About Chesterfield

Spireites kit donated to Chesterfield Ladies

18th December 2018

Chesterfield Ladies teams will be proudly wearing the Chesterfield FC kit following a generous donation from the club.

After receiving the kit, Keith Jackson, Chairman of Chesterfield Ladies, said: “I would like to thank Ashley Carson for helping Chesterfield Ladies in this way.”

“This is a fantastic gesture which is very much appreciated by everyone associated with Chesterfield Ladies and it will be a great honour for all of our teams to wear the Spireites kit.”

Chesterfield Associate Director Alison Richardson, who attended the kit handover, added: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to support the Chesterfield Ladies teams in this way and look forward to the continued close links with the club.”

Chesterfield Ladies FC is a Charter Standard Club, affiliated to the Derbyshire FA, that provides football for women and girls in Chesterfield and the surrounding areas of north-east Derbyshire.

Established for over 25 years, they have teams competing in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Girls County League and Women’s County League.

Chesterfield Ladies players are pictured wearing the Spireites kit with management staff, officials and Chesterfield FC associate director Alison Richardson. Photo credit: Tina Jenner

Posted in About Chesterfield

River Rother to be reclaimed from industrial blight

17th December 2018

Thanks to a National Lottery grant of more than £450,000, two centuries worth of industrialisation are to be reversed around the River Rother in Derbyshire.

The grant will allow the follow changes to be made;

a 700m straightened stretch of the Rother will have meanders reintroduced recreating its natural appearance
some 170 volunteers will be recruited and trained to restore natural habitats. This will include planting trees, laying hedgerows, clearing litter and removing invasive vegetation. This will be in partnership with Moss Valley Wildlife Trust.
an ambitious citizen science education programme has been devised, involving 60 events and targeting more than 3,000 people. Activities will include BioBlitz days where groups undertake a ‘record everything’ census in a specific location, nature-themed treasure hunts and river visits for 600 children from 10 local schools
public access to the restored river and streams will also be greatly improved with waymark signs and interpretation boards

Rachel Walker, Project Manager at the Don Catchment Rivers Trust, said: “Not only does this funding mean we can restore a section of the River Rother to its natural course, but we can celebrate the natural, community and industrial heritage of the area. We can’t wait to get started, and neither can all of our project partners.”

Jonathan Platt, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, said: “This project will restore the natural environment while giving people the chance to learn about the important industrial heritage of the area. Whole communities will get the opportunity to be involved in a variety of ways and this is all thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Visiting

Deadline looms for Enterprising Women nominations

17th December 2018

The annual quest to find the region’s most successful and inspirational businesswomen will end soon after Christmas.

The final deadline for nominations for the 2019 East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) Enterprising Women Awards is Friday 4 January.

Winners will be announced at a glittering, ‘little black dress’ dinner on 8 March –International Women’s Day.

Eileen Richards, Founder of ER Recruitment, a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and one of the Co-Chairs of Enterprising Women, said: “If any enterprising women have time over the Christmas break – between balancing work and family through the holidays – then it would be an ideal time to nominate themselves or someone else for an award.”

“Enterprising Women is all about finding and recognising women who make a serious contribution to the regional economy, often successfully balancing work, keeping home and motherhood but not always being acknowledged for what they achieve.”

There are seven awards to be won this year: Business Woman of the Year, Social Commitment, Apprentice of the Year, Female Employee of the Year, Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Team of the Year and Small Business of the Year.

Co-Chair Jean Mountain, a Past President at East Midlands Chamber, said: “By highlighting their contribution and telling their stories, hopefully we can inspire other women to pursue their business dream, which is why I would urge as many people as possible to send in nominations for the 2019 awards.”

Chamber membership is a requirement for nominees, however anyone can nominate. For more information click here. For an application pack email ew@emc-dnl.co.uk or call the Chamber’s events team on 0333 320 0333 and select ‘option 2’ when prompted.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield

Proposals to change the way libraries are run to be considered

17th December 2018

Innovative proposals to change the way Derbyshire libraries are run are due to be considered at a meeting on Thursday 20 December 2018.

The county council unveiled its proposed Derbyshire Public Library Service Strategy ‘Libraries for Derbyshire’ in April and outlined its commitment to keeping libraries open as it launched a 12-week consultation to gather residents’ views.

More than 7,000 people had their say during the far-reaching consultation which asked for views on proposed changes including transferring 20 libraries out of a total of 45 to community management. A number of changes have been made to the draft proposals to reflect views given during the consultation.

Other proposals included in the draft report included a reduction in weekly opening hours across the library service, a reduction in the materials fund (books, eBooks, eMagazines, eAudio, online resources including newspapers), considering the future implementation of Smart libraries, transferring the mobile library service to community management and stopping the DVD hire service.

As well as an online and paper copy questionnaire, 49 drop-in sessions were held at libraries so people could talk about the plans face-to-face with staff, and 21 in-depth focus groups were held in all areas where the local library was proposed to be a community managed library (CML), as well as a focus group about the mobile service. More people took part in the consultation than any single consultation held by the county council before.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis also held a public question and answer session at Chesterfield Library where people could quiz him directly about the plans. All the views were taken in to consideration before the report, which will be considered by the council’s Cabinet on Thursday, was drafted.

Those changes, which are now incorporated in to the report to be considered, include:

Supporting groups running community managed libraries (CMLs) with five years of grant funding, rather than four
Making £50,000 available to pay for independent support for CMLs
Seeking help from Locality (a national network supporting community organisations) to support CMLs
Giving more support and assistance in the financial processes of running a CML for the first two years
Managing the transition to a CML, with council staff support for the first two years
Helping with recruiting and training volunteers, and developing eLearning packages
Ensuring the council includes support for CMLs in any new staffing structure
Trialling the Smart library idea before any implementation
Keeping the existing DVD stock and loaning them free of charge until March 2021.

Councillor Lewis, who is also the Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture and Tourism, said: “Since we launched the consultation in to the proposed changes I’ve made it very clear that the council is committed to the library service and no libraries will close on my watch.”

“The response to the consultation was excellent and we received thousands of responses with some interesting views and ideas. We listened to what people had to say and have changed a number of elements of the report to reflect what people told us.”

“We believe these proposals are the best way forward to secure the future of our libraries.”

“A lack of support for the proposals could lead to consultations on further reductions to opening hours and the materials fund, other than those outlined in the report. This is something people made clear they did not want.”

If the proposals are agreed at Thursday’s meeting, a drive to recruit interested groups to run one or more CML will be launched in the new year. More information on the Derbyshire Public Library Strategy ‘Libraries for Derbyshire’ is available.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

Spireites appoint new Chief Executive

14th December 2018

Graham Bean been named as Chesterfield’s new Chief Executive. He will take up the role with immediate effect.

Club owner Dave Allen is delighted that Graham has accepted the role. He said: “Graham has a wealth of experience in the running of football clubs and is no stranger to Chesterfield, having been involved with the investigation of former chairman Darren Brown in 2000.”

Graham said: “I am delighted to be joining Chesterfield FC in such an important role. I am looking forward to the challenge of helping the club progress and working for the good of all, including the supporters. This is a good club and hopefully together we can move it forward.”

“I believe that I have some unique credentials because not only have I worked in senior roles within professional clubs and understand the workings of a club, but I have also had a spell as national chairman of the Football Supporters Association.”

“During that time I was involved in supporter-led campaigns and so I can fully understand and resonate with the frustrations that supporters of the club are currently experiencing. Indeed, I owe my time in the supporter representation world to my progression in the game and so will always look to embrace the views of supporters.”

“I do intend to look to improve the communication between the fans and the club but directors, staff and supporters can also be assured that I will use my best endeavours to improve all aspects of club life.”

“As many supporters will know, I have had a number of dealings with Chesterfield FC over the years and take pride in the fact that my investigation into the Darren Brown era, whilst working at the FA, contributed towards the saving of the club and subsequent takeover by the supporters. It is somewhat ironic that I now find myself back here.”

“This is an exciting opportunity and I am grateful to the owner and directors for giving me the chance to serve the club.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Leisure, Visiting

Enjoy ‘Chatswoof’ in 2019 as dogs take a starring role at Chatsworth

14th December 2018

Chatsworth is celebrating all things canine throughout 2019 with four-legged friends taking a leading role in the exhibition and the wider estate set to become even more dog-friendly when it opens for the new season (Saturday 23 March 2019).

The Dog: A Celebration at Chatsworth exhibition will feature everything from working dogs, woven dogs, dogs on canvas and dogs on camera, to puppets and popular culture.

Borne out of an idea from the Duchess of Devonshire – who trains her own dogs for obedience and field trials – this exhibition explores the rich history of the dog in art, as well as the Cavendish family’s enduring love for dogs throughout the generations.

In the house, paintings, drawings, sculpture, letters, photographs and contemporary art will be brought together to provide a comprehensive reflection of mankind’s relationship with its faithful friend throughout history.

Alex Hodby, Curator of Exhibitions and Engagement, Chatsworth, said: “We will be delving deep into the Devonshire Collection to share stories, and capture the idiosyncratic, faithful, endearing and playful character of man’s best friend. The original idea for the exhibition was conceived by the Duchess of Devonshire, who combines a love of dogs with a great interest in collecting modern and contemporary works of art and commissioning portraits of family dogs.”

Specially selected loans from public and private collections will be shown alongside the Devonshire Collection and range in date from ancient objects to the present day. With Chatsworth’s historic interiors as its backdrop, The Dog will weave throughout the house, sharing tales and revealing stories of royalty and the aristocracy and how dog breeds have developed.

Chatsworth is also looking at range of ideas to become as dog friendly as possible. Dogs on leads can already explore the 105-acre garden and 1000-acre park and are also welcome in shops and Carriage House restaurant in the Stables.

Chatsworth even has its own dog mascot, Henry, a Goldendoodle born in the summer who has amassed thousands of fans on his Instagram account following his daily adventures on the estate.

Throughout 2019, Chatsworth is inviting everyone to join in the celebration using the hashtag #Chatswoof.

Follow the adventures of Henry, the Chatsworth Goldendoodle here: www.instagram.com/chatswoof

Rocket 6-1, 1987 Nicola Hicks © David Vintiner

Posted in About Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

New Chief Executive Officer appointed by D2N2 LEP

13th December 2018

A new Chief Executive Officer has been appointed by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Sajeeda Rose, who has been Interim CEO at the D2N2 LEP since September (2018), becomes CEO with immediate effect, following a robust recruitment process.

As the LEP’s CEO, Sajeeda leads a small team supporting the D2N2 Board – a private sector-led Partnership of business, local authorities, higher and further education providers, and community and voluntary organisations – in promoting an economic growth plan for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; using resources of more than £500million in funding, derived from the UK Government and European Union.

Sajeeda joined the D2N2 LEP in November 2017, as Senior Manager for Growth Deals and Capital Programmes, and acted as Interim Deputy CEO before taking on the Interim CEO role in September 2018.

Prior to joining D2N2, Sajeeda was Chief Operating Officer for the Northamptonshire LEP, where she was responsible for strategy development and delivery of all investment programmes by that LEP. She also worked for the former East Midlands Development Agency, supporting the delivery of sub-regional investment programmes.

Sajeeda has a BA (Hons) degree in Politics & Economic History from the University of Leicester. She is married with two children.

Elizabeth Fagan, Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “I am confident that in Sajeeda we have found a CEO who will continue to lead D2N2 in delivering economic growth for all our communities, using the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP); currently in the final stages of being updated to meet the area’s changing needs up to 2030.

“Sajeeda is taking on the role at a time when the D2N2 LEP has much to do; including the launch of its new SEP, developing a Local Industrial Strategy, delivering current and planned programmes, as well as consultation on and establishing new governance rules for the LEP’s Board Members and staff to make our operations even more publicly accountable. I’m confident that Sajeeda’s leadership will help deliver results for all our stakeholders.”

Sajeeda Rose, CEO for the D2N2 LEP, added: “I am delighted to be appointed as the D2N2 LEP’s new CEO, and to have the opportunity to build on the great work of its Board and staff to date.”

“The LEP has a lot to do in future. We have a new strategic plan to launch to take our economy into the next decade, a Local Industrial Strategy to develop to complement the work being done nationally, increasing access to skills and training, and ensuring we continue to attract private investment to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. I look forward to the challenge.”

Further information about the work of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership can be found on its website at www.d2n2lep.org/Home

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

Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa wins 5 wedding accolades including England’s Top Wedding Venue

13th December 2018

Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa swept the board at the WeddingDates Awards picking up 5 accolades, winning the coveted title of England’s Top Wedding Venue.

The venue has also been announced as winner of East Midlands Top Rated Wedding Venue, winner of Derbyshire’s Top Rated Wedding Venue and winner of Country House Wedding Venue of the Year.

The final award was given to Nicola Williams, Wedding Coordinator at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, for East Midlands Wedding Coordinator of the year.

In a year of notable achievements, Ringwood Hall Hotel has been awarded 4 Star Status by the AA, Conference Venue of the Year at the Chesterfield Food and Drink awards, a Gold Award in the East Midlands in Bloom awards, a 5 Bubble award for the Garden Secret Spa by the Good Spa Guide and a Bronze Green Tourism award.

Ringwood Hall has seen a transformation over the past two years since new owners purchased the property in 2016 and further plans are already in place to continue the investment into the Grade II listed building.

Rona Davies, General Manager at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, said “I could not be more thrilled to have received these wedding awards. The whole team work so hard to ensure that every wedding is perfect for our couples.”

“These awards are based on customer feedback and therefore really do hold a special place for us. Winning the Country House Wedding Venue of the Year award, among the others, is just fabulous as the UK is home to so many beautiful properties. We truly feel honoured to be given such recognition.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Destination Chesterfield, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield, Visiting

Local female entrepreneur chosen as science Community Leader

13th December 2018

Local entrepreneur Ann Fomukong-Boden has been chosen by the British Science Association (BSA) to become one of its new Community Leaders.

Ann is a STEM Ambassador, Electronic Engineer and Director of Chesterfield-based Kakou Technologies. Ann is one of twelve individuals from across the UK chosen to take part in the programme. The aim of the Community Leaders programme is to harness the passion and ideas of the individuals, enabling them to deliver sustained public science engagement throughout the year.

Since 1994, the BSA has organised British Science Week, an annual grass-roots celebration of science and engineering that runs over 10 days every March.

For the past three years Ann has organised Science Week events in collaboration with Brampton Brewery, Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery, Monkey Park Community Cafe, Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council and Pavements Shopping Centre.

Ann said: “I’m very proud to be chosen by the BSA as one of their first Community Leaders. Many people find it hard to engage with or relate to the sciences; it is still seen by many as a difficult subject that is not useful later in life. However, we all use and rely on the sciences every day, for example, using our mobile phones, cooking, applying make-up or going to the pub.”

“Working with local organisations, I’m hoping to build a network which can share and promote each other’s STEM related activities and events.”

In the New Year, Kakou will start offering a mixture of creative arts and technology-based workshops designed for people looking to learn or discover new skills. The first workshop will be a Raspberry Pi session for total beginners (parents, teachers and hobbyists) held at Chesterfield Library in January 2019. More information can be found here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Made in Chesterfield

Plans for Whittington Moor roundabout dropped

13th December 2018

Plans for potential changes to the Whittington Moor roundabout were shared at public exhibitions by Derbyshire County Council in August. They included traffic lights being installed on all six junctions of the roundabout and the entrance to the roundabout from Dunston Road closed to all traffic apart from buses.

The exhibitions attracted around 1,700 responses from residents, businesses and commuters. While 67% of respondents agreed improvements were necessary to ease congestion and address issues with the speed of circulating traffic and lane discipline, 69% strongly disagreed with plans to shut off Dunston Road.

Councillor Simon Spencer, Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said:“Following overwhelming objections to the plans that had been developed by external consultants it became clear to me that there was significant opposition to closing off Dunston Road.

“There was concern, shared by myself, that closing off Dunston Road would just move traffic problems elsewhere in the town.”

“We’ve listened to these concerns and are not going to go ahead. We are looking at some improvements to kerbs, lane markings and signs to the roundabout, but longer term we know that we need to consider a much more radical option to improve journey times along the A61.

“The A61 was not built to cope with the amount of traffic it has now, and this is only going to grow in the future. The only solution to really make significant improvements in journey times is to consider fly-overs at the Whittington Moor roundabout, Tesco roundabout and Horns Bridge roundabout.

“The county council wouldn’t be able to fund these, but there is a new national pot of money, the Major Road Network fund, and it might be possible to bid for the money for these fly-overs from this fund.”

If the report is agreed the council will include the longer-term major improvements to the A61 in a submission of potential Major Road Network projects to Midlands Connect.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Local charity gains award for apprenticeship programme

12th December 2018

Derwent Rural Counselling Services has truly embraced its apprenticeship programme and it’s that dedication to the programme that has earned it the title of Learning Unlimited’s Employer of the Month for November.

Derwent Rural Counselling Services provides counselling services across Derbyshire and the Peak District, which now has several offices at locations including Chesterfield, Alfreton and Bakewell. The trust works with individuals suffering from common mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress and long term conditions.

Receiving the award, Chief Executive Officer, Janette Smeeton, said: “We’re delighted to be recognised as Employer of the Month. Recruiting people with the right skills had been proving difficult for us in the past but our apprentices have really become a big part of our team.”

“With apprenticeships, we have been able to help new staff grow, learn new skills and gain valuable experience. They’ve each become valuable members of our team and we want to see them take on extra responsibility as time goes on.”

When Rosie Allison joined Derbyshire’s Derwent Rural Counselling Services as an apprentice, little did she imagine that she would be recruiting apprentices herself just a few years later.

Rosie’s has risen through the ranks and within five years she has gone from Apprentice to Deputy Operations Manager. Rosie now manages the office and is helping others to follow in her footsteps.

She explained: “When I was welcomed to Derwent Rural Counselling Service five years ago as an apprentice, I did not realise I would have had as much help, support and encouragement to be where I am, doing what I’m doing today. My apprenticeship helped me with the knowledge and skill set I needed to progress and support the organisation.”

“I hope I’m able to continue that level of support for others, and mentor the newer apprentices well and encourage them to grow. It is great to see them become more confident in the workplace and develop. The organisation has grown and achieved so much over the past five years and I’m so pleased I have been a part of it.”

Chloe Milner, 22, joined the team three years ago as a Business Apprentice and now after completing her apprenticeship has progressed to Data Protection Practitioner with the team. Meanwhile, the organisation’s most recent Business Administration Assistant, Ruby Russell, 28, has just celebrated her first anniversary with the organisation. “I’m really enjoying it here,” she said. “It’s a varied and interesting role and I very much feel part of the team. It’s got a lovely atmosphere.”

David Higham, Commercial Director at Chesterfield-based Learning Unlimited, presented the award and said: “It is clear that Derwent Rural Counselling Services have a real commitment to their apprenticeship programme. They are a good example of why apprenticeships work so well. Organisations that succeed are those that grow their own talent and ensure that their businesses are in safe hands for the future.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Made in Chesterfield