In Birmingham you're paying full price but these are outlets. Like I said above, we can travel up to Cheshire Oaks on the outskirts of Merseyside and still save money, we'd do really well when the lads were younger and we'd buy a lot from the likes of Gap for them. It's quite a regular thing for people from this area to visit there or Bicester.

Currently there's a train which leave Birmingham Moor St and calls at Bicester Outlet Village but that takes over an hour and last time I looked cost around £20, we're around 30 minutes away at the cost of £6 return.

[Kaz]

Frank, I'm sure Jo will do her best to keep it going!

[JoM]

Frank, I'm sure Jo will do her best to keep it going!

I'll try, what with that and the biggest Primark in the Universe which is opening in Birmingham next month I'm going to be busy!

[Kaz]

Our Primark isn't great, so I'm jealous of that new one!

Jo, when the Gloucester Quays outlet opened here we had the same arguments against it. It's only a five minute walk from the city centre - you walk down Southgate, go down some steps, and you are in the Docks - so people were worried about it taking footfall from the city, but it doesn't.

Most of the shoppers in the outlet come in from outside the city, it's full of top brands at great prices whereas the city centre is full of poundshops and empty units, so it adds value rather than taking anything away from the centre. Five minutes away, yet worlds away.

[JoM]

That's what our town centre is like; two Poundlands, loads of opticians, nail bars and barbers and a number of empty units. McArthur Glen have actually given, or are giving, the council a sum of money to go towards improving the town centre.

The new place is about a 5 minute walk out of the town but the company had apparently been on the lookout for somewhere in the West Midlands and this site was chosen because of the transport links and it's close proximity to J11 and 12 of the M6, the M6 Toll starts/ends just a mile away, and that's right by the A5, and then there's the railway station across the road from it. The bus station is in the town centre too.
It's also being pushed as being close to the Chase and I think that the theory is that a family can make a day out of it and combine both. There's also a nature reserve right next to it. Probably like the location of your local one, do some shopping and visit the docks.

[Kaz]

Sounds good