Business

Restaurants and food producers can pledge meals for communities through Open Kitchens

5th June 2020

A social enterprise is encouraging restaurants and food businesses to open their kitchens and cook meals to support communities across Chesterfield.

Working with charities and food banks, Open Kitchens has so far facilitated the distribution of over 124,000 meals to people in need across the UK. Pledging restaurants have been asked to work to a maximum budget of £1.85 per meal to cover costs, funded by community donations.

Original Recipes, Chesterfield manufacturer of the well-known potted meat, Granny Mary’s, is the first local business to work with Open Kitchens. The company has already produced over 700 pots for people in need, but aims to provide 3,000 in total, through donations to cover ingredients.

William Sutherland, Sales Director at Granny Mary’s said: “We would like to thank those who have recently donated, helping us to feed the families and elderly people, who are struggling to feed themselves during this pandemic.

“Our potted beef, which is made to Granny Mary’s original recipe is a highly nutritious premium product and we are keen to keep production going.

“In World War II, my grandparents, Eddie & Mary Sutherland supplied the same potted beef to feed the troops in the trenches and everyone back at home helping with the effort. And in the current crisis with the help of Open Kitchens we are able to help those who fought for us throughout the war and those who are helping fight this invisible war today.”

“If you can help in any way, please visit our just giving page and give what you can. Every penny given will be put into making products that can help feed our community. Just £1.15 is enough to provide life-sustaining food for someone in need whilst putting a smile on their face during this difficult time. And for every 10 pots we sell through Morrisons, we will donate one to the same cause.”

As well as supporting vulnerable people through Open Kitchens, the fourth generation family business is also stocking several Chesterfield businesses that are offering local delivery or collection including Casa Hotel’s Farm Shop, Dronfield Hall Barn and Owen Taylor & Sons.

Donations to support Original Recipes through Open Kitchens can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/originalrecipesokdonate?utm_term=Z8yg7JWA7.

Chesterfield restaurants and producers interested in supporting local people through Open Kitchens can find out more at https://openkitchens.co.uk/.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Home

Chesterfield Borough Council announce discretionary grants for local businesses

5th June 2020

Chesterfield Borough Council has been awarded £1.27 million from the Government to provide discretionary grants to local businesses who were not eligible to receive funding from the Small Business Grant or Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Funds.

Councillor Jean Innes, Chesterfield Borough Council’s, cabinet member for Business Transformation and Customers, said: “We have already paid out over £24 million in business support grants to over 2100 Chesterfield businesses to support them during the Covid-19 pandemic and 661 businesses have received business rates relief worth over £18 million.

“Chesterfield Borough Council’s new discretionary scheme will provide the opportunity for more local businesses to receive grant support, particularly those with high property-related costs and who have struggled to trade during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

The new grant scheme opens on Friday 5 June 2020 and closes for applications on 17 June 2020.

Small businesses can apply for grants of up to £25,000, though the council expects that most grant payments will be in the range of £2,500 to £10,000. The following types of businesses are eligible for this new grant:

Small businesses in shared offices or other flexible workspaces; for example, business/industrial parks and incubator offices which do not have their own business rates assessment
Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment but have fixed building costs, such as rent
Bed and Breakfast accommodation providers who are registered as a food business within Chesterfield Borough Council and pay Council Tax instead of Business Rates
Charities in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for small business rates relief

To apply for this new grant scheme businesses must:

Have been the occupier of a property with a trading address in Chesterfield borough used wholly or mainly for business purposes on 11 March 2020
Employ fewer than 50 people
Have a rateable value or annual rent or mortgage of below £51,000
Be able to evidence relatively high ongoing fixed building costs
Be able to demonstrate that they have had a significant drop in income due to the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions
Be able to demonstrate the business is their sole or primary source of income

In order to apply you will need to download and complete an application form from the Chesterfield Borough Council website and provide the necessary supporting evidence. You will then need to submit it electronically via the council’s secure document management system on their website.

Further information on how to apply, criteria and evidence required is available here: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/your-council/coronavirus-information-hub/businesses-information.aspx#hub_discretionary_grants_local

If you have any further questions about these grants please contact the team by emailing discretionarygrants@chesterfield.gov.uk

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

Chesterfield’s popular Flea Market to return next week

4th June 2020

Chesterfield’s popular flea market is set to return to the town centre on Thursday 11 June.

The news comes days after the town’s general market successfully re-opened for business, following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “Our priority is to ensure that Chesterfield town centre is as safe as possible for everyone. In line with Government and industry guidance, we have introduced physical changes to the layout of the market to maintain safe social distancing and signage reminding people from different households to keep two metres apart and to regularly wash or gel their hands.”

“It was great to welcome our regular market traders back to the town’s general market on Monday and we look forward to seeing more of our regular traders return this coming Friday and Saturday.”

“The council took the decision not to run with Thursday’s popular flea market this week. We felt it was important to first learn the lessons from the general markets in terms of queuing systems, customer journeys and social distancing pinch points. We however, plan to reopen the flea market on Thursday, 11 June.”

Casual traders are not able to join the regular market traders at this stage as the council’s markets team need the flexibility of space to be able to adjust the layout of the market to ensure that traders and member of the public can maintain safe social distancing.

The council continues to support retailers selling essential goods from the Market Hall with more traders expected to return to the indoor market from 15 June. Access in and out of the Market Hall will however continue to be controlled to maintain safe social distancing within the premises.

The council is also working with local retailers and the Pavements and Vicar Lane Shopping Centres to assist with the phased re-opening of non-essential stores from 15 June. This includes establishing what support they might need to manage queues both within and outside their stores in terms of barriers, signage and floor markings.

Councillor Kate Sarvent continued: “Throughout the pandemic, it has been great to see people’s commitment to shopping local when buying their essential goods.”

“As we progress with our phased re-opening of the town centre and more shops and market stalls start to return, I would encourage residents to continue to support our retailers and traders wherever they can.”

“Shopping local will help to restart Chesterfield’s economy, and also reduces the number of miles people travel to buy essential goods such as groceries, which has a positive impact on our environment.”

All of the latest service-related updates will be published in the dedicated Coronavirus information hub: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/coronavirus

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

Peak FM celebrates another big audience increase

4th June 2020

The latest figures published by audience research body RAJAR, show an additional 3000 people are listening to Chesterfield’s Peak FM every week.

The local station, based on the Sheepbridge Industrial Estate, now has 63,000 weekly listeners.

Playing a blend of current, 80s and 90s hit music, the station has been at the centre of the community for years, having recently celebrated its 21st birthday. Presenters Laura and Ricky kickstart the workday with a busy Breakfast show packed with travel updates, local news and callers; Matt Curtis takes over at 10 and Richie Pearson from 2pm.

Tim Smith, Content Controller at Peak FM, is delighted with the result: “In these challenging times it’s especially pleasing to see increased audience engagement on all our platforms. The on-air presenters have done an amazing job this last few months supporting our key workers, helping raise thousands for Chesterfield Royal Hospital’s Protect Your NHS and keeping people entertained in these tough times.”

The Peak FM team are highly skilled in building brands, on-air and online marketing campaigns tailored to the needs of their partners.

You can hear Peak FM on 107.4 FM and 102.0 FM in North Derbyshire, on a smart speaker like Alexa or by downloading the Peak FM app.

Click here to find out more about Peak FM

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

‘Chesterfield is Open’ creative project supports retailers to reopen

4th June 2020

Local independent creatives have come together to combine their skills and help get Chesterfield’s independents ‘back to business’.

Local modern mural artist, Peter Barber, started painting ‘OPEN’ signs using left over bits of wood and tins of paint.

Peter explained: “My thoughts were to drop signs off with businesses as they opened, take a photo and to share them, to create a positive and uplifting message that Chesterfield is slowly opening up again”.

He added: “I posted my thoughts on social media and the response was overwhelming, so many small, independent business owners were chomping at the bit to get going again.”

Helen Rowan from Helen Rowan Photography saw Pete’s post and stepped up to help with the photography and Paul Chapman from community magazine S40 and S41 Local offered to work with the pair to share the news.

Helen commented: “I’m proud to live and work within our local community and jumped at the chance to be part of such a wonderful project to support our local businesses.”

Paul Chapman from S40 Local says, “I’ve always been a massive fan of Pete’s work and love what he does. I was keen to help and support the community.”

“I’ll be printing the pictures in S40 Local and Simon Paterson will do the same in S41 Local, plus I’ll be sharing and adding the pictures to my website (www.chesterfieldlocal.com) as businesses open to help spread the news and support them.”

“Many people have looked for alternative ways to shop during the lockdown and have turned away from the supermarkets and chain stores. If every adult in Chesterfield spent just £5 in a local independent shop, instead of online or at the big supermarkets, it would be worth an extra £20.4 million per year for the Chesterfield’s economy. Which has to be good for us”.

Many local businesses have offered services right through lock down by doing order, delivery and collection. Chesterfield Arms for instance have been doing orders and collection of their beer stocks, Maison Mes Amis have been doing their fabulous Sunday dinners to order and deliver and have been supplying Cream Tea & Champers packages to help customers celebrate birthdays and Shop Indie run an online business alongside their shop on Vicar Lane.

Peter said: “Look out for the signs around town and further afield, and if you do see one, please try and support the business, they need your help now more now than ever. Together we can support local independents and get Chesterfield back to business”.

Destination Chesterfield have put together a Supporting Local section on the www.chesterfield.co.uk website, listing local retailers that are still trading.

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

£35,000 funding for Chesterfield Theatres confirmed by Arts Council England

3rd June 2020

Chesterfield Borough Council has secured £35,000 from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund to support the re-launch of the Pomegranate and The Winding Wheel theatres as and when the current Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

The grant of £35,000 is made possible with thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “Chesterfield Theatres can’t wait to get back to delivering the full range of shows and events that our growing audiences from near and far have come to expect. Our Theatres’ team are already considering how best to use the funding so that when the time is right for us to reopen, we will be in a position to create more memorable experiences for our theatregoers.”

The Theatres’ broad range of events, which includes drama, musicals, dance, comedy, concerts, talks and cinema came to an abrupt halt midway through March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Income from ticket sales, bar sales and venue hire are integral to the Theatres’ survival. The emergency funding will fund essential marketing costs to help the Theatres’ reach out to customers, old and new, and highlight some of the great shows planned for when lockdown measures are eased.

The Pomegranate and The Winding Wheel theatres are still subject to Covid-19 restrictions, but a series of Autumn shows are currently available to book including the Pomegranate Theatre’s hit Christmas Pantomime, Beauty and the Beast. To find out more about Chesterfield Theatres and to book tickets visit www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk.

The Grade II-listed theatres, the Pomegranate Theatre and The Winding Wheel Theatre, are proudly owned and managed by Chesterfield Borough Council.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Chesterfield business expands despite Covid-19 industry setbacks

2nd June 2020

Chesterfield-based mortgage advice firm Mortgage 1st have continued their ambitions growth plans with the recruitment of two new Mortgage Advisers, despite huge setbacks and disruption to both the financial services industry and the housing market due to Covid-19.

Two new advisers have just completed their ‘virtual’ induction and will be authorised to start looking after clients by the end of May. A further three new Advisers have also recently accepted a position at Mortgage 1st and once their applications are complete the Adviser head count will reach 20 by the end of the year.

Mortgage 1st was established in 2008 by Jon Stones at his dining table. His passion and hard work over the years has seen his team grow from a one-man-band to a strong and capable team of 28 today. Jon has ambitious future plans for Mortgage 1st and even a global pandemic hasn’t stood in his way in continuing with the recruitment and growth of his team.

Mortgage 1st has always offered ‘remote advice’ meaning everything can be done on email, Zoom or over the phone. As well as the Chesterfield based head office team, over half of the advisers work remotely and are based all over the UK. This has meant that they have seen very little disruption and have been able to continue working as normal for their customers during the last few uncertain months.

The Mortgage 1st head office has been closed for the duration of lockdown, their team were set up to work from home safely from day 1 meaning it’s been business as usual for their clients. The team have stayed in touch with one another using video and conference calls and were even able to conduct a virtual 2-day induction course for their new advisers.

Lisa Stones, HR & Marketing Director at Mortgage 1st (below) said: “We are delighted to be welcoming two new faces to the team who bring years of experience with them. Continued growth is a huge part of our company vision and even though we have had to adapt quickly, like all businesses have, during the past few months this hasn’t stopped us, we’ve just become more virtual!”

Since some of the housing market restrictions were lifted earlier this month Mortgage 1st have already seen a large spike in new enquires as the property market safely kick starts. This is great news for the industry, for house buyers & sellers and for the economy in general.

Click here to read more about Mortgage 1st

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

Chesterfield Royal Hospital retains ‘GOOD’ rating

1st June 2020

The Chief Inspector of Hospitals has confirmed that the Chesterfield Royal Hospital has retained an overall rating of GOOD for the services it runs, following a recent visit from Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors.

The report published on Friday May 29 2020) showed that the Trust had maintained its high standards in the regulator’s five domains that asks whether a hospital is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The report also highlights five areas of outstanding practice within urgent and emergency service, medical care and surgery.

Commenting on the rating, Chief Executive Angie Smithson (below) said: “I’m incredibly proud of what our colleagues have achieved to once again show that the care and services we provide have met the high standards set out by the CQC. Our teams across the Trust work hard to provide the best possible care to our patients and visitors. This rating reflects that dedication and gives us a solid platform as we continue our journey to ‘OUTSTANDING’.”

Inspectors visited the site in February 2020, spending three days on site to look at a number of different services.

The report, in particular noted high levels of kind and compassionate care throughout the Trust with good, visible and approachable leadership providing a good, inclusive service to the local population.

Meanwhile services were praised for being appropriately staffed with a good skill mix to keep patients safe from harm with staff quick to identify and act upon patients at risk of deterioration. It also highlighted a high level of understanding from staff as to how to protect patients from abuse, working well with other services and agencies to do so.

The report sets out just two areas that the Trust must do – ensuring staff wear personal protective equipment at all times when taking bloods and inserting a cannula. The second is to make sure Deprivation of Liberty (DoLS) assessments are carried out in a timely fashion and that families are informed of the outcome and involved in best interest decision meetings.

There are also 32 actions the CQC recommend the Trust to undertake to make services better that range from patients being told how to use the call bells and keeping up to date with mandatory training to keeping corridors clear of obstructions and the appropriate storage of emergency equipment.

Director of Nursing and Patient Care, Lynn Andrews, said: “This is a highly detailed report and we will take the time to go through it line by line to make certain that we can put plans in place to address those recommendations and maintain our successes.”

Lynn added: “I would like to thank all of our staff for their dedication and hard work in achieving this outcome. We have such a strong platform to build on and this report gives us what we need to continue our journey towards ‘OUTSTANDING’.”

To view the full report, click here www.cqc.org.uk/provider/RFS

Angie Smithson – Chief Executive of Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

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

Dronfield Open Art Exhibition goes virtual

1st June 2020

For the first time, Dronfield Arts Festival is now hosting its popular Open Art Exhibition as an online event.

Although the exhibition is no longer taking place at Dronfield Hall Barn, local digital design agency FWD Motion, managers of the Dronfield Arts Festival, are now sharing the artwork online, to allow everyone to enjoy a fantastic selection of unique pieces, created by some of our most talented local artists.

The diverse array of styles and mediums on display, reflects the varied backgrounds of the entrants. Award-winning artist Carole Slinn, whose modern, mixed-media artwork focuses on an individual’s personal history and how this influences their identity, is just one of the artists featured in the exhibition.

Heron Publications, the publishers of Twist Magazine, are this year’s festival patrons, will be awarding the two most outstanding pieces of art with the titles of ‘Best in Show’ and ‘Highly Commended.’

Art lovers, or those looking to treat someone special, can purchase any of the original artwork currently being exhibited in the online gallery, subject to availability.

Click here to view the online art gallery

Dronfield Arts Festival, FWD Motion and Heron Publications are all members of the Chesterfield Champions local business membership scheme.

To find out more about the Chesterfield Champions, click here.

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

Talent contest by local care group lifts spirits amid coronavirus crisis

31st May 2020

Local care provider, Heathcotes Group, has been helping to keep its service users engaged during lockdown with a talent contest inviting their services to show off their creative abilities.

Fifteen services took up the invitation to enter Heathcotes’s Got Talent, which showed off a fantastic mix of artistic styles recorded on audio and video, including choreographed dancing, drawing, rapping, Elvis impersonations and a COVID-19-themed dance mix. Many of the entries promoted an uplifting message expressing positivity and solidarity in dealing with the coronavirus crisis whilst thanking the UK’s courageous key workers in the NHS and social care.

Gemma Hollingsworth, Director of Operations (North) said: “All the entries had plenty to admire and it was difficult to pick out winners. We ended up choosing four winners and all the other services received certificates of commendation. They certainly showed that they’ve got talent and they put a big smile on our face!”

“COVID-19 has impacted many people’s mental health and the pandemic has been an enormous challenge for a care provider that support adults with learning disabilities and complex mental health needs. The response from our staff has been amazing – our services nationwide have been coming up with all kinds of creative ways to lift spirits, keep our service users occupied and help them cope with the disruption. We’ve seen baking contests, photo shoots, rainbow-themed parties, art galleries, newsletters, garden makeovers and numerous other activities and events.”

Natalia Lysiuk, Director of Business Development, said: “Under immense pressure, our Support Workers, Team Leaders and Service Managers have shown unwavering commitment in support of some of the most vulnerable people in society, at a time when they need that support more than ever. We are incredibly proud of their work and the difference that they’re making. We’re also proud of our service users – their spirit and resilience have been incredible during such a difficult time for everyone.”

With expertise in providing living environments that closely resemble typical family homes, Heathcotes Group currently has 72 services nationwide. The company offers a wide range of specialist support for individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome, autism, Down Syndrome, learning disabilities, personality disorders, physical disabilities, Prader-Willi Syndrome, sensory impairments, speech difficulties and severe epilepsy.

Click here to find out more about the Heathcotes Group

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

Derbyshire Times launches interactive online map to support local businesses during lockdown

29th May 2020

The Derbyshire Times has launched a special new interactive on-line map as a way to support local businesses during lockdown and let residents know where they can find the goods and services they need in the town.

The map is an opportunity for businesses, many who have had to adapt and evolve to stay afloat, to let locals know they are still trading.

Phil Bramley from the Derbyshire Times said: “During these turbulent times we know that our communities need us more than ever – not only to keep them informed and entertained but to keep them connected.”

“As part of our #supportlocal campaign we bring you this interactive map to back those businesses who continue to provide services during the pandemic.”

“It’s a simple way of keeping our communities connected – but such an important one.”

Businesses that are open, or offering a delivery or takeaway service in the town and north Derbyshire area, can be included on the map at no charge.

Click here to see the interactive map

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Featured, Home