About Chesterfield

Dronfield’s first ever Arts Festival set for 2018

26th July 2017

The Dronfield Arts Festival will take place over four days from the 4th-7th May 2018 and will be packed with not just art, but also live music, street performance, street vendors, markets and more. You’ll find Dronfield buzzing with excitement and full of people.

The festival will bring amazing and captivating arts experiences to Derbyshire focusing heavily on local talent. With over 60 events planned they’ll be a fantastic mix of performances and workshops including; music, drama, poetry, visual art, dance, crafts, food, talks, literature and much more. The festival is designed to appeal to all ages and tastes; to local residents and bring visitors to Dronfield’s vibrant community.

Alan Powell Chair of Dronfield Heritage Trust, said:-

“The festival will have an accessible and lively programme that embraces the wider performing arts, with broad appeal for Dronfield, engaging the wider community and our valued visitors. The events will take place across the exciting range of social and community spaces that Dronfield offers. The festival will also provide the perfect platform for the community and those further afield to engage with the arts.”

The Arts festival is a requisite part of the Heritage Lottery Fund project to restore Dronfield Hall Barn and will be a big catalyst to making the Barn fully self-sustainable once the project finishes in 2018. Due to this, the festival is more of a community project, managed in conjunction with FWD Motion (a local digital design agency, and Chesterfield Champion) using volunteers in and around Chesterfield, with the majority of the entertainment and performances made up of local talent.

In addition to income from ticket sales and national and local funding partners, the festival is also heavily reliant upon the help and support from its army of volunteers, and the ongoing generosity of its friends and sponsors.

To find out how you can get involved and benefit from the festival’s promotional activities visit
www.dronfieldartsfestival.co.uk

The Festival will be supported by a widespread media campaign, targeting press, radio and online sources across the bordering counties. The full programme of events will be announced at the end of January 2018.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

Chesterfield Food Producer shortlisted as Pig Farmer of the Year

25th July 2017

Chesterfield Food Producer, Moss Valley Fine Meats, have recently been announced as finalist in the ‘Pig Farmer of the Year’ category for the Farmers Weekly Awards 2017.

Top technical performance was the common theme across all three finalists this year, which ranged from the largest pig producer in the country to a family-run farrow-to finish farm marketing their own produce. They stand against GSK Pigs in Norfolk and British Quality Pigs in Suffolk.

Stephen and Karen Thompson of Moss Valley Fine Meats, produce pork, bacon, ham and sausages in their own butchery from pigs bred and reared on their farm in the beautiful Moss Valley on the edge of Sheffield.

A rare little gem is how you could describe the family-run Moss Valley Fine Meats, which is home to 200 sows and is producing about 6,000 pigs a year. They have also recently gain planning permission to triple the size of the butchery with a LEADER application being undertaken for EU funding. This will allow the farm to expand across the country and hopefully internationally.

Moss Valley have developed a brand that is well-known with top chefs and at farmers markets in the Sheffield area; supplying around 70 restaurants, delis and shops in the local area. They have also been approached to supply large volumes of sausage for a schools contract.

A representative from the Farmers Weekly said about the farm:-

“A smaller-scale, family-run pig operation makes Moss Valley Meats really quite rare in the industry today. They have built a brand that is well known in the Sheffield area, has excellent performance and is carbon neutral.”

The winner of the awards will be announced in a black tie awards ceremony held at The Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Mayfair in October.

Alongside being shortlisted for such a prestigious national title, Moss Valley are also celebrating being shorlisted as finalists in the first ever English SME Business Awards 2017.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards

Markham miners remembered with memorial unveiling 80 years after first tragedy

25th July 2017

Eight new life-size steel figures have been unveiled as part of a memorial to miners who lost their lives at Markham Colliery marking 80 years since the first disaster at the site.

The figures were unveiled as part of the ‘Walking Together’ memorial, which we led on, and will eventually feature 106 figures stretching between the village of Duckmanton in Chesterfield and the former pithead.

Each figure is part of a walking trail which symbolises a miner’s journey to the pit and back home again and represents the 106 men who lost their lives in three accidents at the site.

On 21 January 1937 an underground explosion claimed the lives of nine men and in 1938, 79 miners lost their lives and 40 were seriously injured in a second explosion.

Eighteen miners died and 11 others suffered serious injury in the third disaster at the colliery when the mechanical brake on a lift carrying them to the coalface failed on 30 July, 1973.

Derbyshire County Council have reclaimed the former colliery site with Henry Boot Developments and it’s now home to the Markham Vale regeneration scheme which is working to create 4,100 jobs for local people.

Councillor Tony King, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration at Derbyshire County Council, said:-

“Markham Colliery was at the heart of Derbyshire and a place where great friendships were made and generations of families worked.

“The miners were a very close group who had a strong bond and supported each other through the good and bad times.

“This memorial is a place where the miner’s community spirit can be remembered and where families, friends and future generations can come together to pay tribute.

Councillor King added:-

“The site is now home to 42 businesses and more than 1,000 new jobs have been created so far but it’s important that we don’t forget the site’s mining history, the challenging jobs the pit workers had and the sacrifices they made.”

Each figure carries a tag with the name of one of the miners, along with their age and job role.

These most recent additions have been dedicated to Ralph Marsden, 41, Stallman, Joseph Furniss, 28, Stallman, Edward Baggaley, 34, Stallman, Edmund Smith, 29, Stallman, Frederick Roddy, 25, Cutterman, Thomas Jones, 49, Contractor, Enoch Jones, 21, Contractor and Joseph Geary, 55, Dataller.

Relatives of the miners commemorated at the unveiling also attended the event to pay tribute.

There are now 27 figures at the site − the first two were unveiled in 2013 to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1973 disaster.

The latest figures have been sponsored by a number of businesses including Noonah Experiential and GH Motors − both based at Markham Vale.

Henry Boot Developments − the private sector property partner at Markham Vale − and their consultants have also sponsored three of the figures.

A grant of £7,500 has been awarded to the ‘Walking Together’ memorial from the Duke of Devonshire’s Charitable Trust for the next phase of the project which is set to be unveiled later in the year.

The Walking Together memorial has been designed by Cheshire-based Artist Stephen Broadbent.

Posted in About Chesterfield

Chesterfield business leaders sought after to drive forward the work of the Sheffield City Region

24th July 2017

Dynamic individuals with an understanding of business and a taste for a challenge are being sought to help drive forward the work of the Sheffield City Region (SCR).

Four members of the Board of the Local Enterprise Partnership – or LEP – have reached the end of their three-year term and applications are invited for the vacancies.

Today Sir Nigel Knowles, Chair of the LEP Board, said:-

“I’m tremendously grateful to our retiring members. They have given us a huge breadth of knowledge and depth of understanding of this region and its strategic economic needs. They have given their time and expertise most generously and we all have a great deal to thank them for.”

Several Board members will be joining a booming region that is smashing its own targets. It aimed to see 70,000 new jobs in the decade from March 2015 – but just two years later 27,000 have already been created.

The Local Enterprise Partnership Board, founded six years ago, has built an enviable reputation as a business orientated and pragmatic private-public partnership. It leads a region now well placed to take advantage of greater localism – one of the key points of the Government’s Industrial Strategy – and to accelerate the rebirth of the economy.

The LEP drives trade and investment activities, transport improvements, housing developments, and skills and training. With LEP support two global giants, the supercar maker McLaren Automotive and aero manufacturer Boeing, voted with their feet and began building bases in the region this year, and another two such major announcements are confidently expected in the near future.

Now the SCR is looking for a three-year commitment from a new round of businesspeople prepared to sit on the LEP Board, giving their time and expertise to advise and guide the executive, working closely with the region’s local authorities.

The retiring members are Simon Carr, MD of Henry Boot Construction; Deborah Egan OBE, Arts Director; Paul Houghton, Partner at Grant Thornton; and Chris Scholey, former Chair of the Doncaster and Bassetlaw NHS Hospitals Foundation Trust.

Nigel Brewster, Vice Chair of the LEP, added:-

“I can honestly say being a LEP Board member is one of the most rewarding things I do. You learn a tremendous amount, meet fascinating people, and at the end of the day you can feel you’ve done some practical good for the region.

“Members serve for three years and we are using this opportunity to look for people who are willing, unpaid, to represent the wealth of different businesses, geography and population we have in this region. We are working on a new Strategic Economic Plan which will be our road map for the next 10 years, and it brings a whole new set of exciting challenges – so we are looking for the brightest and the best from across the whole of the region.

“We’re a region that’s booming, and now is an amazing time to join us.”

For more information on how to apply please click here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Bank Park and Ashgate Hospicecare team up for patient care

24th July 2017

Ashgate Hospicecare is thrilled to announce that local parking management company, Bank Park, has chosen them as the beneficiaries for their new car park next to the Chesterfield Hotel.

Bank Park, who offer friendly, fair and ethical car parking solutions whilst raising much needed funds for local charities through it’s ‘Park and Give Scheme’, has been operating for over 4 years since they opened their first car park in Sheffield in 2013.

Ashley Kelley, Managing Director at Bank Park, said:-

“We have recently added The Chesterfield Hotel car park to our portfolio of charity car parks in the area and we have chosen Ashgate Hospicecare to be the beneficiary on this site”

“Our parking patrons choose Bank Park because we offer fair parking at reasonable prices with the added benefit of knowing they are giving to a great cause every time they park with us.”

“We are delighted to be Ashgate Hospicecare’s new charitable parking partner and hope that this is the first of many car parks across the region from which they will benefit.”

Ashgate Hospicecare will receive a percentage of the gross price of all pay & display tickets from The Chesterfield Hotel car park on a monthly basis which will go towards providing vital care for patients and their families across North Derbyshire.

Ali Ward-Foster, Partnerships Manager at Ashgate Hospicecare, said:-

“It is absolutely fantastic that Bank Park have chosen to support the hospice in this way. Support from companies like Bank Park is incredibly important; a regular income coming to the hospice will allow the hospice to plan for the future.

“Each week 16 people across north Derbyshire who need hospice care can’t get hospice care. With the support of businesses like Bank Park we can increase the number of hospice nurses in our community.”

Posted in About Chesterfield

Chesterfield’s Food Producer of the Year finalists announced

24th July 2017

After much deliberating, cogitating and digesting, the finalists for the Chesterfield Food Producer of the Year title, which is presented by Chesterfield College, have been selected.

Nine nominated food and drink producers dished up a selection of treats to Chesterfield Champions at a special tasting event held at Chesterfield College recently. Following scoring, the top three producers have been selected – Granny Mary’s Original Recipes, Northern Tea Merchants and Teresa Lambarelli’s.

The finalists will now battle it out for the overall title of Food producer of the Year at the 2017 Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards. Granny Mary’s Original Recipes, Northern Tea Merchants and Teresa Lambarelli’s are three of a total of 29 businesses that have been shortlisted across 13 categories in the fourth annual awards.

Organised by Destination Chesterfield, and sponsored by Chesterfield College, the prestigious awards recognise the very best food, drinks, service and venues in the town’s growing hospitality sector.

The winners of all the categories will be announced at a glittering awards ceremony, hosted by celebrity cake maker to the A List Mich Turner MBE, which is being held at Chesterfield College’s Heart Space building in October later this year.

Dom Stevens, Destination Chesterfield Manager, said:-

“As ever the task of choosing just three finalists was incredibly difficult for our judging panel. They had a huge variety of food and drink to sample, from tea and real ale to sausages, cakes, potted meats and pasta sauces, reflecting the growth and diversity of Chesterfield’s food and drink scene.

“The awards are now in their fifth year and more popular than ever. Each year it gets more and more difficult to narrow the nominations down to just three finalists.”

Details of all finalists in the 2017 Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards can be found at http://www.chesterfield.co.uk/foodanddrinkawards

Other supporters of the awards include the Derbyshire Times, Peak FM, the Crooked Spire Church, Casa Hotel, Owen Taylor & Sons, ra Information Systems, Black Eyed Susan, Franklin and Sons Ltd, Addooco, Steve Faulkner and Reflections.

Category sponsors at the awards also include Chesterfield Borough Council, Custom Solar Ltd, arvato, Banner Jones Solicitors, BHP Accountants, East Midlands Chamber, Shorts Accountants, Chesterfield College, MSE Hiller, Jumble Design and Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards

Chesterfield fencer named U-20 Champion

24th July 2017

Wingerworth and Derbyshire Epee Academy fencer Matthew Cooper recently celebrate being named British U-20 Men’s Epee Champion at the national championships held at Nottingham University.

Matt has had a great season with a number of medals at junior competitions, twelfth place at the junior European Championships in Bulgaria and a bronze medal at the British U-23 Championships. Matt is currently ranked number one junior in Great Britain and number 83 in the world rankings.

At the David Ross Sports village at Nottingham University Matt displayed a cool head, mental strength and excellent technical and tactical ability; he won all six poule fights giving him a seeding of number 3 in the competition.

The direct elimination went according to plan with a tight fight against Luke Mason the British Cadet Champion, in the last eight fight. Matt was behind 14-13 going into the last three minute period, he kept a really cool head and won 15-14 before an easy victory in the semi-final.

The final was a repeat of last year against Matt Dickinson a fellow GB squad member. Last season it was Dickinson who won the final but this year Matt brilliantly fenced this difficult opponent to win the fight 15-14 and win the Championship.

Anthony Klenczar, a representative from the Wingerworth and Derbyshire Epee Academy, said:-

“Derbyshire fencing has gone from strength to strength in recent years and we are going through a really successful period, we now have three national champions this is down to the hard work of the athletes and coaches, nothing out of the ordinary, just a desire to train hard and win.

“We are always looking for new people to come and join the clubs, if you enjoy a challenge, want to keep fit and test your tactical skills in a one to one situation then fencing is the sport for you. Five and a half years after picking up a sword for the first time Matt Coopers next competition will be a Senior World Cup in Bahrain.”

Posted in About Chesterfield

Perez Keeps Test Pace Going

24th July 2017

Chesterfield’s 17 year old race driver Seb Perez is looking forward to the next three rounds of the Michelin Ginetta GT4 Supercup Championship at Snetterton this weekend.

After a seven week Summer break the ever popular race series that supports the British Touring Car Championship is back in Norfolk and Perez hopes to continue where he left off after the eleven opening races of the season.

Just over a week ago Perez was at Snetterton testing for this coming race weekend where he made good headway during the day in the JHR Developments team Ginetta G55 race car.

Testing went well to plan with five fantastic sessions on track and consistently hitting around the top 5 mark of the 14 cars testing. His first session out on track saw him 4th fastest with around 0.378th second between himself and number one driver Ben Green and speeds on parts of the track of around 116mph.

After testing he commented:-

“I’m very pleased how testing has gone, during the last month or so we have been trying a lot of things and developing the car a lot”

He added:-

“We went well in the first session and then kept the pace up for the rest of the day.”

Due to regulations there was a restriction on tyres during testing hence there was a difference between teams in when they put their new tyres on. In comparison to Seb’s team mate George Gamble who was on the same strategy times were very similar, showing the pace of Perez is increasing every time.

Before the Summer break Perez encountered a mixed weekend at Croft in North Yorkshire finding all three races difficult after several knock backs. The Chesterfield race ace took an eighth, eleventh and seventh to remain in eighth place in the series.

The weather closed in for Saturday’s qualifying session with continual drizzle throughout and a wet to drying track in places, finishing in the top ten in 9th place.

Saturday’s Race one saw Perez have a battle with the midfield pack of cars, he had a realistic goal set for himself for the weekend opener. Wet weather again created its problems and Perez having to follow spray from the front runners, his priority was to stay out of trouble and a relatively trouble free race saw Perez take eighth.

Sunday’s two races saw brighter and drier weather that would benefit all the teams and their drivers, seeing them with faster times.

Race Two saw Seb start from 4th row 8th on the grid and after an incident on lap three a safety car spell bunched the pack together and saw Perez drop to 11th place and drop to 12th by lap 6. Again battling midfield saw problems for him and after a two car tussle Perez lost the car’s front splitter and causing major aerodynamic issues for the Simpson sponsored Ginetta. swapping He took the finish line in 11th place of the 15 lap race.

The weekends final race was a tough one for Seb, he ran wide on lap one after getting into 6th place only to see him drop into 10th for the next two laps. He made good progress through the tough field of cars for the remainder of the 15 lap race and an impressive comeback saw him finish seventh.

Perez spoke about the weekend and said:-

“I’m feeling really positive after the weekend to be honest.

“Of course there is still work to do, but I was really pleased with some of the passes I made and the lap times are tumbling too. We had a bit of misfortune in race two but I can see the progression in my pace this season and that’s the important part”.

The season finishes at the beginning of October with still a long way to go.

Perez travels to Norfolk at the weekend in 8th place in the Professional Driver class with 159 points and his team JHR Developments lead the Team Championship with 397 points.

You can follow Seb and all the action on Sunday on ITV 4 where races are televised live alongside the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.

Editorial and photography by Paul Horton

Posted in About Chesterfield

Consultation on Northern Gateway vision

21st July 2017

A consultation is to seek the public’s views on both short and long term plans to redevelop Chesterfield’s Northern Gateway area to breathe extra life in to the town centre.

Chesterfield Borough Council appointed Chesterfield-based Whittam Cox Architects to produce a vision document which sets out how the area could develop in the short term through the previously announced first phase of the Northern Gateway project and, once that is complete, how it might develop in the future.

The first phase of the Northern Gateway scheme will see:

the former Co-op building redeveloped in a £10.5 million scheme by Central England Co-operative and Jomast Developments to house six ground floor restaurants, a Premier Inn hotel on the first and second floors and a health and fitness centre in the basement.
Chesterfield Borough Council demolish the existing Saltergate multi-storey car park and replace it with a new, higher quality car park in a £6.54 million scheme
An enterprise centre, incorporating a public space area, built on part of the Holywell Cross (Donut) car park to house small and medium sized companies
Environmental street improvements around Elder Way and part of Knifesmithgate, to enhance this part of the town centre and make it more pedestrian friendly, will be funded using a £5.8 million grant from the Sheffield City Region.

This work will be completed over the next five years. Once that is delivered attention will turn to a second longer-term phase, which could see housing in the Newbold Road area.

The public will be able to see the plans, including visuals of how the area may look, and give their views at drop-in consultation sessions taking place in the entrance lobby to the Assembly Rooms in Chesterfield Market Hall between:

11am and 4pm on Friday 28 July and
10am and 2pm on Saturday 29 July.

Consultation information will then be displayed in the Tourist Information Centre in Rykneld Square from Monday 31 July to Friday 11 August. Residents can also complete the consultation online at www.chesterfield.gov.uk/northern-gateway.

Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said:-

“This public consultation will focus on the plans for the Enterprise Centre which the council is building and the environmental street improvements in Elder Way and Knifesmithgate.

“The key aim of the development at Northern Gateway is to attract more footfall for town centre shops and the market from the staff working in the Enterprise Centre and shoppers and visitors coming to a more attractive environment.

“We will also be seeking views on some of the longer term vision ideas about how the Northern Gateway can be better linked up to the historic core of the town centre, to the railway station and new developments like Waterside. This part of the vision is not something that will be happening soon but it is important that we plan for the future of the Newbold Road area too.”

The consultation will not include the Saltergate multi-storey car park or the Co-op redevelopment parts of the project.

Consultation has already taken place with Derbyshire County Council’s highways team, bus companies, taxi drivers, businesses and representatives of equalities groups to help produce the draft Northern Gateway vision document.

Andrew Dabbs, from Whittam Cox Architects, said:-

“Consultation with local people is an essential part of the design development process and we will look forward to presenting our plans and taking on board the feedback that will help us develop our scheme to the next level.

“We are pretty confident that with the work undertaken by our team in conjunction with the Chesterfield Borough Council will be welcomed and supported. We also hope through our consultation that people will understand the holistic benefit that this development could bring as a catalyst for wider regeneration around the Northern Gateway and the wider town centre.”

Following the public consultation a final version of the vision document will be produced which will then be used to attract inward investors to the Northern Gateway scheme.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Derbyshire to face Kent at Queen’s Park

21st July 2017

Following the successful Custom Solar Chesterfield Festival of Cricket, in association with Chesterfield Borough Council in early July, Derbyshire will return to Queen’s Park this September for the Specsavers County Championship fixture versus Kent.

The four-day fixture, which starts on Tuesday 19 September, has been moved to Chesterfield to minimise the risk of the pitch at Derby not being fit for play in the event of a period of particularly poor weather at the same time of the Boyzone concert on Saturday 16 September.

The beautiful Queen’s Park held five days of cricket two weeks ago as part of the annual festival, with over 9,000 supporters enjoying top class cricket in the town.

The match against Kent will provide Members and supporters in the north of the county another opportunity to watch Derbyshire in action.

Simon Storey, Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Cricket Club, said:-

“We all understand how important concerts and events are to ensuring financial stability of the Club. Without these events, our cricket budget would be significant smaller.

“The Elton John concert proved how successful it could be and we were also blessed with good weather on the evening. However, this was our first concert and we learned a lot about the recovery period required not just for the square, but also the outfield.

“Whilst confident that under normal weather conditions the pitch at Derby would be playable, we have decided, following the success of this year’s festival, to move the fixture to our northern outpost at Chesterfield.

“The hosting of ICC Women’s World Cup warm-up matches and the week-long festival have demonstrated the progress made by Chesterfield Borough Council with the drainage systems at Queen’s Park.

“Chesterfield is a beautiful venue and the pitches prepared for this year’s festival have produced some very exciting cricket for both the shortest and longest formats, and we look forward to returning for a second time this year.

“The venue switch has taken some time to finalise as we have to take into account a lot of variables. We are grateful to our partners at ECB, Chesterfield Cricket Club and Chesterfield Borough Council for their support.”

Councillor Steve Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, added:-

“It is great news that Chesterfield is to play host to first class cricket for a second time this year.

“The festival of cricket was a great success with good crowds for the Durham four-day match and a sell-out for the NatWest T20 Blast game against Yorkshire Vikings.

“Having this additional game against Kent is another opportunity to showcase Chesterfield to visitors from outside the town, which will benefit businesses in the town and the local economy.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Students learn about maths and literacy at Educational Day with Chesterfield FC

19th July 2017

Over 120 children from Spireites Schools Partnership schools attended an ‘Educational Day’ at the Proact Stadium, organised by the Chesterfield FC Community Trust.

The day involved workshops such as Football Numeracy, aimed at engaging pupils with maths and Football Literacy, delivered by Chesterfield’s head of media & communications, Nick Johnson.

Derbyshire FA were represented by Cath Morton for a session on the importance of Respect in Football and in School. Tanya Noon from Central England Co-operative delivered a workshop on Healthy Eating, including giving the pupils a chance to make their own ‘fruit kebabs’. Diana Luke, who is a clinical therapist, came in to talk to the pupils about mindfulness and the power of positive thinking.

Emma Tooley, deputy head at New Whittington Primary School said:-

“The Educational Day was a fantastic experience for all of our pupils.

“They received an alternative insight into the football club and left feeling healthy, positive, informed and excitable! All the staff and players involved provided an excellent day and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.”

In addition to the workshops, the pupils were treated to a Q&A session with Chesterfield stars Ian Evatt, Sam Hird and Tommy Lee, along with new signing Scott Wiseman. Club captain Ian Evatt said:-

“We were delighted to be involved with the day.

“The kids told us what they had learned about healthy eating and we were happy to talk about the importance of that, as well as respect and how important mindfulness is during matches.”

John Croot, chief executive of the Chesterfield FC Community Trust, added:-

“All the kids thoroughly enjoyed the day, as well as learning key skills.

“We were happy to welcome everyone to the stadium – including some children who hadn’t been down before – to show them some of the great things we do with the community.

“The kids saw a different side to football and the work that we do and they relished the opportunity of learning while having a lot of fun. The event was a great success and we’re already discussing dates for next year!”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure