About Chesterfield

The Tickled Trout provides meals for frontline NHS staff

The Tickled Trout, a Gastro pub & restaurant based in Barlow, has brought together local businesses in order to provide meals to the frontline NHS staff at Chesterfield’s Royal Hospital.

The staff have teamed up with Chesterfield Community Food Hut to cook restaurant-quality meals and together with their suppliers Delitalia, Highfield House Farm and Country Fresh Foods, they are supplying portioned meals for the NHS workers in the ICU and Covid-19 wards.

Any surplus meals are donated to the Chesterfield Community Food Hut, a project that coordinates donations, identifies people in need and arranges essentials to be distributed to them.

Chris Mapp, Owner of The Tickled Trout said: “We vaccum packed it into portions so that they could either have them on a break or just take them home after work.”

He added: “We hope it helps them when and if they find time to have a break and refuel or just to take home after their gruelling day so they can have some respite. We are already doing hampers for our local community with the addition of Owen Taylor to the other suppliers which is working really well but we collectively wanted to show our gratitude to the incredible staff and medics who are working hard to save lives and will no doubt have very little time to relax and cook, never mind go shopping! Dear NHS, this is on us. Thank you.”

You can hear Chris talking more about their work to support the NHS in a video on the The Tickled Trout Facebook page.

They now plan to expand their meals service into other nearby hospitals such as the Sheffield Northern General Hospital.

Click here to find out more about The Tickled Trout

Images credit: Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS FT & Royal Primary Care

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

Derbyshire County Council waives Trusted Trader member fees

Fees are to be removed for businesses and individuals registered with the Derbyshire County Council  Trusted Trader scheme.

Following the outbreak of coronavirus, Derbyshire County Council has made the decision to waive fees to the scheme for all current members for 12 months. Members of the scheme pay a yearly fee of either £75 if they are sole traders or social enterprises or £110 for all other businesses.

The scheme, which has more than 1,000 members, was set up to help Derbyshire residents find honest and reliable traders who commit to doing a good job for a fair price, and to protect older and vulnerable adults by making it easier for them to avoid falling foul of rogue traders.

Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Health and Communities Councillor Carol Hart said: “We know this is an anxious time for many businesses and sole traders and we are working hard to support them however we can.”

“We greatly value our Trusted Trader members and one way we can help them is by waiving the fees to the scheme for the next 12 months.”

“We realise that in some cases this may not make a huge difference to their finances, but I’m sure they could all do without any added expense at this time.”

“We will be contacting all our Trusted Trader members in the next few days to let them know about this change.”

Click here to be taken to our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Business Support Page

Meet the buyer

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

Chancellor announces support for innovative firms hit by coronavirus

UK businesses driving innovation and development will be helped through the coronavirus outbreak with a £1.25 billion government support package, the Chancellor announced today (20th April).

Rishi Sunak said the targeted and tailored help would ensure firms in some of the most dynamic sectors of the UK economy – ranging from tech to life sciences – are protected through the crisis so they can continue to develop innovative new products and help power UK growth.

The comprehensive package includes a new £500 million loan scheme for high-growth firms, called the Future Fund, and £750 million of targeted support for small and medium sized businesses focusing on research and development.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, said “Britain is a global leader when it comes to innovation. Our start-ups and businesses driving research and development are one of our great economic strengths, and will help power our growth out of the coronavirus crisis.

This new, world-leading fund will mean they can access the capital they need at this difficult time, ensuring dynamic, fast-growing firms across all sectors will be able to continue to create new ideas and spread prosperity.”

Alok Sharma, Business Secretary, said ” The UK is a world leader in innovation and at this hugely challenging time, we know that young, fast-growing firms require tailored support to see them through.  This wide-ranging package delivers important help that will protect some of the most dynamic sectors of our economy.

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, said ”  We are the tech and creative capital of Europe, and it’s crucial to maintain our place. This funding will protect high growth businesses and enable the unicorns of tomorrow to thrive so that tech is in pole position to drive our post COVID recovery. The £500 million Future Fund has been designed to ensure high-growth companies across the UK receive the investment they need to continue during the crisis.”

Delivered in partnership with the British Business Bank and launching in May, the fund will provide UK-based companies with between £125,000 and £5 million from the government, with private investors at least matching the government commitment. These loans will automatically convert into equity on the company’s next qualifying funding round, or at the end of the loan if they are not repaid. To be eligible, a business must be an unlisted UK registered company that has previously raised at least £250,000 in equity investment from third party investors in the last five years.

The government is committing an initial £250 million in funding towards the scheme, which will initially be open until the end of September. The scale of the fund will be kept under review.

The £750 million of targeted support for the most R&D intensive small and medium size firms will be available through Innovate UK’s grants and loan scheme.

Innovate UK, the national innovation agency, will accelerate up to £200 million of grant and loan payments for its 2,500 existing Innovate UK customers on an opt-in basis. An extra £550 million will also be made available to increase support for existing customers and £175,000 of support will be offered to around 1,200 firms not currently in receipt of Innovate UK funding. The first payments will be made by mid-May.

This package builds on the government’s existing support for innovative, high-growth firms including the £2.5 billion British Patient Capital fund, the upcoming £200 million Life Sciences Investment Programme, internationally competitive R&D tax reliefs and our major commitments to increase public R&D spending to £22 billion by 2024-25.

For information about national and local support you can also visit the Destination Chesterfield Corona Virus Business Support Page.

We are supporting local during the Corona Virus, check out how you can support local businesses who can deliver to your home, keep you entertained and offer support for your business.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Home

Government launches new coronavirus business support finder tool

A new ‘support finder’ tool will help businesses and self-employed people across the UK to quickly and easily determine what financial support is available to them during the coronavirus pandemic.

The new online platform helps businesses easily access the financial support they are eligible for during the coronavirus pandemic.

Access the platform here

A simple questionnaire takes business owners under a minute to complete and will signpost them to relevant government financial support.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said “Businesses of all shapes and sizes play a vital role in our economy, which is why we want to make it as easy as possible for all of them to access our wide-ranging package of financial support during this challenging time.”

This online questionnaire takes just minutes to complete and will quickly signpost a business to the loans, grants or other schemes they could be eligible for.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said “We’ve launched an unprecedented package of support to protect jobs, businesses and incomes during these challenging times.

Millions are already benefitting and this new online tool will allow firms and individuals to identify what help they are entitled to in a matter of minutes.

We are doing everything we can to make our support as accessible and as easy to navigate as possible.”

To support business, workers and the self-employed during the coronavirus outbreak, government has:

  • Made up to £330 billion of loans and guarantees for businesses
    offered to pay 80 per cent of the wages of furloughed workers, up to £2,500;
  • Deferred the next quarter of VAT payments for firms, until the end of June – representing a £30 billion injection into the economy;
  • Introduced £20 billion in tax relief and cash grants to help businesses with cash flow;
  • Introduced the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes for both SMEs and larger businesses to make it easier to access vital financial support;
  • Offered to cover the cost of statutory sick pay;
  • Entirely removed all eligible properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector from business rates temporarily;
  • Introduced the Self-employment Income Support Scheme, offering a taxable grant worth 80% of trading profits up to a maximum of £2,500 a month;
  • Deferred Self Assessment payments due in July 2020 until 31 January 2021;
  • Allowed companies required to hold AGMs to do so flexibly, which may include postponing them or holding them online;
  • suspended wrongful trading provisions for company directors to remove the threat of personal liability during the pandemic;
  • Offered a 3 month extension for filing accounts to businesses hit by coronavirus.

For information about national and local support you can also visit the Destination Chesterfield Corona Virus Business Support Page.

We are supporting local during the Corona Virus, check out how you can support local businesses who can deliver to your home, keep you entertained and offer support for your business.

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

Countywide effort to deliver emergency food parcels

More than 400 emergency food parcels have been sent to residents in need across the county, with more to be delivered, as part of an ongoing scheme led by Derbyshire County Council.

Derbyshire County Council are working with district and borough councils and local voluntary organisations, to supply food to:

  • people advised by the NHS to self-isolate because they are at high risk of severe illness from coronavirus due to an underlying health condition and who have no friends or family to call on for support
  • people with underlying health conditions or aged over 70 who have been advised by government to minimise social contact and who have no friends or family to call on for support
  • people and households who are required to socially isolate for a period of 7 or 14 days due to having symptoms of coronavirus and who have no friends or family to call on for support
  • people experiencing financial hardship and therefore unable to buy food

Leader of Derbyshire County Council Councillor Barry Lewis said: “We know people are struggling as a result of the coronavirus either because they can’t go to the shops themselves and have no one around who can help, or because of the financial strain due to being laid off, furloughed or self-employed.”

“This is and just one of a package of measures we’ve put in place to support our residents at this difficult and challenging time and we’re doing all we can to get emergency supplies to the people who need it most as part of our Derbyshire Community Response Unit.”

The council are providing food supplies with the initial delivery supplemented by central government and packaging donated by Amazon.

People who have requested help and have been advised by the NHS to self-isolate can request a basic food parcel free of charge. All other groups can order one for a cost of £25 per box. Individuals with means to pay will be invoiced £25 per parcel at a later date to help continue to provide the service for others in need.

Food parcels are packed centrally in premises loaned free of charge by the Chatsworth Estate and delivered to people’s homes in conjunction with district and borough councils and voluntary sector organisations. The contents of the boxes are generic and provide food for one person for a week.

Councillor Lewis added: “At times like this, communities, councils, businesses and the voluntary sector need to pull together and I’m immensely proud of the efforts being made to ensure support reaches people who have no friends and family to call on to help them.”

“I’d like to thank all the volunteers around the county playing a vital role in making these deliveries as quickly and smoothly as possible, to Amazon for supplying the packaging and to the Chatsworth Estate for providing a base for our logistics hub free of charge and at short notice. This really is what Derbyshire Spirit is all about.”

Anyone who does not have any family or friends to call on to help with shopping can request an emergency food parcel online or call the Community Response Unit helpline tel: 01629 535091 on Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Please be aware that phone lines may be busy.

Since launching at the beginning of April, the Community Response Unit has dealt with requests for help from more than 2,000 people in need of essential services – such as delivery of food and prescriptions – because they have no friends or family who can help.

Other measures Derbyshire County Counil have put in place to provide food to those who need it include:

  • £100,000 grant to Foundation Derbyshire to support and strengthen food bank provision across Derbyshire. The donation was made from the £1 million fund to support local communities through the coronavirus pandemic we announced on 12 March 2020.
  • Supporting 200 schools to provide 4,000 hampers for pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals. Schools are buying these hampers from us to pass on to those pupils who are eligible for free school meals. Other schools are providing their eligible pupils with vouchers, or meals on site. Schools have decided which option is appropriate for them and their pupils.

There are 23 food banks in Derbyshire and there are donation points in supermarkets across the county. They are run by charities and non-profit organisations and mainly run by volunteers, and they provide a minimum of 3 days’ emergency food and support to people experiencing a crisis.

Derbyshire’s food banks are located in Ashbourne, Belper, Bolsover, Buxton, Chesterfield, Clay Cross, Glossop, Heanor, Holmewood, Ilkeston, Killamarsh, Langley Mill, Littlemoor, Long Eaton, Matlock, New Mills, Ripley, South Normanton and Swadlincote.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home

Chesterfield tea-blender collaborates with local traders to launch gift hamper deliveries

Gail Hannan, owner of Chesterfield-based Cup & Saucer, is collaborating with local businesses to produce tailored gift hampers that can be delivered to those who are isolating.

Cup & Saucer, who blend and sell quality loose tea with a Peak District twist, won the title of Food Producer of the Year at the Chesterfield Food & Drink Awards 2018. The company has traded at various markets & events and expanded in early 2020 by opening their own shop.

The shop is temporarily closed but now offer online sales and local contact-free delivery. Gail realised this was not an option for many of her fellow market traders so contacted a number of local companies in order to offer support and promotion.

Gail said: “It has all happened really quickly, but the gift hampers are proving to be really popular with our customers! I am working closely with many food & drink producers who I have met primarily through local markets, to create bespoke hampers for people to either order for themselves as a treat in isolation, or to send as a gift to a loved one.”

“Our most recent hamper aimed at chocoholics sold out within a day of advertising! This includes products from ourselves; Rate Good Brownies; Cacoa Elora; Jades Delights; Urban Flamingo and Homemade at Haslemere.”

She added: “It’s actually a really great opportunity for us to showcase our products to a wider audience. It obviously won’t change the fact that this will in no doubt be a devastating year for our businesses, but I am determined to not let this destroy what has taken me so much time and energy to build.”

Hampers include a Totally Tea Hamper, a Chocoholics Dream Hamper and two Derbyshire Producers Gift Hampers and can be ordered directly through the Cup & Saucer website. For a full list of products, or for more information, visit www.cupandsauceronline.co.uk/shop

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Featured, Home, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield, Visiting

151 new houses to be built next to Chesterfield’s Walton Hospital

A deal to build 151 houses at a site adjacent to Chesterfield’s Walton Hospital, 62% of which will be affordable housing, has been secured by Vistry Partnerships.

Vistry Partnerships has exchanged contracts with Homes England on a portfolio of six developments that will provide more than 570 new homes across England, of which more than 400 will be affordable homes.

Vistry Partnerships has been working closely with Homes England to agree a flexible and pragmatic approach for these sites to ensure that housing delivery continues in spite of the impact of Covid-19.

Chief Executive of Vistry Partnerships, Stephen Teagle, said:“It’s a challenging time for the housebuilding and construction industry, so I am delighted that we have secured these six new housing sites. We have developed a successful partnership with Homes England and are already providing many hundreds of homes together; these new developments will add to that partnership, providing hundreds of affordable homes.

“Thanks to our agile business model and a collaborative approach with Homes England to accelerate delivery, we have been able to identify solutions which will enable us to progress as soon as possible. We know that the demand for affordable, quality homes remains high and we are very well placed to get these underway as soon as we can.”

Preparatory work, including the progression of planning applications for the sites in collaboration with Homes England, will commence immediately by Vistry Partnerships employees who are working from home in compliance with the Government’s current health and safety guidance.

Work on the project is expected to start in early 2021.

Images credit: Vistry Homes / Vistry Partnerships

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

Derbyshire key workers asked for their views on bus services during coronavirus outbreak

NHS staff and other key workers are being asked by Derbyshire County Council how changes to bus services are affecting how they get to work.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Home

Chesterfield Borough Council staff redeployed to support the community

Chesterfield Borough Council has reprioritised and reorganised staff resources to ensure essential services are maintained and to deliver additional community response activity to support Chesterfield residents and businesses at this difficult time.

In the community, staff have been redeployed in support of local pharmacies to deliver medicines to residents’ homes, have made regular food parcel deliveries to those in need, and are working with local community groups and charities to support a range of activities. Staff have also been redeployed around the council to support the rollout of small business grants, to work at the crematorium and to help ensure the Careline service can keep running for the benefit of the borough’s elderly residents.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “I’m proud of the way our staff have quickly responded to this crisis and the way in which they are continuing to adapt to new roles and responsibilities as required. It’s really important that we use all our resources to effectively support the local community and any residents who may require additional support, especially those who are particularly vulnerable at this time.”

Staff have been learning new skills in order to support essential service delivery. For example, some of the Town Hall’s clerical staff are now working at the crematorium where they are assisting by helping to run services and providing administrative support.

Members of the housing repairs team have been using council vehicles to support the delivery service of several local pharmacies. This small team has delivered around 650 prescriptions in the last week and will continue to assist pharmacies and their customers for the foreseeable future.

The council has also redeployed staff to support its Careline service. Careline supports around 2500 residents, many of whom are extremely vulnerable to coronavirus. The service has handled more than 40 call outs because of slips and falls in the last week. The falls recovery service helps to reduce the number of non-injured fallers being referred to the emergency services, which in turn reduces the pressure on the NHS.

Careline staff have also been working closely with local food banks to identify those in need of support and are helping deliver food parcels to vulnerable residents. The service has also been contacting around 200 residents a day to check on their wellbeing and to help them to obtain further support via the Derbyshire-wide Community Response Unit. To access help from the Derbyshire Community Response Unit please call 01629 535091 or register on the website: www.derbyshire.gov.uk/gethelp

anzacs chesterfield

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

Chesterfield’s MTM Products supplies the NHS with lifesaving equipment

Chesterfield manufacturer, MTM Products, is supplying nurse call handset overlays to a leading NHS equipment supplier to support them during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

The label and signage company is making large quantities of front fascia overlays for the nurse call handsets used in the temporary hospitals..

In total, the firm is manufacturing more than 14,000 overlays for one of its longstanding medical sector customers. The first 5,000 have already been delivered following a quick turnaround thanks for the company’s efforts.

MTM has a variety of customers which are also supplying products to the NHS and emergency services. These customers have asked MTM to continue trading so they can fulfil their responsibilities and supply essential equipment to health services in both the UK and mainland Europe. MTM plans to continue manufacturing at both of its Chesterfield sites for as long as possible, while observing Government advice around social distancing and hygiene.

Ian Greenaway, Managing Director at MTM Products said: “We are proud to be able to play our part in ensuring that the NHS and emergency services receive supplies necessary to fight the COVID-19 virus. We are part of a supply chain for many essential medical and life safety products and will do everything we can to maintain continuity of supply.”

Images: MTM Products

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield

Geeks Headquarters producing mask straps for key workers and NHS staff

Chesterfield-based independent retailer, Geeks Headquarters, are using their 3D printer to create straps for face masks to support local key workers and NHS staff during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Staff member Massimiliano Naso has produced over 450 mask straps for medical facilities such as Chesterfield Royal Hospital, Barnsley District General, Whitworth Hospital Matlock, Walton Hospital, Royal Derby Hospital plus numerous care homes and care agencies.

Massimiliano said: “We are keen to help cause it is the right thing to do! We are doing everything free of charge, because making a profit out of this wouldn’t be right. If we receive any payment, because people insist on contributing, the sum will be donated to support NHS. Everyone has to play a part in this and we just want to help, in any way we could.”

The Geeks Headquarters store, located on Soresby Street in Chesterfield town centre, is currently closed following Government advice, however the staff are still working behind the scenes to fulfill product orders. A list of available products is shared on a regular basis to their Facebook page and delivery or curb side collection can be arranged.

The team has also created an online hub using Discord to organise online versions of tournaments and games as well as offering a welcoming environment to prevent loneliness during the coronvirus outbreak.

To request mask straps, check product availability or see more of their upcoming events, please contact the Geeks Headquarters team through their Facebook page here – www.facebook.com/geeksheadquarters or email geeksheadquartersltd@gmail.com.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield

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