About Chesterfield

LEP chairman asks business leaders to have their say on devolution

23rd December 2015

Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Chairman James Newman has written to local business leaders to encourage them to support the Sheffield City Region proposed Devolution Deal and take part in the online consultation which opened earlier this month.

James Newman, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region LEP, said: “I’m encouraging local businesses from across the City Region to take this opportunity to go online and show their support for the devolution deal. This deal will enable our local political and business leaders to take decision-making to the next level, making bigger and better local decisions over skills, business growth and infrastructure. Anyone interested in future business growth in our City Region should go online and take part before the consultation closes next month.”

The proposed deal, which will mean £900m of additional funding and more power to make important economic decisions locally, has been welcomed by a number of local business leaders from across the Sheffield City Region. In October 2015, local politicians and business leaders secured the in-principle deal with the Chancellor George Osborne to transfer national powers and control over funding from national Government departments to the Sheffield City Region – as well as securing a massive £900 million additional cash boost over the next thirty years to deliver major regeneration, infrastructure and business growth schemes.

Peter Swallow, chair of Destination Chesterfield, the town’s business marketing campaign, said: “I would urge all local businesses to take part in the consultation.

“Chesterfield’s position within the Sheffield City Region means we do a lot of business with neighbouring towns and cities in the region. Devolution will give the town a seat at a more influential ‘local’ table not to mention more control over our own financial affairs.

“It could also help bring potential funding to the area further boosting our ambitious plans for growth and development in the area over the next 10 years.”

Local Leaders will be negotiating details of the deal over the coming months but are now consulting on the proposed deal so that they have the views of the people in the Sheffield City Region before finalising any deal. It is recognised that further work needs to continue to clarify issues in relation to the powers of any elected mayor and any potential statutory amendments needed to achieve our preferred geography for the City Region, which means seeking maximum flexibility for all types of authorities to be part of the Combined Authority.

The deal needs to be formally approved by each of the local Councils within the Sheffield City Region and is also dependent upon the Government delivering on the promises it has made in this and previous deals, and the City Region agreeing to the creation of a directly-elected Mayor.

The consultation will be open until Friday 15 January 2016 and local residents and businesses are being invited to comment on the deal by visiting www.sheffieldcityregiondevolution.org.uk.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development

Peak tourist board backs Accessible Derbyshire

23rd December 2015

Visit Peak District & Derbyshire is expanding its leading role in supporting accessible tourism by announcing its support for a Derbyshire charity.

Accessible Derbyshire – which was set up to make life easier for people with disabilities, their families and carers – is to be the tourist board’s first-ever chosen charity throughout 2016.

The charity, set up by Gillian Scotford and Jane Carver, who between them have six children, three of whom have disabilities, will receive support thanks to a link on Visit Peak District & Derbyshire’s website to invite donations, a series of sponsored events organised by the tourist board team and efforts to encourage tourist board members to adopt it as their chosen cause.

“This is the first time we have ever selected a charity to support, and we thought Accessible Derbyshire was a highly appropriate choice,” said Jo Dilley, Director of Visit Peak District & Derbyshire.

“Not only have we worked with Gillian and Jane on a variety of projects in the past, we were recently only one of just seven destinations to secure a share in national tourist board VisitEngland’s ‘Access for All’ project, aimed at promoting England as a leading destination for accessible tourism.

“Eight of our businesses took part, and are setting a shining example to their peers in making their facilities and services more accessible. We know Gillian and Jane are passionate about their cause, and we share their enthusiasm for improving access across the area for everyone, so we have decided to support their work by raising money for them throughout next year.”

Gillian Scotford and Jane Carver of Accessible Derbyshire added: “We are absolutely thrilled that Visit Peak District & Derbyshire has chosen us as its first-ever charity of the year.

“As we both have children with severe disabilities, we understand at first hand the importance of a friendly and inclusive welcome. If we can all pull together, we can make Derbyshire an even more accessible destination, for the benefit of both visitors and the tourism industry.”

Chatsworth is one of the eight businesses across the Peak District and Derbyshire which took part in ‘Access for All’ earlier this year to maximise the potential of the so-called ‘Purple Pound’, now worth more than £12 billion to the national economy.

VisitEngland research reveals that the overnight accessible tourism market is now worth £3 billion per annum to the English economy, with day visits boosting the figure to £12.1 billion. Over the past few years, overnight trips by disabled tourists and their companions have increased by 19 per cent, and their spending is up by a third.

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

YOUTHINC celebrates first birthday

22nd December 2015

Derbyshire County Council’s youth services brand, YOUTHINC celebrates its first birthday this month.

Designed by young people, for young people, with a website offering advice and information on all areas of life from something to do, to someone to talk to, YOUTHINC has got a lot to show for its first year. Some of the achievements from the past 12 months include:-

Youth workers putting on 4,194 youth group sessions which involved 65,048 young people;
More than 11,000 young people finding out about learning and career options at Derbyshire Skills Festival events in Chesterfield and Derby;
Careers advisors helping 6,488 young people with their career options;
Chesterfest – Chesterfield’s music festival – being enjoyed by more than 2,000 people.

Derbyshire Youth Council and members of the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) also had the opportunity to speak in parliament to decide the two most important issues facing young people in the UKYP’s Make your Mark campaign.

Councillor Damien Greenhalgh said:

“Since we launched YOUTHINC we’ve provided thousands of young people with information, advice and guidance as well as safe and fun places to meet with one another. We’ve provided careers advice and helped people develop their skills for employment, listened to and supported our youth councillors with their campaigns and arranged work experience placements for young people in care.

“We want young people to have every chance to be happy and fulfil their potential in learning, employment and life.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure

Chesterfield to host second local clash with Yorkshire in 2016

21st December 2015

Derbyshire’s Royal London One-Day Cup fixture versus Yorkshire Vikings on Sunday 12 June will now take place at Queen’s Park, Chesterfield.

The move means there will be even more cricket at the picturesque out-ground in 2016, with the popular week-long Chesterfield Festival of Cricket to follow in July.

In total, there will be seven days of county action at Queen’s Park next summer, beginning with the 50-over fixture with neighbours Yorkshire in June.

The annual cricketing festival follows, beginning on Sunday 3 July, which will once again include a traditional first-class fixture and two NatWest T20 Blast fixtures in the space of seven days.

The festival concludes on Sunday 10 July with a second local clash versus Yorkshire Vikings, this time in the NatWest T20 Blast – a fixture that sold out in advance in 2015.

Chief Executive, Simon Storey said: “It was a record year at Chesterfield in 2015 and we’re delighted to now be able to offer even more cricket at the picturesque ground next summer.

“The support has always been great at Queen’s Park, especially for the local fixtures against Yorkshire. A lot of away supporters travel down from north of the county border creating a unique atmosphere and a special event for Members and supporters.
“The NatWest T20 Blast fixture in 2015 was a complete sell out and we’re expected similarly high-interest for both matches in 2016.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer

Grants on the way for youth activities in Chesterfield

17th December 2015

Youth groups and projects in Chesterfield will soon be able to apply for a share of £50,000 from Derbyshire County Council.

The new grants scheme will launch in January to coincide with the first anniversary of YOUTHINC – the council’s new youth offer combining all services for young people.

Members of the Derbyshire Youth Council have named the scheme ‘YOUTHINC − We Grant’ and it will also be these young people who will decide how the money is spent.

Councillor Damien Greenhalgh, Derbyshire County Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member of Children’s Services, said:

“We made promises to our young people and we’re acting on them. This new grant scheme is by young people, for young people.

“We value their involvement in the decisions and services that affect them and our youth councillors have been involved throughout this process.”

Cabinet has agreed that groups supporting the development of youth activities throughout Derbyshire will be able to apply for grants of up to £1,500.

Before decisions are made on where money is spent, members of the youth forums and youth council will consider:

If the project or campaign is accessible to all young people
How many young people will benefit
How long the project will run
Whether it is value for money
The long-term impact of the funding
And what the money will be spent on

Councillor Greenhalgh added:

“The youth forum and youth council will make well-informed decisions about where money should be spent and will be asking for regular updates to ensure it continues to benefit young people across Derbyshire.”

More information on applying for grants will be available in early January in the ‘Something to Say’ section of the YouThinc website (opens in a new window).

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap returns to Pomegranate Theatre

16th December 2015

The legendary Agatha Christie thriller The Mousetrap is to return to The Pomegranate Theatre in Chesterfield in the spring, following sell-out performances in 2014.

Louise Jameson will star as Mrs Boyle in the record-breaking 60^th anniversary tour. Best known for her long-running roles as Leela, a companion of Tom Baker’s Doctor in Doctor Who, Louise has also played Susan Young in Bergerac¸ Eleanor Glasson in Doc Martin, and Rosa di Marco in EastEnders.

Louise said: “I thought about doing something special for my 65th birthday in 2016. Just how did I get to be 65? The same way The Mousetrap has run for nearly that length of time I suppose, just second by second time has ticked away we’ve both lasted this long, and so we’ll be celebrating together. That’s quite special.”

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been the world’s longest running stage production at its London home since breaking the record in 1958 and recently celebrated its 26,000th performance. The 60th Anniversary – and first ever – UK tour of this beloved murder mystery is approaching 1000 performances and has now been seen by nearly 1 million people, having broken box office records in many of its tour venues.

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap comes to the Pomegranate Theatre from Monday 7th to Saturday 12th March. For ticket please visit www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk, call into the box office at Chesterfield Visitor Information Centre or call 01246 345 222.

Images:

The Mousetrap 2016 UK Tour. Courtesy of Hugo Glendinning.
Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen and the cast of The Mousetrap celebrating the 26,000 performance. Courtesy of Dave Wise

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

Plan to get active with Jog Into January

16th December 2015

A series of absolute beginner jogging sessions are taking place across Derbyshire from January to encourage more people to get active during 2016.

The Jog Into January campaign is specifically designed to help people who have never pulled on running shoes before, or want to get back into jogging.

Co-ordinated by JOG Derbyshire – which has more than 90 jogging groups across the county – the sessions start from Sunday January 10 and are led by qualified jog leaders.

Jogging plans for complete beginners can be followed, which assist participants to progress from walking to jogging within weeks.

The 2015 campaign, which ran from January to March, saw 278 new members join JOG Derbyshire, while 800 people a week jog regularly with the organisation.

“The most important thing is that people don’t need to worry about how they look or what speed they are moving at,” said Michelle Simmons, JOG Derbyshire Co-ordinator. “The emphasis is very much on every group being friendly and non-competitive, working with people step-by step to help get them jogging.

“If your New Year’s resolution is to get fit, then this is an ideal opportunity to start your health kick among people who’ve also not jogged before, giving the opportunity to make new friends.”

To find participating groups in Chesterfield click here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure

Positive job figures cap year of success for Chesterfield businesses

16th December 2015

The number of people out of work and claiming Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) in Chesterfield fell again in November, according to figures released today by the Office for National Statistics. In November, there were 876 JSA claimants , 46 fewer than in October (922) and 570 fewer than in November 2014 (1446). The current percentage of people claiming the benefit remains below the national average for a third month (1.4% for Chesterfield compared with 1.6% for the UK and 1.4% for the East Midlands).

The number of unemployed people in the East Midlands fell by 2,000 to 101,000 over the three months to the end of October, meaning that the region’s unemployment rate now stands at 4.3%.

The regional employment rate now stands at 74.2%, with the total number of people in employment over the three months rising by 65,000, to 2.23m

Scott Knowles, Chief Executive of East Midlands Chamber, said: “It’s good to see the year being rounded off with another set of positive employment figures, which once again show that the region is at the front of the pack when it comes to creating jobs.

“Private sector businesses in the East Midlands have created jobs at a faster rate than anywhere else in the UK over the past 18 months and although we’d expect this trend to continue into 2016, there are issues out there that could impact on job creation next year.

“Overall, the strength of the labour market remains an important driver of economic growth and the economy is continuing to expand at a decent pace. But that growth remains far too unbalanced.

“Firms that do business solely in the UK have so far been relatively well insulated from the international slowdown, but the longer that key overseas markets suffer malaise the greater the likelihood that we may start to see it impacting on the UK economic environment.

“We also have uncertainties around things like the EU referendum and the introduction of a new National Living Wage and we can’t yet fully appreciate what impact these might have on business.

“The substantial widening in the trade deficit is a warning sign that more needs to be done to fix the fundamentals that hinder productivity, exports and enterprise if we are to achieve growth that is both balanced and sustainable over the next year and beyond.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield

Pupils cook up donations for Macmillan Cancer Centre

15th December 2015

Year six pupils at St Peter and St Paul’s School in Chesterfield have created a unique cookery book featuring a wonderful collection of recipes from celebrities and influential people – including dishes from the Prime Minister, David Cameron and Gino D’Acampo, amongst other well-known names, as well as local business people, and staff and pupils from the school.

Published locally, The Big Cookbook is an idea cooked up by a group of children who were challenged to raise as much money as possible for the Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre Appeal, starting with only £203 (the cost of funding a Macmillan nurse for a day).

The Macmillan Cancer Support’s Biz Kids initiative is an opportunity for pupils to learn entrepreneurial skills and includes support from local businesses. John Nettleship, a solicitor at Chesterfield law firm, BRM Solicitors, worked with the school on the project, providing support and advice in the weekly sessions in which the book was produced.

John said: “The pupils and staff of St Peter and St Paul School should be very proud. The book is a fantastic achievement, and is sure to raise a lot of money for the Macmillan Cancer Centre Appeal. It is already selling extremely well, and there is work ongoing to get the book into local and national retailers.”

Michele Farrand, tutor of the Year 6 class who produced the book added:

“We are grateful to all the contributors who have taken the time to submit their recipes for inclusion in the recipe book. The children have worked hard to make this a success and have valued the business advice given by John Nettleship from BRM Solicitors and Tim Ward from the Digital Print Company. We, at St Peter & St Paul School, are thrilled that we have been able to make this contribution to the Macmillan Cancer Centre Appeal.”

The Big Cookbook is now available to buy for £12 from the St Peter and St Paul School, and BRM Solicitors on Saltergate, Chesterfield. A small amount of proceeds will go towards printing costs, with the rest to be donated to the Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre Appeal. Copies are also available by mail, with an additional £2 payable to cover postage and packaging. Please telephone 01246 555111 or email macmillan@brmlaw.co.uk to place your order.

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

Derbyshire County Cricket Club goes solar

15th December 2015

Derbyshire County Cricket Club has reinforced its commitment for The 3aaa County Ground in Derby to become a more environmentally sustainable venue by agreeing a ground-breaking partnership with fellow Chesterfield Champion, Custom Solar.

The Chesterfield-based renewable energy company will be installing 550 solar panels on the roofs of the Elite Performance Centre and the 3aaa Pavilion as part the Club’s overall ground development project.

The panels, which will be installed this month, will help significantly reduce the Club’s energy costs by up to 30% per year and help drive long-term sustainability.

Chief Executive, Simon Storey said: “The Club are always looking to find ways we can operate more efficiently in order to increase our investment in cricket.

“Not only will the addition of solar panels help drastically reduce our energy bill costs, it will also modernise the ground and, as a Club in the heart of the community, reduce our carbon footprint as we drive to become an environmentally sustainable venue.

“We’re delighted to announce this ground-breaking partnership with Custom Solar. They are a local Derbyshire-based company who are specialists in solar technology and during the rigorous selection process, they demonstrated their expertise and experience in this area.”

Custom Solar Director, Matthew Brailsford said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working alongside Derbyshire County Cricket Club. It provides an amazing opportunity to deploy solar into an environment that will be enjoyed and utilised by people of all ages for decades to come.

“The partnership, however, is not just about the installation of a solar system it shows the intentions of Custom Solar and Derbyshire to focus on the future and to provide a sustainable platform for future generations.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Festive fun at Chesterfield Santa Dash

14th December 2015

Over 100 Chesterfield College students and staff joined forces with local organisations and businesses for a festive Chesterfield Santa Dash around Queens Park today, raising almost £700 to help a group of students get to Ghana to volunteer in some of the poorest communities in the country.

Councillor Barry Bingham, the mayor of Chesterfield started the dash and cheered on the sea of Santas and festive runners as they did two laps of the park before presenting prizes donated by Inc Print and Field Design for the best dressed runners.

Stuart Allen, Director of Health Wellbeing and Society at Chesterfield College said:

“What a great way to start a Monday morning in December! I’ve seen some amazing outfits and fantastic Christmas spirit from all involved. It’s been an absolute credit to the volunteers and staff from college who have worked really hard to plan this event.”

“Thanks to all the students, staff, organisations and local businesses who have taken time out to support the volunteers by taking part today. This will help them to make a difference when they get to Ghana. It’s a great start to our fundraising efforts and I know there is still sponsorship money to come in so I look forward to seeing the final total.”

The student volunteers travelling to Africa with African Adventures* will work on construction, teaching and sport coaching projects in Summer 2016. This is the first of the fundraising events planned to raise a target of £21,000 to support the work they will do.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure