About Chesterfield

Spireites CEO Supports Ashgate Hospicecare

Spireites Chief Executive, Chris Turner has shown his support for Ashgate Hospicecare by becoming a patron of the charity.

Chris said: “The hospice plays a very important role in the community and I am honoured to have been asked to become a patron.

“It costs £8.5m a year to run Ashgate Hospicecare and the organisation has to raise around £6.5m of that.

“We as a football club will do everything we can to help promote the hospice and make people aware of the need to help raise funds for such a worthwhile cause.”

Chesterfield FC Community Trust works closely with Ashgate Hospicecare and organises a matchday collection every season.

A new fundraising initiative organised by the hospice – The Sparkle Night Walk – will start and finish at the club’s Proact Stadium on Saturday, June 20.

Lucy Nickson, Chief Executive at Ashgate Hospicecare said: “Chris is well-known locally and will help us to raise awareness of how vital our charity is in providing care and support to people with any life-limiting illness.  We care for more than 2,000 patients every year and most of them are visited by us in their own home.

“The Day Hospice is one of the many services we have that enables people to stay at home by providing respite to carers and intensive medical support for the patient. It is also a great opportunity for patients to meet others who are going through a similar experience and have some fun.

“The patients really enjoyed meeting Chris and talking to him about their love of football. We are delighted that Chris accepted our invitation to become a patron.”

(Image shows chief executive of Ashgate Hospicecare Lucy Nickson with Chris Turner, chief executive of Chesterfield Football Club.)

 

Chris Turner

Posted in About Chesterfield

Double award win for Chesterfield restaurant

Chesterfield Champions, The Tickled Trout picked up two awards at the Westside Magazine Restaurant Awards 2015.

Tom Alberts, sous chef at the tickled trout won Young Chef of the Year and the Westside Magazine readers voted the venue the Readers’ Choice Restaurant of the Year.

Chris Mapp said “I am immensely proud of my team and what we have achieved in 10 months. I am very lucky to have such talented young people working for me and we all enjoy what we do because we are more than just a team but a family. We all have the same goals to make our valued customers happy and make sure that have a lovely experience with us.”

The Tickled Trout is independently owned by Chef Chris Mapp and nestled in the idyllic Derbyshire village of Barlow. The team has transformed the former run-down country drinking hole into the award winning dining pub.  The food has an Italian influence and wherever possible the ingredients are sourced locally.

Tickled Trout Westside Awards

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Manufacturing companies urged to get involved with Made in Chesterfield

Engineering and manufacturing companies in Chesterfield and north east Derbyshire are being called on to make a difference to the future of young people and get involved with Made in Chesterfield taking place in November later this year.

Festival organiser Destination Chesterfield is now urging companies to put themselves forward and get involved with the school and business events that will be taking place throughout the month.

This year Made in Chesterfield has been extended from a week to a month, providing even more opportunity for the town’s manufacturing and engineering companies to ignite career interest in the sector from young people.

Last year a number of companies took part in the first ever Made in Chesterfield which took place over a week in November. United Cast Bar Ltd, Franke Sissons Ltd, MSE Hiller, Penny Hydraulics, Corregated Case Company, Kingfield Electronics, FieldCandy, and Magnifica Technologies Ltd, offering tours of their facilities, competitions, events and workshops with schools and students.

Ivan Fomin, managing director of MSE Hiller and Destination Chesterfield board member responsible for manufacturing and engineering, said: “The support of companies in the sector is vital to the success of Made in Chesterfield. Manufacturing is the lifeblood of the economy, feeding other sectors such as retail and leisure and its continuing success relies on today’s students considering it for a future career. Made in Chesterfield is designed to open their eyes to this and show them the varied job roles available and also how the sector has changed. However, we can only this of companies come forward and actively get involved.”

Last year Ivan’s company took an active role in Made in Chesterfield Week and invited a number of schools to tour the firm’s Markham Vale £3million purpose-built premises.

If your company would like to get involved with Made in Chesterfield, please contact Dominic Stevens on 01246 207207 or email dom.stevens@chesterfield.co.uk.

Made in Chesterfield MSE Hiller

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield

Charity Golf Challenge for Ashgate Hospice

Handelsbanken Chesterfield is to embark on a charity golf challenge in order to raise funds for Ashgate Hospicecare’s Urgent Bed Appeal.

The local relationship bank’s Chesterfield branch has pledged to raise £5,000 over two years for the Appeal, which hopes to provide the £1 million needed to keep its Inpatient Ward running at full capacity.

Ashgate Hospicecare, which cares for over 2,000 patients each year across North Derbyshire, provides free of charge palliative care. As such, it needs to raise £6m of its £8.5m operating costs from donations and legacies.

On Monday 22nd June, Branch Manager Phil Walker and Corporate Manager Andy North will be playing a marathon four rounds of golf in just one day. It is expected to take around 15 hours in total and will consist of approximately 20 miles of walking whilst completing the 72 holes.

Phil Walker said, “We are proud to support Ashgate Hospicecare’s £1m Urgent Bed Appeal. Keeping the four beds open that are at threat of closure will enable them to continue providing their much-valued services to those across the North Derbyshire region who really need it.”

Golf Challenge Ashgate

Posted in About Chesterfield

Race for Life returns to raise vital funds

More than 1,600 people are expected to walk, jog and run through Chesterfield town centre on Sunday, 14th June for Cancer Research’s Race for Life.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centre and visitor economy said: “We are pleased to support Chesterfield’s Race for Life event each year because it is such a good cause.

“All of us will have been touched by cancer at some time in our lives either through having the disease or knowing someone who has.

“There may be some disruption in the town centre while the race is underway but this will be kept to a minimum and roads and car parks will open as soon as the race participants have passed.

“Good luck to everyone taking part.”

To enable the event to run smoothly Chesterfield Borough Council will temporarily close:

• Queens Park North car park
• Rose Hill car park
• Albion Road car park

In addition, Soresby Street car park will open only for participants in the event. It will reopen to the public once the race is finished.
During the race alternative parking can be found at Saltergate multi-storey, Holywell Cross (Donut), Ashgate Road, Queen’s Park South or Queen’s Park Annexe car parks.

The footbridge from West Bars to Queen’s Park is currently closed while Derbyshire County Council carries out repairs.  However, the bridge will be open to participants on the day of the race but not the public. This is because the bridge surface is too narrow to have both spectators and participants while the work is carried out.

Several roads around the town centre including around the Town Hall, Knifesmithgate, Elder Way, around the Crooked Spire church and sections of West Bars, New Beetwell Street, Boythorpe Avenue and Park Road will also be closed for periods between early morning and early afternoon while the race takes place.

(Image Courtesy of Claire Davison Photography)

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

New Spireites Manager Makes First Signing

New Spireites manager Dean Saunders has agreed his first deal with experienced striker, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

Ebanks-Blake played under Saunders at Wolves and scored 61 league goals during his time at Molineux, making 123 starts.

Saunders believes the 29-year-old will be a great signing for Chesterfield. He said: “Sylvan is just what the team needs. He’s strong and when the ball comes into the box, he’s where it should be. He’s hungry to play and he wants to be part of a winning team.”

Ebanks-Blake started his career at Manchester United and had a spell on loan at Royal Antwerp in Belgium before joining Plymouth Argyle in 2006.

A successful time in Devon saw him earn a £1.5million transfer to Wolves in 2008 and he was a regular goalscorer in the Championship.

Ebanks-Blake linked-up with another former Wolves manager when Mick McCarthy took him to Ipswich Town in December 2013. He agreed a short-term deal to join Preston North End in January of this year and was limited to just one league start due to the impressive form of strike-duo Joe Garner and Jermaine Beckford.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Voting now open for 2015 Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards

Voting is now open for the Chesterfield 2015 Food and Drink Awards.

Members of the public have until midnight on Sunday 12 July 2015 to nominate their favourite eateries, hostelries, food producers and conference venues in Chesterfield as well as out of town, across 10 categories.

The awards return for their third year and promise to be bigger and better than ever before. Last year hundreds of nominations were received with just 38 businesses and individuals being shortlisted for a prestigious award.

The awards are organised by Destination Chesterfield in association with headline sponsor Chesterfield College whose students will, once again, be catering the entire awards evening at Chesterfield College’s Heart Space Building.

This year, two people could also have the opportunity to attend the glittering awards ceremony as guests of Destination Chesterfield. Everyone who votes in the Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards will be entered into a free prize draw for two tickets to the awards ceremony. So make sure you save the date!

Vice Chairman of Destination Chesterfield Cllr Amanda Serjeant is now urging people to get voting. She said: “The success of the Food and Drink awards is all down to the general public and they haven’t let us down yet. Each year we get more and more nominations proving that we’re a town that appreciates good food and customer service. I hope people will get behind us once again and vote and help make the 2015 Food and Drink awards the best yet.”

Shortlisting will take place in August with the winners being crowned at the star-studded ceremony in October later this year. Award winning restaurateur Theo Randall, who is a familiar face on prime time TV, and recently published his second cookery book, My Simple Italian has recently been confirmed as the host of the awards.

Voting in the 10 categories is easy and can be done online at www.chesterfield.co.uk/foodanddrinkawards

The 10 categories in which you can nominate in the Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards include:

• Restaurant of the Year – sponsored by
• Café/Tea Room of the Year – sponsored by Kier
• Gastro Pub of the Year – sponsored by Chesterfield College
• Pub / Bar of the Year
• Best Newcomer – sponsored by BHP
• Best Customer Service – sponsored by East Midlands Chamber
• Best Out of Town (within 10 miles of Chesterfield)
• Chesterfield Food Producer – sponsored by NatWest
• International Restaurant of the Year – sponsored by MSE Hiller
• Family Friendly Award – sponsored by Jumble Design

Other supporters of the awards include the Derbyshire Times, Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers, Peak FM, Franke Sissons, Holdsworth Foods, Banner Jones, the Crooked Spire Church, Black Eyed Susan and Reflections.

A limited number of sponsorship opportunities still remain. If any businesses are interested in becoming a sponsor of the 2015 Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards they should contact Dominic Stevens on 01246 207207 or email dom.stevens@chesterfield.co.uk.Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards Nominate

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

Sitcom star appearing at the Proact

John Challis, who starred as Boycie in long-running TV sitcom Only Fools & Horses, will appear in an All-Star Events night at the Proact Stadium later this year.

John will recount anecdotes from his time in the ever-popular show when he heads to Chesterfield on Friday, August 21 (7pm for 7.30pm).

Classic Only Fools & Horses clips will be shown and there will be some fun competitions, with prizes to be won!

Those attending will also have a chance to be photographed with John and secure his autograph.

Admission to the event, which includes fish, chips and mushy peas, costs just £19.95. To book, please email richardkew@chesterfield-fc.co.uk or phone 01246 209765 (ext 4153)

All Star Events John Chalis

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

More new jobs to be created at Markham Vale

A further 20 new jobs are set to be created in Chesterfield as Meter Provida prepare to move to Markham Vale.

Work has already started to build a new 40,000 square feet unit for the firm which supplies gas, water and electric metering products and services for home, commercial and industrial use nationwide for suppliers such as British Gas.

Tim Houtby, managing director at Meter Provida said:

“We are very excited to move to Markham Vale. We’re seeing a significant increase in interest in the services and products we supply as the UK moves closer to the nationwide Smart Meter Rollout, and our bigger premises will help us to attract more business by increasing our product range which means creating more jobs.

“Location was an important factor for us when looking for a new base. We needed good access to major transport routes but wanted to stay local to minimise disruption for our existing staff, making Markham Vale the perfect choice.”

Meter Provida which is based at Broombank Business Park in Chesterfield is expected to open new premises at Markham in November this year.

Derbyshire County Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Strategic Policy, Economic Development and Budget, Councillor Anne Western said:

“This is more good news for Markham having just signed a ground-breaking deal with Great Bear Distribution which will bring 400 jobs to the site next year.

“We look forward to Meter Provida joining our growing business community at Markham Vale which continues to flourish with a steady stream of enquiries from new businesses looking to relocate or expand.”

The firm’s new premises have been designed and are being built by our private sector property partner, Henry Boot Developments.

Ben Ward, Henry Boot’s regional director, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Meter Provida to Markham Vale. The interest generated and current activity here at Markham Vale is phenomenal, the past 12 months really have been quite remarkable with seven major deals taking place.

“In addition to Meter Provida, we recently welcomed AW Repairs, Holdsworth Foods, Ready Egg and Great Bear Distribution, which is due to start on site in autumn 2015. We’re also underway with a new building for Inspirepac, which will be ready for occupation this summer and the completion of new premises for Gould Alloys is imminent.”

Meter Provida are the latest in a line of companies to acquire premises on the regeneration site off junction 29A of the M1. Existing occupiers include:

  • AW Repair Group
  • MSE Hiller
  • Squadron Medical
  • Industrial Ancillaries
  • Andrew Page
  • Holdsworth Foods
  • Ready Egg Products
  • Euro Garages.

Markham Vale is one of the UK’s biggest Enterprise Zone developments

Markham Vale

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Do you help Chesterfield bloom?

Chesterfield residents can put their green fingers to the test and enter this year’s Chesterfield in Bloom competition.

There are nine categories to enter in the annual completion led by Chesterfield Borough Council.

They are:

  • Best front garden
  • Best back garden (up to 80 m2) sponsored by Frederick’s Ice Cream
  • Best back garden (larger than 80m2)
  • Best container garden
  • Best blooming pub/restaurant sponsored by Chesterfield Borough Council
  • Best kept allotment site
  • Best kept allotment plot sponsored by Dunston Hall Garden Centre and New Leaf Garden Centre
  • Most improved garden
  • Best hanging basket

Councillor Chris Ludlow, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing said: “Every year, we have so many entries into the Chesterfield in Bloom competition and the standard of them is always remarkable.

“Bloom is not just about growing pretty flowers, people with well-kept landscaping can enter – and if you don’t have a garden, you can enter the best kept hanging basket category. There really is something for everyone.”

Download the Chesterfield in Bloom 2015 – entry form

The closing date for entries is Friday 3 July.

chesterfield in bloom

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer

Chesterfield Arts & Craft fair returns this June

The second Chesterfield Arts & Crafts fair will take place on Saturday 13th June 2015 between 2pm and 4pm at Chesterfield Studios, on Rose Hill, Chesterfield.

The fair aims to celebrate creative talents in Chesterfield – not just by providing quality locally made products from independent artists and craftspeople but by exhibiting work and giving local performers an audience too.

13th June 2015 is also the tenth annual World Wide Knit In Public Day, and the StraightCurves Charity Knitting Group will be celebrating this by hosting a picnic (outdoors, weather-permitting, but we’ll move indoors if the British Summer plays its usual tricks!). We would love people to come along and join in – just bring along your current knitting or crochet project and have a natter!

Chesterfield Craft Fair

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting