Celebrate Chesterfield

Tourism businesses encouraged to apply for new industry standard mark

26th June 2020

Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire has welcomed the announcement of a new UK-wide industry standard mark that will provide a ‘ring of confidence’ for tourism businesses as the sector works towards reopening on 4 July.

The ‘We’re Good To Go’ accreditation, introduced by VisitEngland in partnership with national tourist organisations, means businesses can demonstrate that they are adhering to Government and public health guidance and have the required processes in place.

The scheme is free to join and Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire is encouraging local businesses to apply as soon as possible to ensure they are COVID-secure and ready to welcome visitors.

Jo Dilley, Managing Director of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire says: “We’re encouraging all local tourism businesses to apply for the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard, which will play a vital role in ensuring visitors can enjoy a holiday in the Peak District and Derbyshire this summer and be confident they can do so with peace of mind.

Jo added: “We know that businesses are already working incredibly hard to prepare for reopening on 4 July, and this new industry standard provides a welcome boost of confidence for the sector and added reassurance for our visitors that we are putting all the right measures in place.”

To obtain the accreditation businesses must complete a self-assessment through an online platform, before receiving certification and the ‘We’re Good To Go’ mark for display in their premises and online.

Businesses must align with the Government’s official guidance for the sector including ‘Working Safely during COVID-19: Visitor Economy’, which outlines the processes and facilities that tourism businesses in England need to put in place before reopening.

The scheme has been developed in partnership with national tourist authorities with input from more than 40 industry bodies including Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire. For more information on the industry standard mark, click here.

Details of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire’s ‘welcome back’ campaign will be released shortly.

Please note: images were taken prior to the Coronavirus pandemic

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

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

Chesterfield College’s annual Arts Festival goes virtual to celebrate the work of creative students

24th June 2020

Students from across Chesterfield College’s visual and performing arts courses are celebrating their work in a virtual Arts Festival.

The virtual festival includes an end-of-year exhibition of work from photography, fine art, graphic design, digital, media, fashion and performing arts students, which would normally take place in the college. Teachers at the college were keen to ensure students didn’t miss out on the chance to exhibit their work because of Covid-19 so they have created a virtual showcase.

Dave Smith, Curriculum Operations Manager for Visual and Performing Arts, said: “It has been a privilege to see the work created by such a talented group of students. They have worked extremely well over the last few months, under challenging circumstances. It is a credit to their dedication and passion for their subject which has resulted in well executed final pieces.”

Dave added: “The virtual Arts Festival gives us an opportunity to celebrate, congratulate and thank our students and teachers for their hard work and successes over the year. Exhibiting work is also an important part of preparing students for working in the creative industries. We might not be able to do that physically at the moment, but the virtual festival does allow us to share their achievements with a wider audience so it actually gives us a fantastic opportunity.”

Chesterfield College has a long history in supporting people across the region to develop skills for successful careers in the creative industries. Their excellent facilities, including a range of well-equipped studios for everything from ceramics and silversmithing to fashion and theatre, have been the launchpad for many designers, artists and performers for many years. The Arts Festival has been an integral part of the creative courses the college offers so it was important to continue the tradition this year in spite of the challenging circumstances.

You can access the festival at www.chesterfield.ac.uk/artsfestival20.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

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

A ‘celebrity’ shopping experience awaits Chesterfield shoppers

15th June 2020

Non-essential retailers in Chesterfield town centre have returned to their shops and stores and re-opened with coronavirus-related safety measures in place after 13 weeks of closure.

The implementation of safety measures mean that some retailers are now promising shoppers a ‘celebrity’ shopping experience.

Laura Jo Owen, owner of Adorn Jewellers based in The Shambles said: “We’ve been chatting to our customers via social media throughout lockdown so that has helped us understand how they want to shop with us. They don’t want to queue and wait around to get into the shop which is why we’ve introduced an appointment only system to Adorn.”

“Whether purchasing or not, we want people to not feel pressured and have the shop to themselves – a celebrity shopping experience! We’re more than happy for customers just to browse and have a catch up with us – we’ve missed them.”

Ashgate Hospicecare has installed Perspex screens on the tills in its shops and also removed and condensed displays to enable people to observe the two-metre distancing rule.

Eighty-five per cent of the shops and stores in Vicar Lane Shopping Centre have re-opened with the remainder set to follow over the next few weeks.

Sarah Bowler, Office Administrator and Commercialisation Co-Ordinator at Vicar Lane Shopping Centre, explained: “All of the retailers at Vicar Lane have been working very hard to implement measures that make it as safe as possible for everyone. As well as social distancing measures, some stores are providing hand-sanitising stations, or are offering appointment-only shopping. Additionally, some are operating reduced opening hours.”

Ashgate Hospicecare is undertaking a phased re-opening of its shops and donation centres over a three-week period. “The shops and donation centre will be re-opened over a three-week period, starting with our donation point and furniture store in Hasland,” added Laura Evans, Head of Retail Operations at Ashgate Hospicecare.

Sarah added: “We have provided details of every store’s safety measures and opening times on the Vicar Lane website to help visitors feel confident about visiting us. We’re reviewing government guidelines on a daily basis and ensuring that we are able to adapt quickly.”

Vicar Lane Shopping Centre

Supporting retailers and visitors, Chesterfield Borough Council has implemented social distancing measures throughout the town centre, market and Market Hall.

There is now visible signage around the town centre advising shoppers where to queue outside individual shops. There are also signs in areas such as car parks and green spaces reminding people to follow social distancing guidelines keeping two metres apart from anyone outside of their household, and not to congregate in groups.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The safety of those who live, work and shop in Chesterfield town centre remains the council’s number one priority and we have been working closely with local retailers and market traders to make sure we can maintain safe social distancing within the town centre.”

“If you are worried about anything or have any questions, our town centre ambassadors will be on hand to help you.”

Retailers have praised the measures Chesterfield Borough Council has put in place around the town centre. “The council has also really considered the flow of people around The Shambles so we’re confident that social distancing is fully in place for every visitor,” said Laura-Jo.

Adorn Jewellers of Chesterfield

The safety measures have also given entrepreneurs confidence to set up a town centre business.

Prior to lockdown, Natalia Marcheta, owner of mobile Prosecco bar, Salute, was due to set up a pop-up bar in Vicar Lane and plans remain in place for later in the year. She said: “Having seen the social distancing measures the council has put in place in the town centre, it has given us confidence to go-ahead with the venture in-line with the government guidelines of when hospitality businesses are allowed to re-open, as we know that our staff and customers will be safe.”

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), is urging the public to “play their part” in making shopping safer. It says customers should follow five steps:

Queue considerately
Maintain social distancing
Follow instructions inside and outside shops
Follow all necessary hygiene measures
Be respectful to shop staff

Lockdown has hit many businesses and charities on the high street hard. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retailers saw clothing and footwear purchases fall by two thirds.

Laura Evans explained: “The temporary closure of our shops has had a significant impact on the charity. Twenty-nine per cent of Ashgate Hospicecare’s income comes from its retail operations so we’re delighted to be able to re-open the shops.”

Ashgate Hospicecare’s Hasland Store

Vicar Lane praised the Government support for retailers during lockdown. Sarah Bowler “We’re delighted that all the existing retailers in Vicar Lane are re-opening after Lockdown, and we’ve also got a new bridal shop opening called Precious Memories by Anne-Marie. The Government help has been very welcome during this period and retailers are very thankful for the Rates Relief for this year – it is a huge weight off their shoulders.”

Despite the forced closure of non-essential retailers, many of Chesterfield’s retailers believe lockdown has been good for the health of the high street. Many town centre businesses are positive about their future following the success of the Shop Local message which has been championed by Destination Chesterfield, Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Borough Council throughout lockdown.

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.

Dom Stevens, Manager of Destination Chesterfield explained: “The resilience that local businesses and service providers have shown during lockdown has been remarkable. Plans are in place by Destination Chesterfield to continue to promote the Shop Local message beyond lockdown and support retailers in their recovery and help them thrive as part of the town centre.”

Laura-Jo Owen said: “I think lockdown has helped people realise the shops and stores they have on their doorstep so I am expecting new customers who discovered us on social media over the last 12 weeks, to also visit the shop. We’re so happy to re-open and welcome back old and new customers to Adorn.”

Lisa Swift, owner of Shop Indie agreed, saying: “We believe that after the lockdown has ended and people are allowed to move freely that they will have a much better appreciation of local businesses they have been reliant on during lockdown.”

Despite the challenging circumstances, Chesterfield’s retailers and the council are united in their enthusiasm to re-open and welcome back customers.

Councillor Kate Sarvent said: “It’s great to see so many people back in the town centre as we look to restart our local economy. We know that many of you will have spent the last three months shopping online, but now is your chance to come back to the town centre, indulge in some retail therapy and support Chesterfield businesses by shopping local.

“The town centre has so much to offer. From national retailers to small independent stores and of course our outdoor market and Market Hall, there really is something for everyone.

“You’ll have the opportunity to browse and buy some of those nice to have items that you simply haven’t been able to get. Father’s Day is just around the corner too, so it’s the perfect chance for you to support our local retailers when you’re out looking for a gift.”

Click here for the Destination Chesterfield Father’s Day Gift Guide

Laura Evans, of Ashgate Hospicecare, added: “One thing that hasn’t changed in all our shops however, is the warm and friendly welcome. We can’t wait to welcome staff, volunteers and customers back.”

Sarah Bowler from Vicar Lane Shopping Centre agreed, saying: “We’re all very excited to be re-opening and welcoming everyone and getting back to the new ‘normal’.”

For shoppers who are still shielding, the website – www.chesterfield.co.uk/supportinglocal has details of nearly 100 shops, food and drink businesses, training, support and service providers in and around Chesterfield that have adapted to provide and supply their products and services remotely.

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

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

Local residents asked to share Covid-19 experiences for new book

5th June 2020

Derbyshire Voluntary Action (DVA) is to publish a book documenting the Covid-19 Pandemic as seen through the eyes of Chesterfield and the surrounding areas, and are now asking for submissions from local residents.

Submissions will be welcomed from residents of all ages, from amateur and professional artists, poets, photographers, creative writers to key workers, volunteers and those who have been directly impacted by Covid-19.

Do you have interesting photos of bad haircuts, VE Day celebrations, volunteer’s delivering food parcels, deserted streets and queues outside supermarkets?
Have you kept a diary during this time or have you expressed yourself in a short story or poem?
Have you or your children created rainbows for your windows or a scarecrow in your garden?
Maybe you now feel inspired to create something?

Jacqui Willis, Chief Executive of DVA (pictured), said: “Allow your creativity to record your experience and consider the ways you’ve dealt with the changes, the ups and the downs, the feelings of isolation and loneliness and let’s not forget the heart-warming stories, the acts of kindness towards strangers and elements of lockdown we may not want to lose!”

With your permission, the work you submit will be featured in the Covid-19 book, the DVA Network magazine, Derbyshire Voluntary Action website’s COVID 19 page, social media platforms and when it is safe to do so, at an event for everyone to view the array of submissions.

To be included or to find out more, please email to charlotte@dva.org.uk or post your submission to Derbyshire Voluntary Action, Offices 2a – 2c, The Market Hall, Chesterfield S40 1AR.

Derbyshire Voluntary Action (DVA) is one of 180 Chesterfield Champions supporting the marketing and economic growth of the town.

Click here to find out more about Chesterfield Champions

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield, Summer, Visiting

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

‘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.