Author: Dom Stevens

Apprentice Emily starts her career at Redbrik

9th August 2018

Redbrik Estate Agents has taken on its first apprentice applicants manager at their Chesterfield office.

Emily Dickerson, 18, has joined the company for a year long apprenticeship where she will gain experience from all areas of the property industry.

At the end of the apprenticeship, Emily will achieve an NVQ qualification in Property Estate Agency – Residential Sales.

Emily said: “I did a week’s work experience with Redbrik in 2016 while I was still at school and I absolutely loved it. I’ve been doing a wide range of duties, including booking appraisals, viewings and providing feedback to vendors, which has been really fun. The team are great, and I’ve learnt so much already so I’m looking forward to the next year.”

Julie Bulheller, director at Redbrik, added: “This is a very exciting time for Redbrik as we experience continued growth and get ready to open our new office in Sheffield City Centre, so we’re delighted to have Emily on board as our very first apprentice.

“She’s picked up the role really quickly and is proving to be a fantastic addition to the Redbrik family. It’s wonderful to see how far she’s come already and I’m certain she will have a very promising property career in the future.”

Posted in Apprentice Town, Business

Ringwood Hall’s new spa awarded 5 Bubbles

8th August 2018

The Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa has been awarded the prestigious 5 Bubble rating for its newly opened Garden Secret Spa – the first to be awarded within Derbyshire in 2018.

The Bubble rating is awarded by the Good Spa Guide which is the expert guide to the best UK spas and treatments. Just 21 spas within the UK have achieved 5 Bubbles during 2018.

This latest accolade for Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa comes just four months after the hotel achieved its 4 Star AA Status.

Meeting a strict inspection covering all aspects of the spa journey, the spa scored top marks in all areas, in particular highlighting the food quality, spa facilities and customer service.

The inspector noted that they loved the impressive gardens, the garden theme and the Lola’s Apothecary treatments, stating: “This hidden gem of a spa embraces nature at every turn, making it a supremely soothing place to escape to. Treatments are unique and professionally delivered, the facilities are top-notch, customer service is great and the gardens are simply stunning.”

Spa Manager, Jemma Whitney said: “I am delighted that the Garden Secret Spa has been awarded the 5 Bubble status.

I think I speak for everyone at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa when I say we are so proud to receive such recognition. To be the first Derbyshire Spa with 5 Bubbles just makes the hard work the whole team have put in even more rewarding.

I am thrilled that the spa spy loved their Lola’s Apothecary treatment, we are the only spa in the UK to have treatments incorporating this brand and we feel honoured to be associated with such a beautiful product”.

The Garden Secret Spa features a Vitality Pool, Herbal Sauna, Foot Spas, Himalayan Salt Sauna, Blossom Steam Room, Ice Fountain, Experience Showers, Relaxation Lounges, 7 treatment rooms and its own Brassiere.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

Chesterfield Theatres new season announced

8th August 2018

Chesterfield Theatres is pleased to announce its Autumn 2018 season.

At the Pomegranate Theatre, highlights include a new adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion from Monday 24 – Saturday 29 September and Salad Days; an absolute romp of polite naughtiness and saucy encounters starring Wendi Peters (Coronation Street) from Monday 24 – Saturday 29 September.

At the Winding Wheel, highlights include G4 Live in concert, Jason Donovan’s Amazing Midlife Crisis tour, the Shaolin Warriors and Dave Spikey’s Juggling on a Motorbike tour.

From Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 November, Chesterfield Theatres is delighted to welcome the return of the hit musical Blood Brothers. The legendary play tells the captivating and moving tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with fateful consequences.

There are also additional cinema screenings at the Pomegranate Theatre, with newly – released films, and satellite broadcasts of performances and events, including from the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera, NT Live, RSC Live, and many others.

100 years since WWI

To commemorate 100 years since the end of World War One, there is an extensive programme of events scheduled for September to November and including The Fulstow Boys, Pack up your Troubles and a stage adaptation of Michael Morpugo’s Private Peaceful.

On Wednesday 31 October, celebrated military historian, Peter Hart will present his fascinating talk The Last Battle: Endgame on the Western Front, 1918. On Sunday 4 and Monday 5 November, a two day film festival at the Pomegranate Theatre showcases some of the best films about the war; including Lawrence of Arabia, War Horse, Regeneration, All Quiet on the Western Front and Oh! What a Lovely War. The series concludes with new play The Eleventh Hour, showing from Tuesday 6 – Saturday 10 November.

For the family

Highlights for families include The Snail and the Whale, Little Baby Bum and Peppa Pig’s Adventure. With a more festive feel, Father Christmas Needs A Wee returns on Sunday 18 November.

This year’s spectacular pantomime is Cinderella, starring Roxanne Pallett (Emmerdale & Dancing on Ice) and Rhydian Roberts (X Factor). Running from Saturday 1 December to Sunday 6 January 2019.

70 years of the Pomegranate

During spring 2019, the Pomegranate Theatre will be celebrating it’s 70^th anniversary with a season of seven plays over seven weeks, and there will be a special season ticket offer – seven plays for the price of four!

The series of plays include Arsenic and Old Lace, Billy Liar, The Killing of Sister George, How the Other Half Loves, An Evening with Gary Lineker, Anybody for Murder and Don’t Dress for Dinner.

For more Chesterfield events visit www.chesterfield.co.uk/visiting/events.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure

Have your say on new housing allocations policy

8th August 2018

Council tenants and people on the waiting list for council housing will have the opportunity to take part in a consultation on Chesterfield Borough Council’s housing allocations policy.

The consultation runs from Monday 13 August to Monday 24 September.

The aim of the new policy is to change the way in which the council allocates council homes to make the system fairer for tenants and potential tenants.

The proposed changes include:

Changing the current requirement for a potential tenant to have been resident in the borough for 12 months. The current policy has resulted in an increase in the number of unoccupied one-bedroom flats
Introducing a risk assessment before letting a property to check if the potential tenant can afford the rent
Limiting the ability for existing tenants to re-register unless there are to changes in their personal circumstances
Replacing the current points based system with a simplified banding system to allocate homes
Allowing pregnant applicants to request a separate bedroom for an as-yet unborn child
Taking into account property or assets owned by applicants
Bringing the policy into line with the council’s current policy on housing adaptations.

Councillor Helen Bagley, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for homes and customers, said: “We are committed to improving the quality of life for local people and the proposed changes to our housing allocations policy would make the system of allocating council homes fairer.

“I’d encourage all tenants and potential tenants to take part and have their say on the changes. All views will be taken into account before the council’s cabinet considers the policy in the autumn.”

All current tenants and people currently on the housing register will receive a questionnaire through the post.

The council will hold four drop-in sessions to offer more information and for people to ask questions, details of which can be found here.

To complete the survey online, visit www.chesterfield.gov.uk/allocations.

Posted in About Chesterfield

UKATA appoints new Chief Operating Officer to drive growth

7th August 2018

In a move to drive growth, Chesterfield-based UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) has appointed Craig Evans to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer.

Formerly the General Manager of UKATA, one of the leading authorities on asbestos training provision in the UK, Craig’s new appointment as Chief Operating Officer (COO) reflects the role he has played in developing the organisation over the last six years.

Established in 2008, UKATA, which is based at Markham Vale, has gone from strength to strength over the last decade and now numbers 180 member organisations throughout the UK.

Craig, who lives in Chesterfield, now takes on the strategic COO role working closely with the UKATA board in an advisory capacity to help the organisation achieve its membership growth aspirations and elevate UKATA’s reputation further within the industry.

Within the newly created role, Craig will also take on more public-facing engagements in order to free up board members’ time and respond to increasing industry demand for UKATA’s services.

The new COO role was announced at UKATA’s Annual General Meeting which marked UKATA’s tenth anniversary, this was followed by UKATA Excellence Awards which were hosted by the Olympic sporting legend Kriss Akabusi.

Commenting on Craig’s appointment, UKATA Chair, Graham O’Mahony explained: “Craig shares UKATA’s drive and focus to maintain and improve the industry’s understanding of the dangers of asbestos and reduce the risks surrounding the material.

“He is a highly respected member of the team and his extensive knowledge of the industry as well as his strategic planning skills will be key in the future development of the association.”

Craig added: “I am delighted to accept the role of Chief Operating Officer with UKATA. Having pushed the association forward over the last six years I am looking forward to further expanding UKATA and developing the team.”

He added: “I am very excited by our future plans to expand further and develop new syllabi in order for members to continue to deliver high-quality asbestos safety training to even more people and ultimately reduce injury caused by asbestos exposure.”

A former winner of Business Person of the Year at the prestigious Derbyshire Times Business Awards, Craig has more than 10 years’ experience in leadership and management roles.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Snetterton success for Perez

7th August 2018

Chesterfield’s Amigos Team Parker racing ace Seb Perez returned to race track action last weekend after the Summer break in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship at Snetterton in Norfolk (28/29 July).

The 18 year old racer stormed to a Porsche ProAm double podium success over the weekend meaning to carry on where he left off at Oulton Park at the beginning of June.

Six weeks ago he travelled to Cheshire circuit with an impressive victory in race one in the Pro Am title, his third win of the season was complemented by yet another podium spot in race two, taking third place after an intense battle for the lead, meaning he left the Oulton Park just seven points shy of the championship lead.

He arrived at Snetterton to take the fastest ProAm time on Friday’s Free Practice session and battling through two tricky races on Sunday to score second place in both, ensuring the ProAm title is firmly within reach with just six races remaining this season.

A frantic Free Practice session in searing heat at the Norfolk track saw both Perez and his Nottinghamshire Team mate George Gamble on form from the very start with Gamble third quickest and Perez taking second fastest ProAm.

Perez would pip Gamble in the second session of the day and take quickest ProAm in the process but neither Team Amigos driver could convert that to grid positions in qualifying on Saturday after having a struggling session.

Gamble would start the opening race on Sunday morning in fifth with Perez down in 11th and fifth ProAm.

Fantastic work and Set up changes by the Team Parker Racing outfit overnight on Perez’s Porsche would address balance issues and a much cooler track, coupled with damp conditions and a late change onto wet tyres inspiring both drivers to push for the race one.

Snetterton’s three-mile-long circuit saw spins galore across the tightly weaved pack of 23 cars and Perez was aimiing high after his low start on the grid.

By the opening lap, he had moved into third ProAm driver and one of the closest battles of the race ensued. After making his way to second, a lunge passed Jamie Orton saw Perez take the lead and a thrilling duel to the flag began, with Perez only losing out on the final lap to take second by 0.199sec.

Drier conditions for race two saw battles just as close across the pack as they were in the race one, Perez and Orton picked up where they left off in the first outing and a nose to tail battle over the 14 laps resumed.

Gamble would repeat his race one form to take sixth leaving Perez to look for another podium and that’s what he did, his second podium of the weekend, bagging essential points for both his ProAm and Rookie campaign.

“I’m really happy with the weekend,” said Perez on the final podium of the day.

He added: “It’s been a really close run thing in the ProAm category throughout the day so in terms of points, we have ensured that we’ve come away with a healthy haul. I really enjoy the close racing like today and I think if we had a few more laps we could have taken Jamie (Orton) in race two so it shows the pace is where it needs to be. I’m certainly aiming for one step higher on the podium at Knockhill though”.

Perez leaves Snetterton in second place ProAm and second place Rookie driver behind team mate Gamble

Amigos Team Parker Racing retains its second place in the Team Championship as the season heads North in just under a months time at the Knockhill Racing Circuit near Dunfermline for rounds 11 and 12.

Editorial and Images by Paul Horton Motorsport Media and Photography

Posted in About Chesterfield

Chamber delivers ‘importance of exporting’ message in new videos

6th August 2018

The East Midlands Chamber’s Head of International Trade, Laura Howard, has appeared in videos designed to encourage exporting.

They were shot by David James, a specialist in business and strategic communications and producer of the UK Export Advice podcast, with the support of East Midlands Airport.

In each of the videos, Laura talks about the help the Chamber can give to companies looking to increase sales by moving into overseas markets.

The videos were filmed to coincide with the airport’s announcement of record-breaking quantities of freight handling in the year ending March 2018.

In the previous 12 months the airport, Britain’s busiest for dedicated freight handling, saw almost £10bn worth of non-EU goods pass through it and in total 358,477 tonnes of cargo were exported or imported through the airport – 9.7% higher than the previous year.

Laura appears alongside Sir John Peace – Chairman at Midlands Engine, Ian Harrison – Director of Exports at the Department for International Trade, Adriaan Vickery – Chair of the Board of Directors at the East Midlands International Trade Association and Howard Ebison – Commercial Director at East Midlands Airport.

Also featured in the videos are Dr Nik Kotecha, Chief Executive at Morningside Pharmaceuticals and Chair of the Chamber’s Brexit Business Advisory Group, and Ximena Shelton, Director at Shelton’s Coffee. Both businesses are Chamber members and exporters.

One of the points Laura makes in the videos is that the Chamber is a vast “network of businesses, many of which have already gone down the export route and are more than willing to share, peer to peer, their knowledge and experience of the export journey”.

Laura said: “Britain is currently a net importer of materials, goods and services. It would significantly help our balance of payments if we could become a net exporter and there are huge opportunities on the global stage for those willing to take the first step and explore overseas markets.

“If you have a product or service to sell, why restrict yourself to small domestic markets when there is so much help available to steer you through your exporting journey.”

To see the videos, visit here for advice on how to get exporting, here for the Morningside Pharmaceuticals and Shelton Coffee case studies and here for East Midlands Airport’s freight handling story.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Karen Child sponsors community stand

6th August 2018

Long-standing sponsor Karen Child has agreed a new stand sponsorship deal with Chesterfield FC.

Karen, who previously sponsored the South Stand, is sponsoring the East Stand at the Proact Stadium, which will now be known as the Karen Child Community Stand.

Commercial Manager Jim Brown thanked Karen for her generous support. He said: “Karen’s backing is very much appreciated and I am delighted that she has agreed to sponsor a stand again.”

Karen, founder of The Child Foundation, which supports children and their families who require specific care, said: “I enjoy being involved with the club and I like helping the community so it made sense to put my name to the Community Stand. There’s a positive mood around the place and I’m looking forward to the new season!”

Posted in About Chesterfield

Accreditation for Chesterfield Museum

2nd August 2018

Chesterfield Museum, which is owned and operated by Chesterfield Borough Council has had its accreditation renewed by Arts Council England.

This means that the popular attraction on St Mary’s Gate has high standards both for visitors and caring for objects in its collection.

These include:

Collections are cared for to a high standard to ensure that they are around for people today and in the future and are well documented
Making the museum accessible and widening its range of visitors through exhibitions, events and outreach and educational activities
Using different methods to suit visitors such as hands-on activities and talks as well as written information
Providing a variety of learning and discovery experiences
Working with different partners.

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy said: “Each year thousands of people visit the many and varied exhibitions and activities at Chesterfield Museum and feedback we receive is positive.

“I’m proud that the museum has had its accreditation renewed and would like to thank our staff for the hard work they have put into this over the last two years.”

Receiving the accreditation means the museum can continue to apply for funding from organisations such as Heritage Lottery Fund and Museums Development East Midlands.

Over the last year, the museum has held a variety of exhibitions including Chesterfield on tap looking at the history of Chesterfield’s breweries and mineral water manufacturers, Other Stories in partnership with LGBT+ Derbyshire celebrating stories from LGBT+ communities, and the Vikings.

The current exhibition, Park Life, exploring the borough’s parks and open spaces runs until 15 September.

The museum also holds regular events including the Lego Play Day, Meet George Stephenson and behind the scenes tours. To look at the current programme, visit: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/museum.

Chesterfield Museum is open each Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm – admission is free.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Latest Chesterfield housing development opens showhomes

2nd August 2018

A new housing developments in Derbyshire is set to launch this weekend ─ Saturday 11^th August from 11am ─ as triple HBF 5 star housebuilder, William Davis Homes puts the finishing touches to two fabulous showhomes ahead of the event.

The fabulous Skylarks development, on the northern edge of Chesterfield, will feature two beautiful four bedroom showhomes ─ the Severn and the Lydden ─ each distinctly designed to offer the very best in modern family living and both providing the focal point of the large visitor complex; featuring a dedicated options suite, delightful garden meeting areas and a sales centre.

William Davis is returning to Chesterfield for the first time in more than five years. Skylarks will feature a range of two to five bedroom homes in 15 different designs and layouts in a carefully planned and landscaped environment.

Stephen Rush, sales director at William Davis Homes commented: “We’re excited to be making our return to Chesterfield after five years. Skylarks’ occupies prime position on the edge of the town, benefitting from local shops, schools and amenities, yet it’s easily commutable to neighbouring Sheffield.”

You can find out more about the development at www.williamdavis.co.uk/developments/skylarks.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development

Improvements to Chesterfield’s A61 Whittington Moor Roundabout

1st August 2018

Local residents are being invited to have their say on plans to improve a major roundabout in Chesterfield.

During August local people will be able to find out more at exhibitions which will show the proposals to improve journey times and reduce accidents on the A61 Whittington Moor roundabout.

The events are being held at Whittington Moor Methodist Church Hall, Scarsdale Road Chesterfield on:

Saturday 4 August – 10am to 2pm
Monday 13 August – 4pm to 7pm
Monday 20 August – 5pm to 8pm
Thursday 23 August – 12pm to 3pm

The proposals are to install traffic lights on all six junctions of the roundabout and close off the entrance to the roundabout from Dunston Road to all traffic apart from buses. Traffic will still be able to leave the roundabout onto Dunston Road.

Traffic lights will also be put at both ends of Sheepbridge Lane.

Councillor Simon Spencer, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said: “There are long delays at peak times at the Whittington Moor roundabout and with more developments planned for the local area journey times are only going to get longer.

“The roundabout also has a high rate of accidents and we need to do all we can to reduce this.

“Doing nothing is not an option so we’ve developed some proposals for significant work which will improve journey times along the A61 and cut the number of crashes.”

Councillor Spencer added: “We do recognise that those who get onto the roundabout from Dunston Road will have slightly increased journey times but we feel there is really no other option to improve Whittington Moor roundabout. The scheme has been agreed in principle but we’d still like local people to let us have their views of our proposals.”

The work is expected to cost around £5m and is being funded from the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (D2N2 LEP). This is a partnership organisation of local councils, businesses and other organisations, which takes the lead on major infrastructure projects.

A feedback form for comments will be available online from Saturday 4th August from at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/whitmoor

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q. Why is Derbyshire County Council improving the roundabout?

A. The A61 is a main road between Chesterfield and Sheffield and the most important junction in the north of Chesterfield. It is very busy and will become even busier in the next few years due to planned development nearby. This will increase traffic further onto this roundabout.

The number of minor collisions at this roundabout is relatively high – 35 injury accidents in the last five years. These are because of speeding vehicles and the short gaps between traffic wanting to get on to the roundabout.

Congestion in and around the roundabout is also high, causing significant delays. Queues can tail back over half a mile on the A61 meaning the road becomes unreliable with standing traffic; in turn this is causing accidents.

The roundabout is used by many different road users including businesses, schools, residents and commuters. The safety and reliability of journey times for all road users is a top priority for this council.

Q. Why is the speed of the traffic on the roundabout too high?

A. The roundabout is very large giving time for vehicles to accelerate and build up their speed before turning off.

Q. Why is there so much congestion?

A. Because traffic on the roundabout at peak times is fast and heavy there are only small gaps in the traffic for drivers to get onto it. This means vehicles have to wait, causing queues, especially during weekday morning and afternoon rush hours.

Q. Why are you proposing to put traffic lights on the roundabout?

A. The aim is to create bigger gaps in the traffic to reduce queuing and allow people to join and leave the roundabout more safely. We think the best way to do this is with traffic lights. It is proposed that priority be given to traffic travelling to and from Sheffield as this is the route with most traffic.

Q. Why is the proposal to close Dunston Road?

A. Because the proposal is for six sets of traffic lights, one set for each junction, and the roundabout is large it still wouldn’t leave much room for traffic to wait at the lights. To keep the traffic moving more freely the plan is to restrict traffic on one of the minor roads to reduce the number of vehicles wanting to get onto the roundabout. Dunston Road has been selected because it will have the largest impact on clearing traffic. This is because a large amount of traffic from the A61 and Sheffield Road passes by Dunston Road to get on to the A61 north towards Sheffield.

Q. How do you know traffic lights will solve the problems?

A. We have used professional design consultants who specialise in developing road schemes using traffic modelling techniques. These consider the existing layout and potential options, in this case, to reduce the number of accidents and congestion. Of the solutions that were considered, the proposal for traffic lights, was the one thought most likely to work.

Q. Is there no other option than to close Dunston Road?

A. We did look at other options including opening up other roads, only closing Dunston Road at peak times or tolerating long queues. Our modelling suggests that restricting traffic along Dunston Road, except for buses, will mean traffic will still be able to use Scarsdale Road to get to the doctors, school, church and businesses.

Q. Where do I go if Dunston Road is closed?

A. If you want to go north you can use the A61 junction at Sheepbridge. Our proposal is to put traffic lights at both ends of Sheepbridge Lane to improve traffic flows along here and Dunston Road. Southbound traffic will be able to use local roads with Racecourse Road and Stand Road linking to Sheffield Road.

Q. How much will this work cost and who is paying?

A. These improvements are expected to cost around £5m and be funded through the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership (D2N2 LEP). This is a partnership organisation of local councils, including Derbyshire County Council, with the bulk of the cost coming from businesses and other organisations that take the lead on major infrastructure projects.

Q. When will these roundabout improvement works start?

A. Work is likely to start in spring 2019 and be complete by the end of autumn 2019 during the better weather and before the busy Christmas period. Where possible work will take place overnight and at weekends to minimise disruption, noise and dust during normal working hours.

Chesterfield at night

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development