Business

Chesterfield chosen for Designer Contracts’ new HQ following second year of growth

25th June 2020

Nationwide flooring company, Designer Contracts has moved into new headquarters at Coney Green in Chesterfield.

Four times the size of its original head office, the impressive new space boasts 8,000 sq ft, with room to accommodate 50 people plus meeting and conference facilities.

The company has moved 25 members of the team over to the new site, while retaining the existing offices at Holmewood in Chesterfield, which will now house its central region’s administration and warehouse teams.

In May this year, Designer Contracts announced a second year of growth, with figures for the year to October 31, 2019 showing an increase of 23 per cent. Turnover leapt from £38 million to £46.7 million and a total of 74 new jobs were created across the UK.

Peter Kelsey, MD of Designer Contracts commented: “We are thrilled to have finally moved into our new HQ. We were due to move at the end of March, but like many, had to put our plans on hold until it was safe to make the transition.

“The move comes after significant growth, and we felt it was time to increase the overall space for our team, giving us ample room to grow further.”

“Our bold expansion strategy has allowed us to increase our customer base considerably. We’ve taken on business in new sectors, including the public and care arenas, and expanded in areas where we were already prominent.

“Despite the current situation with corona virus, we remain positive and are confident that we can reach our target £80 million turnover and increase the number of staff from 300 to 600 by 2023.”

The company has also confirmed it is fully compliant with the UK Government guidelines on managing the risk of Covid-19, and has been certified as a ‘Covid Safe’ employer.

To receive the certification, a number of measures have been put in place throughout the business to minimise the risk of transmission. These include carrying out a Covid-19 risk assessment and sharing with employees, taking all reasonable steps to maintain a two-metre distance in the workplace, and supporting employees to work from home where possible, all while ensuring the necessary handwashing and hygiene procedures are in-line with guidance.

Designer Contracts operates across 15 UK regional facilities. As well as flooring, the company provides curtains and blinds, furniture and lighting, and operates a showhome interior design services division.

One of over 180 Chesterfield Champions supporting the marketing and economic growth of the town, the company has also been recognised as one of the top 200 businesses in Derbyshire and has been highlighted as contributing to the local economy and leading from the front.

Find out more about Chesterfield Champions here.

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

Local businesses optimistic for recovery

25th June 2020

A report released today (25 June) by East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) has revealed optimism among local businesses for a full recovery following the outbreak of Covid-19.

As part of the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey for Q2 2020, firms were asked a series of questions about how they view their post-coronavirus prospects, with one in five responding that they anticipated their business to return to 100% or more of its pre-lockdown activity levels by the end of the year. A further 45% said they would achieve this by the end of 2021.

To help them do so, 36% said they would actively look to invest in activity that would help to diversify their offer to access new markets, while 25% said they would invest further in staff training to improve efficiencies.

Chamber Chief Executive, Scott Knowles, said: “Although national figures published over the past few weeks have given a broad overview of what has happened to the economy in general, the findings of our survey provide the first real, tangible evidence of the impact that Covid-19 has had on businesses across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.”

“The speed at which the economy shut down because of the pandemic and the resulting lockdown was unprecedented. Whole swathes of the business community either ceased or dramatically reduced activity, with some yet to get back underway.”

“For most businesses, this period has been defined by uncertainty and a wait for much-needed clarity about how and when the economy may unlock and any further health implications this may have.”

“The key thing many businesses need right now is focused support to assist in the transition of their staff out of furlough and back into the workplace and to adapt their operations, to help them return to pre-lockdown levels of economic performance as quickly as possible.”

“Clearly, there’s a long way to go before the economy can fully recover, and there will be many hard stories at both an organisational and an individual level in the months ahead.

“However, regardless of the individual experiences of businesses over the past three months, many see opportunities to grow and succeed outside of this current period, perhaps taking a different approach to how they do this.”

“To help them in this, continuing to support businesses to innovate, diversify, enhance their resilience and think differently must become a central focus of the Government’s policy response as we come out of the pandemic.”

In its report, East Midlands Chamber highlights the full extent to which the Covid-19 crisis affected local firms in the second quarter of the year. Read the full report here.

Click here to find out more about the East Midlands Chamber

East Midlands Chamber are members of the Chesterfield Champions local business membership scheme. To find out more about the Chesterfield Champions, click here.

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

Development approved for site of former multi-storey car park

24th June 2020

A McDonald’s restaurant and drive through has been approved by Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee for the site of the former West Bars multi-storey car park.

The new development will create 65 jobs and will see regeneration of a site, which has laid derelict since the car park was demolished in 2015.

The application has explained that the new building will have a distinctive glazed frontage, which will offer views into a bright and lively customer area.

The development will create 65 jobs for the community and staff will be given the opportunity to develop through McDonald’s internal training programmes, including nationally recognised qualifications in hospitality, literacy and numeracy.

Chesterfield currently has over £1 billion of regeneration projects moving forward.  Find out more about the regeneration of chesterfield.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Home

Specsavers Chesterfield staff member features in national TV advertisement

24th June 2020

An optometrist from the Specsavers store in Chesterfield has played a starring role in a national television advert as part of the company’s new campaign.

The 90-second video, titled ‘We Were There’, aired on ITV1 on Saturday 13^th June and tells real life stories of store colleagues and their customers during lockdown.

The video explains how store staff had to change the way they worked to help people outside the normal test room environment, offering eye and hearing care for people in car parks, on doorsteps and even at picnic tables.

Allissa Charlesworth is currently the Optometrist Director at Specsavers Chesterfield and Matlock. Allissa is the first Specsavers staff member to appear in the advert, which you can watch below. Allissa said: “I was quite nervous to find out that I’d been given a role in the national advert. However, when I watched it for the first time, the overriding feeling changed to pride, as it’s certainly testament to all the hard work and community spirit people are showing across the UK.”

“Over lockdown, the most surprising and rewarding part for me has been the power of a simple phone call. So many people are vulnerable and have to self-isolate, but they still develop problems with their eyes and giving advice over the phone has become a daily routine.”

“A calm and reassuring voice on the end of the phone makes such a difference to people and you can hear the relief in their voice when they realise they don’t have to deal with this problem alone.”

The Specsavers store in Chesterfield has now re-opened, yet with increased health & safety, as well as social distancing, measures.

With Specsavers’ RemoteCare service, you can speak to the experts by video or over the phone about any sight or hearing questions you have. It’s free to use and you don’t need to be a previous customer to use it.

Click here to find out more about Specsavers Chesterfield

Specsavers Chesterfield are members of the Chesterfield Champions local business membership scheme. To find out more about the Chesterfield Champions, click here.

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

New high-quality apartments set to add vibrancy to Chesterfield town centre

23rd June 2020

ALB Group have bought Burlington House, a four-storey 37,000 sq ft building located on Burlington Street in Chesterfield’s town centre for a seven-figure sum, and aim to convert the office block into apartments.

The company is set to apply to Chesterfield Borough Council for planning permission to turn the two, largely vacant, upper floors into 40 high-quality apartments. The ground floor would be kept for commercial use, where tenants already include Rebel Menswear, H Samuel, BetFred, Bird’s Bakery and Max Speilman.

Property consultants FHP acted on behalf of the previous owners and sold the building to ALB Group. The company has looked after lettings in the building over the past five years.

Arran Bailey, Managing Director of ALB Group, explained the attraction of the investment. He said: “The offices will make fantastic flats in the centre of Chesterfield, which will increase footfall on the high street.”

“The development will breathe life into this part of the town, adding vitality and vibrancy.”

“Chesterfield is such a good area to invest in as it is in a great location, with the Peak District and M1 on its doorstep, and it is an ideal, affordable commuter base for those working in cities like Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham, with London less than two hours away by train.”

“There are multiple million-pound projects, such as the Chesterfield Waterside and Northern Gateway developments, underway. It’s not a typical market town.”

Oliver Marshall, Associate Director at FHP, said: “The upper floors comprise of two floors of office space sectioned into individual small office suites which have been predominantly vacant for the last five years.”

“The tenants in the ground-floor retail space will stay and I’m sure Arran will look at bringing in more to fill the empty units.”

“In terms of the upper floors, the natural light and windows and the structure of the building mean it would lend itself well to a conversion to apartments.”

If approved, the scheme is expected to take 50 weeks to complete.

Click here to find out more about the Chesterfield Waterside development

Click here to find out more about the Northern Gateway development

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

HappyWired appoints hometown PR agency Roaring Mouse to support expansion plans

23rd June 2020

Local technology firm, HappyWired, has appointed Chesterfield’s Roaring Mouse Public Relations to help expand its client base in the UK.

Roaring Mouse will lead a proactive content marketing campaign for HappyWired to attract IT professionals and owners of small and medium-sized businesses via online, search and social media. The campaign will guide HappyWired’s audience around opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency and collaboration using automation functionality included in increasingly popular cloud-based technologies such as Microsoft 365.

Based in Chesterfield, HappyWired specialises in delivering business, process and content automation projects for organisations across the UK. The consultancy employs ten people currently and is a certified Microsoft Gold Partner.

Simon Wright, CEO of HappyWired, comments: “Organisations of all sizes are adopting powerful cloud-based software such as Microsoft 365, which offers incredible opportunities to automate tedious, time-consuming tasks. We’ve engaged Roaring Mouse to communicate how these technologies can work harder for organisations and ensure that potential customers recognise how HappyWired can help them to develop new sources of competitive advantage.”

James Taylor, founder of Roaring Mouse Public Relations, comments: “HappyWired is a hidden gem in the world of technology consulting, with deep technical expertise, a friendly approach to business and extensive experience gained from dozens of successful joint projects with Microsoft. We are delighted that it has chosen Roaring Mouse to play such an important role in its expansion plans.”

HappyWired are members of the Chesterfield Champions local business membership scheme. To find out more about the Chesterfield Champions, click here.

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

Derbyshire County Council offer apprenticeship support to local SMEs

22nd June 2020

Small and medium size businesses getting back on their feet across Derbyshire are being reminded that they can get apprenticeship support funded by Derbyshire County Council.

Derbyshire County Council are using some of their apprentice levy to pay for training for apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses.Apprenticeships can be undertaken by new employees, or existing employees in a wide range of business sectors such as manufacturing, construction, health and social care, digital and many more. There are different types of industry standard apprenticeships at a wide variety of different levels.

Councillor Tony King, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us to put our lives and businesses on hold. But now lockdown restrictions are easing slightly and businesses are starting to open up again, this is a great opportunity to remind companies of the value of apprenticeships.”

“During this period of recovery, apprenticeships offer a great opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses across Derbyshire to boost their business efficiency by taking on a new apprentice, or upskilling existing employees.”

More information is available from:-

Lucie Andrew, Skills Adviser at D2N2 Growth Hub: lucie.andrews@d2n2growthhub.co.uk
Leigh McKenzie, Senior Economic Development Officer (Skills) at Derbyshire County Council: leigh.mckenzie@derbyshire.gov.uk

Derbyshire County Council will fund the full duration of the apprenticeship training, and provide expert help to find the right apprenticeship for the individual needs of the business.

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

Citizens Advice Chesterfield releases details of support given to local people during pandemic

19th June 2020

Citizens Advice Chesterfield have released a report including details of the support they have provided to local residents during the Coronavirus pandemic.

From the start of lockdown in March to the end of April, Citizens Advice Chesterfield supported 942 people with 3078 problems.

Staff and volunteers adapted the delivery of their services once the pandemic began, adding extra advisers to their telephone lines and also introducing a webchat feature to their website in order to meet the increase in demand.

The report shows people needing help to access emergency food, cash or vital essentials was 5 times higher than in the same period last year. There were also 4 times the amount of employment issues then in the same period in 2019.

The top four areas where advice was issued, in order, were:

Universal Credit
Benefits and Tax Credits
Debt and Money Issues
Employment

The proportion of people seeking advice under 30 years of age was double that in the same period in 2019.

Linda Moore, Chair of Trustees, commented: “Trustees are constantly in awe of what our staff and volunteers do for local residents on a daily basis and we feel privileged to be a part of such a vital, life-saving service. Recently though, what has been done is nothing short of miraculous. We are proud of their work and achievements. We want to thank them publicly for their tireless dedication.”

As one of their clients said: “You were amazing and listened to what I said. I don’t know what I would have done without your help and support. Thank you.”

Advice Appointments are available throughout each weekday between 9am and 5pm. To access help, please contact the triage and advice line on 0300 4568437, open from 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday.

Click here to find out more about Citizens Advice Chesterfield

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

Chesterfield Borough Council receives support from Re-opening the High Street Safely Fund

19th June 2020

Chesterfield Borough Council has received £92,500 in funding from the Re-opening the High Street Safely Fund.

The funding is primarily for use in Chesterfield town centre, but can also be used to support the re-opening of other district shopping areas such as Staveley town centre, Chatsworth Road and Whittington Moor.

The Government has allocated the funding from the European Regional Development Fund, as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020, to help support the process of reopening England’s high streets safely. The European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations.

The funding, which will be used in collaboration with Destination Chesterfield, will help implement new measures to encourage the safe re-opening of Chesterfield town centre considering the challenges presented by Covid-19 and the need to promote and maintain safe social distancing.

Some of the funding will also be used for communication and public information campaigns to market the town centre and the borough as a place to visit and to encourage more and more people to shop local. More information about how the funding will be spent will be announced over the coming weeks.

Dom Stevens, Manager of Destination Chesterfield, said: “Businesses and organisations across Chesterfield have shown great resilience during the lockdown period. Experiences with our Chesterfield Champions and other local companies has shown that businesses are keen to pull together and come out the other side of the coronavirus pandemic stronger than ever.”

He added: “The Destination Chesterfield team will continue to promote the Shop Local message over the coming months and to support retailers in their recovery.”

Launched in April by Destination Chesterfield, the Supporting Local website has helped Chesterfield’s independent businesses and service providers continue to operate and supply their services and products during lockdown.

Chesterfield Borough Council has already used some of the funding on signage and road and pavement markings to support shoppers to maintain safe social distancing around the outdoor market, market hall and Chesterfield town centre.

Click here to find out more about Destination Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Coronavirus Community Support Fund aims to support charities and social enterprises

18th June 2020

The Government’s new £200 million Coronavirus Community Support Fund is now open for applications. The fund is part of the Government’s £750m financial support package for charities and social enterprises.

The fund, which is being administered through the National Lottery Community Fund, aims to increase community support and to reduce temporary closures of essential charities or social enterprises, ensuring services for vulnerable people impacted by COVID-19 have the financial resources to operate, and so reduce the burden on public services.

Priority will be given to:

Organisations supporting people and communities who experience disproportionate challenge and difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Organisations providing services and support for vulnerable people, for which there will be increased demand as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
Organisations which connect communities and support communities to work together to respond to COVID-19.

Charities and not for profit organisations are able to apply for grants of between £300 and £10,000 or for grants above £10,000. Decisions on funding will be made within weeks. Applications can be submitted at any time.

More information and the application forms can be found at www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/covid-19/learn-about-applying-for-emergency-funding-in-england

Beyond this response, National Lottery funding is available for longer-term rebuild and recovery.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Featured, Home

Chesterfield manufacturer designs bespoke parts for TransPennine Express

17th June 2020

A Chesterfield manufacturer has supported TransPennine Express to install USB sockets across 320 of its 4 car trains, enabling customers to recharge devices onboard for the first time.

Working with a range of other companies as part of a major refurbishment project, The Sanitaryware Supplies Company was selected by TBM Rail to design and manufacture nearly 900 bespoke parts for the national rail company. Products included steel electrical switch boxes for USB sockets and cable securing clips, in addition to purpose-made grab poles for the carriages.

Director of The Sanitaryware Supplies Company, Andy Dukelow said: “The partnership with TBM Rail has been exciting and it was a pleasure to work with the rail industry once again, following the bespoke washbasins we created for a refurbishment project Bombardier carried out on East Midlands Trains.

“We were chosen because of our ability to offer fabrications across various material types, including machined parts, in short lead times and to a high specification. This in turn, has allowed TBM Rail to open up a new service for the part of their business, which looks after fleet refurbishments.

“Railway work is very much custom made and under severe time pressure. The product must be able to stand up to very hard wear. We are delighted that we have been able to make rail journeys a better experience for travellers.”

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