About Chesterfield

Live theatre returns to Chesterfield

Chesterfield Borough Council is pleased to announce that Chesterfield Theatres will again be hosting live performances from October.

The first three live shows scheduled to take place are part of the Autumn Play Season, which takes place from Tuesday 13 October until Saturday 14 November at the Pomegranate Theatre. Customers will be able to purchase tickets to all three plays for the price of two. The tickets will go on sale from Friday 4 September.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The return of live performances to the council’s theatres represents another step forward in Chesterfield’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.”

“I know the team have worked hard to make this possible and we very much look forward to welcoming our regular theatregoers as well as lots of new customers to our Covid-19 secure theatres.”

The three plays for the Autumn Play Season are Love Upon The Throne, Dead Certain and Live Bed Show. Each play will feature two different performers, drawn from the same social bubble, in order to help limit contact with other performers and audiences.

The Pomegranate Theatre is already open for cinema screenings and council staff have received lots of positive comments from customers about the safety measures that have been put in place.

The council has also followed the latest Government and UK Theatres guidance on how to re-introduce live performances to ensure the safety of performers, theatregoers and staff.

Tickets for the first three live shows and for other live performances as well as tickets for cinema screenings can be booked on the Chesterfield Theatres website: www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

When booking tickets online, customers can also spoil themselves by pre-ordering tasty treats including ice creams, sweets and drinks at a reduced price. Snacks and drinks can also be purchased when attending the Theatres, but staff will only be accepting card payments.

The Pomegranate Theatre and The Winding Wheel Theatre are owned and operated by Chesterfield Borough Council.

Chesterfield Borough Council has secured £35,000 from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund to support the re-launch of the Pomegranate and The Winding Wheel theatres.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Please note our images were taken prior to the Coronavirus pandemic

Posted in About Chesterfield, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Elliot Mather raises thousands for Ashgate Hospicecare

Elliot Mather Solicitors has raised a total of £14,000 for Chesterfield charity, Ashgate Hospicecare.

The impressive fundraising figure is the result of a year of company raffles, as well as many team members taking part in the Sparkle Night Walk and local events such as the Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon.  The money will help Ashgate Hospicecare to offer a vital range of therapy and support services on site for patients with life-limiting illnesses, as well as family members.

Alan Grant, Chief Operating Officer at Elliot Mather Solicitors said: “As a company, we believe that it is important to give back to the local community. Our Chesterfield office has been supporting Ashgate Hospicecare for several years and we find it amazing how their events bring people together in solidarity.”

“We are thrilled to have raised such an amazing amount of money for such a worthy cause and it is because of the dedication of our team that we have been able to do this.”

“Although the coronavirus pandemic has affected many fundraising events, this will not affect their determination to continue fundraising. They are looking forward to what the next 12 months will bring for them!”

Elliot Mather Solicitors and Ashgate Hospicecare support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Home

Growth for Chesterfield e-commerce firm leads to doubling warehouse space

A growing Chesterfield e-commerce firm is more than doubling its warehouse operation to 102,000 sq ft in an expansion move to a prime industrial site at Markham Vale.

Xbite, which ships products around the globe, has taken a multi year lease on a warehouse at Markham Vale J29a M1, as part of ambitious expansion plans for the growing company which was set up in a back bedroom 16 years ago.

Xbite was started at home in 2004 by Nick and Keely Whitehead retailing video games online. In 2012, it built its own premises in Barlborough and reached a £23m turnover.

The firm, which currently has a £42m turnover, will move immediately to the 102,000 sq ft warehouse, reconfiguring its current 45,000 sq ft base at Barlborough into an office for its 130 employees.

Xbite has taken on 24 staff in the last three months, and expects to recruit another 50 staff by Christmas and expand its executive team. It operates brands including 365 Games, Roov.co.uk, Maison & White, Pukkr and Shop4.

Nick Whitehead, Managing Director at Xbite, said: “We have outgrown our much loved 45,000 sq ft unit at Barlborough and needed a warehouse that had the space and setup required to deliver our current and future objectives.”

“Markham Vale will enable us to deliver a better work environment for all our warehouse operatives, not only will we have the space needed to deliver better performance, there is enough space to ensure that social distancing is easier for everyone to adhere to, which we expect to be around for a while yet.”

“The increase in online shopping plus our diversification from computer games and DVDs into home and gardenware has seen unprecedented growth for us. Our homeware website Roov.co.uk is where our future growth will come from, enabling this expansion of premises and creating jobs.”

Rebecca Schofield, Head of the Yorkshire industrial team at Knight Frank and sole agent on Markham Vale, said: “This warehouse is ideal for a business that needs to hold and move products quickly across the country as its location at Junction 29a of the M1 allows easily access to South Yorkshire, the East Midlands with direct connectivity to the M1, and subsequently the M18, A38 and further afield.”

Markham Vale has proved a huge success with existing occupiers including Great Bear, Smurfitt Kappa, Ferdinand Bilstein, Gist, Meter Provida and Holdsworth Food.

For further information on Markham Vale click here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Featured, Home

New three storey menswear store opens on Chatsworth Road

Independent menswear retailer Master Debonair has opened Chatsworth Road.

The three-storey store has undergone a recent refit, with casual wear on the ground floor, suits and accessories on the second floor and a private showroom on the top floor.

Offering affordable menswear with a full range of jeans, chinos, shoes, accessories, shirts and suits. The summer collection includes shorts, short sleeve shirts and t-shirts and the top floor of the building is a private showroom where wedding parties, large groups or one to one appointments can use.

Founded by husband and wife team Simon and Eve Whitaker in 2016, the award-winning company now employs 25 people across its two stores, offices and distribution centre.

Simon Whitaker of Master Debonair, said “There’s a wide range of independent shops, restaurants and coffee shops to explore just a few minutes from the town centre on Chatsworth Road and it’s the perfect place for us. We have done a full refit of the building, uncovering as many original features as possible and adding a few of our own.”

“We don’t think there are any other stores quite like ours in Chesterfield and we hope the local community love it. As well as our full range of clothes and accessories we offer 1 to 1 personal styling, custom tailoring and wedding services for the guys.”

Master Debonair won Best Independent Menswear Business in 2019. Master Debonair’s North East store won the ‘Best Independent Menswear’ title at the Drapers Independents Awards 2019, which took place in London in September.

Master Debonair was named Best New Business by Drapers in 2017 and was shortlisted in four categories for the 2019 awards, receiving more nominations over the years than any other independent retailer in the country.

“Our customers are often shocked at how reasonable our prices are,” Simon added. “We want to give people confidence in the clothes they wear and the service we offer really is exceptional.”

The new store can be found at 270 Chatsworth Road, Chesterfield, S40 2BH. Master Debonair is also available to order online via their website. You can also find them on social media.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Witchcraft & Wizardry mystery adventure game comes to Chesterfield

Grab your wands and cloaks, the wizarding world is coming to Chesterfield in an all-new spell-binding Witchcraft and Wizardry adventure event.

Players will embark on a mysterious and magical journey into a world of witchcraft and wizardry plagued by dark magic, where teams of 6 muggles will compete to locate virtual witnesses, crack clues and defeat the darkest entities in the realm.

CluedUpp Detective Days are like giant, outdoor escape games. This spell-binding outdoor adventure game will take your team on a mysterious and magical journey across town. Work with your team-mates to crack the clues, solve the puzzles and save the realm.

CluedUpp’s founder, Tref Griffiths said “Due to the success of our previous games, we wanted to create something completely different and otherworldly. We’re big fans of all things fantasy here at CluedUpp, take the biggest names in fantasy such as Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. We thought it was about time we created our own magical mystery within this genre.”

Taking place entirely via the CluedUpp smartphone app, all you need in order to take part is a phone and a team of 6 fellow witched or wizards to compete in the race to unravel the mystery on September 19th 2020.

Tickets for the event are on sale now. For more information and how to book, click here.

Images by CluedUpp Games.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Derbyshire schools prepare to reopen

Schools across Derbyshire are preparing to reopen their doors next month to all pupils.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home

‘Chesterfield in Lockdown’ exhibition looking for contributions

Chesterfield Museum is currently working with a number of local organisations in order to put together an exhibition that conveys different experiences of ‘Chesterfield in Lockdown’.

The Museum team are appealing to the local community to get in touch with stories, memories, images and items that express their experiences during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Organisers hope that by working with local people, community groups and organisations, residents can come together to share memories of lockdown and isolation.

They are also keen to include the stories of key workers who have kept Chesterfield and the UK going during this unprecedented crisis.

There are three main areas of the upcoming exhibition which the team are seeking submissions for:

Photographs

  • Images that you’ve taken on your mobile or with your camera during this time or anything that you feel is an image of ‘Lockdown in Chesterfield’ (signs, queues, empty parks or streets)
  • Images of what has helped you cope with Lockdown (nature, your garden, cooking, reading, screenshots of chats with friends and family online).

Items & Keepsakes

  • Artworks, pictures, paintings, models, textiles – any projects that you’ve embraced and focused on. For example, all the rainbows created.
  • Items and objects that will always remind you of this time / period such as home-made mask, walking shoes, toilet roll, bottle of hand gel

Stories and Thoughts

  • Your thoughts about the past six months and ‘Lockdown’ expressed through diary extracts, blogs, poems, letters, emails.
  • Anecdotes & little stories of some of the things you’ve experienced.

If you would like to contribute to this exhibition please contact the Museum Collections Team via museum.collections@chesterfield.gov.uk or rachel.fannen@chesterfield.gov.uk

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

New Chesterfield FC senior management roles announced

Two key appointments have been made to strengthen the senior management team at Chesterfield FC.

This news follows the recent sale of Chesterfield FC to Chesterfield FC Community Trust.

John Croot, Chief Executive of Chesterfield FC Community Trust, takes up the same role at the club while Andy Fantom has been appointed as chief finance officer.

Commenting on the appointments, Chairman Mike Goodwin said: “John Croot played an important role in the Community Trust’s decision to purchase the football club after previously playing a crucial role in saving the club from folding in the past.”

“Having worked closely with John at the Community Trust, he has done a fantastic job as the Trust’s chief executive and he has the full support of the board to take charge of the day to day running of the club.”

“John has a wealth of experience, having first joined the board in the 1980s and his passion for the club shines through. He was urged by the trustees to remain on the board under the previous ownership as he is well respected in the town and in football. His knowledge and contacts are invaluable.

“It was also important that we brought in someone to closely control the club’s finances and Andy Fantom fits the bill perfectly.”

“Andy will be known to many after helping to set up the CFSS, who rescued the club following Darren Brown’s spell as owner. His commercial experience includes managing banks and building societies and his financial acumen will be vitally important.”

John Croot. Photographer: Gray Hughes

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure

Chesterfield squash courts and 3G football pitches to reopen

After successfully reopening gyms, swimming pools and fitness classes, Chesterfield Borough Council is pleased to announce that squash courts and 3G pitches will be re-opening to the public from Tuesday 1 September.

Initially those customers who had regular bookings prior to closure will have the opportunity to continue their booking, which will be open to new customers once existing customers have had the opportunity to confirm their bookings. If you are an existing customer, the leisure team will contact you directly.

Councillor Jill Mannion-Brunt cabinet member for health and wellbeing said: “Lots of people get their weekly exercise from playing squash or five a side football and it’s really important that we can help people exercise more by restarting these sports at our facilities.”

In order to safely reopen these facilities, the council has followed industry specific advice issued by England Squash and the English Football Association. As part of the restrictions for reopening, you can only play with people in your household or social bubble. You must also bring your own equipment in order to play.

There are several other guidelines in place. Find out more here: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/leisure-centres-re-opening (opens in new tab)

Booking can be made by calling Queen’s Park Sports Centre on 01246 345555, emailing qpscenquiries@chesterfield.gov.uk or for squash using the online booking system here (opens in new tab).

Queen's Park artificial sports pitch

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

GCSE students at Chesterfield College celebrate results

Students at Chesterfield College were celebrating GCSE success today after receiving the grades they need to progress with their studies and their careers.

The college supports students to improve or refresh the English, maths and biology GCSE grades they left school with. Many students study these subjects at the same time as studying vocational courses to boost their qualifications to help open up new career opportunities or options for higher level study.

Classes at college offer different ways of studying to a school environment to help students reach this goal. With smaller class sizes and a more practical approach to learning, students can develop the skills they need in new ways. This year, more students achieved their goal of a grade 4 or above across all three subjects compared to the previous year and 100% of biology students received the grades they needed.

After an anxious wait and an unusual end to the academic year, many students came back to college to collect results. They were eager to find out if their hard work and extra study had given them the results they needed.

Stephanie Bealing, was really happy when she opened her results to find she had the grade 4s she needed in English and maths. She said: “I started crying when I opened the envelope, I just couldn’t believe it! I’ve been getting 2s since I first did my GCSEs in 2017, every year I’ve resat and got 2s, it’s never been different until today. It’s been really hard this year as well so I didn’t expect to get these results, I’m so pleased that I’ve jumped up two grades.”

“The grade 4 in English and maths means that I can finally start my Level 3 plumbing here at college. I had to study an extra year to prove that I was capable of studying at Level 3 so getting these grades today makes me feel so much better. At the start of the pandemic I started giving up a little bit, I was shockingly bad at studying at home on my own, I missed having that social interaction and I was getting stressed when I didn’t understand something but my tutor Edie has been really supportive. We’ve had so many Zoom calls, she’s always been there for me. Now that I’ve passed, it’s given me hope again that I can be the plumber that I want to be. Then eventually I want to become a fully qualified gas engineer.”

Stephanie Bealing

Kieran Marriott, has put so much effort into his studies on the Kickstart programme so he was delighted when he opened his envelope to discover he had achieved a grade 5 in English. He said: “I am overwhelmed to be honest. I started college with a grade 2 in English and after a year at college I have got a grade 5. When I got my results after school I was devastated and I felt like I had let myself down. Now I’ve got it I feel like I can go on to do what I want to do now. I want to be a forensic scientist so I am coming back to college in September to study Public Services.”

Kieran Marriott

Jama Holden was very pleased to find out he had achieved a grade 5 in Maths: “The tutor support throughout my journey so far has been fantastic. With all of their support I’ve finally got there and achieved the grades I need. Next steps for me could well be a GCSE in Biology which I’m excited about. After 20 years in Royal Mail I finished work due to ill health and eventually decided to return to learning on the Access to HE for Health Professionals. Whilst it was daunting at first, that didn’t last long as I quickly realised how wonderful the support is here as well as the facilities and I’ve even become a Rep on the Students’ Union committee. The overall experience has really helped me regain my confidence.”

Jama Holden

David Malone, Deputy Principal officer at Chesterfield College said: “I am incredibly proud of all the students who have worked so hard to develop their maths, English and biology skills, often alongside other studies, juggling work and family life. We know how important these skills are to help people progress and secure a positive future in so many different careers.”

“It is wonderful to hear that so many of our students have been successful. I know many people collecting results here today may have had more than one attempt to get these qualifications and it is a testament to their resilience and determination that they now have the grades they need to progress. I hope it also demonstrates to school leavers, who might not have got the grades they were hoping for today, that they can achieve the grades they need alongside their other studies here at college.”

“Our message to anyone receiving GCSE results today, after the difficult few months and unusual circumstances surrounding exams, is that whatever your results it is vital to start the next stage of your education in September. We want to reiterate that their college place is safe and we are ready to get their learning off to a great start.”

A team of college advisors will be available to help GCSE students work out the best option for them, with a range of ways to access that support including:

  • over the phone on 01246 500500
  • via email at advice@chesterfield.ac.uk
  • via live chat on the college web site (available between 9am-5pm on results day)

The college has also reassured school leavers that applications are still open and there is still time to secure a place to start in September.

For more information visit the chesterfield College website here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Featured, Home

Designer Contracts shortlisted for National Business Award

Designer Contracts, a nationwide flooring company based in Chesterfield, has been named as a finalist in the prestigious Lloyds Bank Business Awards.

The company has been shortlisted for the bank’s ‘Mid-Market Business of the Year Award’ with the winner being announced in November.

Peter Kelsey, MD of Designer Contracts, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be in the line-up for Mid-Market Business of the Year! We’re up against some tough competition, but to be recognised in such a well-known, high profile event, in what has undoubtably been a challenging year for many, is a credit to our business and its people.

“In the midst of the pandemic, we’ve had a number of success stories and were able to complete our planned move to a larger head office in Chesterfield – almost four times the size of our previous premises. We’ve also welcomed a number of new customers and continued to service our existing clients – thanks to our huge stockholding – which has been a blessing to many!

“We’re looking forward to the next stage of the awards process – which will include a Zoom interview with members of the judging panel in early September, before finding out our fate at the awards ceremony in November!”

Designer Contracts continues to enjoy significant and consistent growth and is on track to deliver an £80 million turnover as part of its five-year plan. It posted a 23 per cent growth at its previous end of year figures for the year to October 31 2019, boosting turnover from £38 million to £46.7 million.

Designer Contracts operates across 15 regional outlets throughout the UK and is now fully compliant with the UK government guidelines on managing the risk of Covid 19 – and has been certified as a ‘Covid Safe’ employer.

Designer Contracts supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Designer Contracts New HQ Coney Green landscape

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Featured, Home