There’s nothing vacant about Chesterfield

4th September 2012

Chesterfield is riding high on the retail front after a national report revealed the town is bucking the north-south divide with low shop vacancy rates. The latest figures from the Local Data Company (LDC) gives a detailed insight and analysis of 506 town centres and Chesterfield is third best of the largest centres in the country with just 8.7% of shops being empty. Compared to the likes of Nottingham (30%), Stockport (28.4%) and Sheffield (26.1%), Chesterfield is one of the few top ten northern towns leading the way to keep its high streets buzzing.

Councillor John Burrows, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council said: “This is like getting a gold star on your school report! What better indication is there than when an external research company identifies your town as being one of the top retail locations in the UK?

“We’re not surprised by the news because we know the figures, we see how busy the shops and markets are and we get the feedback from visitors and investors that Chesterfield is doing something different, something right. Projects like Destination Chesterfield, investment in our tourism offer, developments such as the Northern Gateway, these are all part of mix that keeps us striving to attract more people to the town to visit, spend money, invest and live here.

“There’s still much to do to improve the local economy and reduce unemployment in the borough but a thriving, bustling town centre is certainly a major bonus and gives us a strong platform to build from.”

Vic Risorto, Destination Chesterfield board member responsible for Retail, Leisure and Tourism said: “It is excellent news that Chesterfield’s high street occupancy is once again being heralded amongst the best in England. With the exciting regeneration plans coming forward for the town centre including the Market Hall refurbishment, extension of Ravenside Retail Park and the proposed Northern Gateway, Destination Chesterfield will continue to work with Chesterfield Borough Council to support existing businesses as well as promoting our town centre to attract further investment.”

Figures from the LDC report show an increase in shop vacancies across the East Midlands from 16.7% in 2011 to 17% in 2012. Chesterfield (8.7%) is the only town centre in the region that is in the top ten with just York (9.6%) and Harrogate (10.3%) featuring amongst a predominant list of Southern based locations, including Central London, Cambridge and Kingston upon Thames.

Source:Chesterfield Borough Council and Destination Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield

Chesterfield gains two new major retailers

25th October 2011

Chesterfield has welcomed two major retailers to the town in the space of just one week. Toys r’ Us opened its doors on Thursday (20^th October) and on the same day, Debenhams confirmed it is to have a store on the Ravenside Retail Park.

The new 62,000 square foot Debenhams store will be located on the old Focus unit and is expected to open in autumn 2012. As part of the development there will be improvements made to the entrances and pedestrian crossing points into the Ravenside Retail Park.

Cllr John Burrows, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council said: “Attracting major retailers such as Debenhams and Toys r’ Us is a great achievement for Chesterfield and a significant step forward in our ambition to attract inward investment and create jobs for local people. It’s further evidence that Chesterfield is bouncing back and with the Market Hall and Northern Gateway still to come we’ve an exciting time ahead for the town.”

Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield said: “This is fantastic news for Chesterfield and reflects the strength of the retail sector within the town and the fact that we are an attractive destination for investors and visitors. We only have around 5% of our shops vacant which, compared to a national average of 13%, is exceptional for a town our size.”

Rob Hadfield, Head of Property at Debenhams said: “The Ravenside Retail Park is an ideal location for us. It’s within the town centre shopping area and close to the major road routes coming into Chesterfield.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming local residents to the store and reaching a wider audience from surrounding districts which I’m sure will have a positive impact on other retailers in the town.”

Source:Destination Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Chesterfield bids for Regional Growth Funds

6th June 2011

Chesterfield Waterside and Markham Vale are in a Chesterfield bids for Regional Growth Funds backed by Sheffield City Region LEP.

The Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is to support eight bids. All the proposals aim to create employment and drive economic growth within the Region.

The LEP invited submissions for both ‘Projects’ and ‘Programmes’ when bidding to the £1.4bn fund opened in April, the key difference being that programme bids had to demonstrate a clear over-arching investment strategy and sustainable benefits for a specific geographical area, rather than for individual sites.

The LEP is to provide endorsement for four eligible Project bids and play a co-ordinating role for the Programme bids within the City Region (detailed below).

In addition, the LEP itself put forward two dedicated programmes of funding in order to launch an Employment Growth Programme to help small and medium-sized businesses expand and grow, and a Tech Accelerator Programme for start up companies with high growth potential, and which centre on the use of digital technologies and drive a culture of collaboration in the City Region.

The Programmes would see co-ordinated support given to smaller companies with the greatest potential for rapid expansion so as to lever in funding and support for their growth plans.

James Newman, Chairman of the Sheffield City Region LEP, said: “We invited submissions which could demonstrate a significant contribution to the LEP’s objectives and priorities for the City Region and that, crucially, would contribute to economic growth and the creation of jobs and private sector investment.

“The LEP is delighted to offer its support to this clear and focussed group of project and programme submissions to the Regional Growth Fund, which we hope will meet with Government’s approval so as to lever investment into the City Region.”

The Project bids in Chesterfield being supported by the LEP are outlined below:

Chesterfield Waterside

This flagship regeneration project on the edge of Chesterfield town centre is bidding for £1.1m from the RGF, which would be used to bring forward the first phase of office development in Basin Square, the commercial heart of the wider £340m scheme.

Markham Vale

This scheme is bidding for £1.1m from the RGF to deliver the second phase of development on this key employment and industrial site at junction 29a of the M1. The £10m scheme would create office, industrial, manufacturing and warehouse space to support advanced manufacturing and medical technology sectors and the proposed Sheffield City Region Enterprise Zone, if approved by Government.

Posted in Business, Development