Development

The Lily Pad celebrates refurbishment and extended Friday night opening hours

The Lily Pad Café and Restaurant, located on Soresby Street in Chesterfield, are celebrating an extensive refurbishment and exciting changes to their menu. They welcomed customers to enjoy the new Friday night dinner menu last week.

The refurbishment brings a new look, a new menu and new opening hours to this popular town-centre eatery which recently won the accolade of the Café / Tea Room of the Year at the Chesterfield Food & Drink Awards 2019.

Head Chef and Manager, Ryan Purrington said: “It is wonderful to welcome our customers back through our doors and we are really pleased to be able to offer our new dinner menu on a Friday evening too. I hope everyone is as impressed with our new look as we are.”

“Our new menu includes some of the old favourites which we know people love us for, but we’ve also developed the menu to include some exciting new additions. We have a much more extensive selection for vegetarians and vegans too. There are a whole host of new features and food and drinks specials for people to try which we are really excited about.”

The Chesterfield College Group own the business and has invested in the refurbishment process. They work with the dedicated front of house and kitchen team at the Lily Pad to help them develop the business.

Jo Kershaw, Director of Business and Professional Services at Chesterfield College said: “The Lily Pad not only offers local diners an amazing choice of menu options, it also has a unique atmosphere which comes from the passion of the team. They work tirelessly to keep their customers happy. When we invested in this business we saw how the passion of this relatively young team created a popular eatery and how apprentices are supported to grow into key roles in the organisation.”

“We also saw the potential to support this town-centre business in its development. It has been a pleasure working with Ryan and his team over the last few months. I hope both new and existing customers will be as pleased with the results of the refurbishment as we are.”

The Lily Pad is now open for breakfast and lunch from Monday to Sunday (closed all day Wednesdays) as well as now serving evening meals on Friday evenings.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Christmas, Development, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Tenders invited from local business support specialists

A procurement opportunity has arisen for a bank of high growth business support specialists to supply 1-2-1 business advice and workshops to businesses and entrepreneurs in the Sheffield City Region (SCR).

Tenderers should have extensive experience and or technical expertise in delivering high growth business support in one of the following disciplines:

  • Legal, HR and Health and Safety
  • Finance, IT and Risk Management
  • Sales and Marketing

ScaleUp 360 brings together a consortium of expert business partners from across the SCR to deliver on a tailored scale-up support programme designed to provide the inspirational advice and support that businesses and entrepreneurs need in order to sustainably scale their ventures and become investment ready.

The consortium comprises East Midlands Chamber; Doncaster Chamber; Barnsley Business Village; and Sheffield Hallam University.

The project is receiving funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.

The deadline to apply is 4pm on 6th December 2019. Applications can be made here.

Building an Effective Team, Successful Communication and Engagement

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

Dog-friendly bar to open at Vicar Lane

Vicar Lane Shopping Centre is excited to announce the opening of a brand new, dog-friendly, pop-up bar in the Centre, in the run up to Christmas.

The Cap and Whippet is the brainchild of the owner of local, award-winning bar ‘Brimming with Beer’ which is already a firm favourite with locals. Brimming with Beer was set up in the Summer of 2016 and this year was awarded ‘Chesterfield CAMRA Pub of the Season-Summer 2019’ as well as being entered into the Good Beer Guide.

The Cap and Whippet will serve up a thirst-quenching menu of beers and spirits, all produced at Derbyshire breweries and distilleries. Customers will also find a range of Christmas gifts to purchase and take home.

The Cap and Whippet is named after owner Ben’s Whippet called ‘Tan’ and her favourite flat cap. The bar will be open from 10am – 10pm (midnight at the weekend), 6 days a week from 29th November until Christmas Eve.

Shaun Brown, Centre Manager, Vicar Lane said, “We’re really excited to welcome The Cap and Whippet to Vicar Lane this festive season. The dog-friendly bar will offer a thirst-quenching drink to warm the cockles in the approach to Christmas, as well as providing a great venue for friends, colleagues and their dogs to enjoy after work drinks or a night out in Chesterfield.’’

Find out what else is happening at Vicar Lane Shopping Centre this festive season here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Christmas, Development, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Winners of Derbyshire Times Business Excellence Awards 2019 announced

The winners of the Derbyshire Times Business Excellence Awards 2019 have been announced, with local company O’Connor & Co Removals named 2019 Business of the Year.

The awards ceremony took place at Chesterfield’s Casa Hotel on Thursday 14th November and honoured the very best of trade and commerce in the area, as well as recognising the outstanding contribution of local business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Chesterfield’s Fairplay, a children’s charity that supports children and young people with disabilities and their families, was named Charity of the Year.

The Derbsyhire Times website states: “Our awards attract a wide range of entries from across all sectors from both small and larger organisations. But the winners all have one thing in common – they are truly excellent at what they do and have proved this by winning a Derbyshire Times Business Excellence Award.”

The headline sponsors for the Derbyshire Times Business Excellence Awards 2019 were Global Brands & Casa Hotels.

A full list of winners can be found below.

Winners

Innovation Award
Winner: Jane-Louise Photography UK
Shortlisted: UK Asbestos Training Association

Community Contribution
Winner: Men-Talk
Shortlisted: Move with Mumma, Bookworms

Customer Service Award
Winner: O’Connor & Co Removals Limited
Shortlisted: Casa Hotel, Dales and Peaks, Morley Hayes

Apprentice of the Year
Winner: Millie Walker – Auto Windscreens/ Markerstudy Group
Shortlisted: Carrie Price – KT Hair Academy for NJUK and Megan Thompson – Van Dyk by Wildes

Independent Retailer of the Year
Winner: Adorn Jewellers of Chesterfield
Shortlisted: OhSoBoss, Timeless Life Casting & Keepsakes

Leisure and Lifestyle
Winner: Morley Hayes
Shortlisted: Casa Hotel, Matlock Farm Park and Peak Edge Hotel & Red Lion Pub and Restaurant

New Business of the Year
Winner: Edwards Employment Solutions
Shortlisted: Jane – Louise Photography UK, O’Connor & Co Removals Ltd, Timeless Life Casting & Keepsakes

Professional Services Award:
Winner: BHP
Shortlisted: Dales and Peaks, Mortgage 1st, Shorts

Small Business of the Year: 
Winner: Dales and Peaks
Shortlisted: Dawson Radford Solicitors, Moss Valley Fine Meats, Recruit 2 You Ltd, The Accountancy Recruitment Group

Excellence in Manufacturing
Winner: Moss Valley Fine Meats
Shortlisted: H D Sharman Limited

Charity of the Year
Winner: Fairplay
Shortlisted: Nenna Kind

Business Person of the Year:
Winner: Peter Botham – Shed Grounds Maintenance Ltd
Shortlisted: Jon Stones – Mortgage 1st and Tom Currey – Dales and Peaks

People Development Award
Winner: Banner Jones

Lifetime Achievement Award
Winner: Robert Banner, Banner Jones

2019 Business of the Year
Winner: O’Connor & Co Removals Ltd

Winners of this years Business Excellence Awards pictured. Picture: NDET-14-11-19-DTBusinessAwards-1

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield

Celebrating the town’s food and drink scene and relaunching Made in Chesterfield

I have to kick off this month by congratulating everybody that was involved in the Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards 2019. I look forward to these sell-out awards every year as it involves a room full of people invested not only in their industry, but in its success in our town.

The black-tie event, held at the historic Winding Wheel Theatre this year, brings the celebration into the heart of the town, where darker evenings are soon to be illuminated by the stunning Christmas lights which are to be switched on on the 17 November.

At the 2019 Chesterfield Food & Drink Awards, Chris Mapp, Head Chef and Owner of The Tickled Trout, was awarded the prestigious Chesterfield Food Hero award.

There are few things that bring people together quite like Christmas. It’s all too easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and put things like family time to one side, but Christmas is a great reason to make time especially around a dinner table.

Chesterfield has a plethora of places to eat and drink that we have never had before. Real ale pubs, gastro pubs, cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels, Italian, Indian, Greek, Japanese, Chinese, French… you name it – Chesterfield’s food and drink scene has it.

There’s a full programme of entertainment for Christmas in Chesterfield from traditional markets to the annual pantomime and from stand up comedy to musical concerts.

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life and as the town grows, we are able to offer more job roles and career opportunities to young people. Nowhere is this more evident than in our manufacturing and engineering sector.

Once again, we’ll be raising awareness of the breadth of jobs and roles in this sector with the annual Made in Chesterfield campaign in November. The programme brings together schools and businesses in the sector in order to open young people’s eyes to the opportunities in the local area – something increasing in importance with increased local developments, investment and, of course, Brexit.

There’s lots going on in the area, festive and otherwise. Let’s fully embrace the community and Christmas spirit and come together to talk up the town. There are fantastic things happening around us that can be easy to dismiss in our day-to-day lives. Let’s all take a moment to appreciate them as 2019 draws to a close (already!).

Blog by Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield

Made in Chesterfield is coordinated by Destination Chesterfield and Derbyshire Education Business Partnership and delivered in association with the University of Derby.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Blog, Business, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Christmas, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield, Visiting

Plans to be considered for 250 new homes

A proposal for 250 new homes is due to be considered by North East Derbyshire District Council’s planning committee next week.

Inspire Design and Development, based in Clay Cross, has submitted an application to develop the land east of Williamthorpe Road and south of Tibshelf Road, Holmewood.

The plans indicate a £40 million project comprising of a mixture of high quality semi-detached and detached two story houses, 50 of which would be affordable homes, and investment in local schools, medical practices and faster broadband infrastructure.

As well as a commitment to work with local contractors, the proposals also reserve four hectares of land for the creation of open greenspace, footpaths and landscaping with connections to the Five Pit Trail and surrounding roads and rights of way.

When the plan for the 30-acre site was first submitted to the authority, the applicant was originally seeking the go-ahead for 300 homes.

The site currently consists of two residential properties with adjacent gardens, buildings and land currently used by a commercial plant nursery, as well as three vacant fields next to the Five Pit Trail.

Lee Barnes, Managing Director of Inspire Design Group comments: “There is a clear need for more affordable and sustainable housing in North East Derbyshire, and this development will help meet that need and provide a significant spending boost to the local economy. This proposed development has been meticulously planned by people who know the area and care deeply about the communities involved.”

Landowner, Mr Richards added: “This new development will breathe new life into the area, provide a huge boost to local trades and bring a significant amount of local spending power to the area. Farming is no longer viable at this site, but it could still be used to provide affordable, sustainable housing for families and play a major role in the further regeneration of two former coal mining communities.”

Images credit: The Derbyshire Times

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development, Leisure

Engaging the community on climate change

A working group set up to tackle climate change in Chesterfield met for the first time last week.

Chesterfield Borough Council agreed to set up the group made up of local volunteers after declaring a climate emergency at a meeting of full council meeting in July (right).

Councillor Amanda Serjeant (below), Chesterfield Borough Council’s deputy leader, said: “We were bowled over with the response we received to our request to volunteers to take part in our working group on climate change.”

“There will also be a wider consultative group of people from different backgrounds and experiences that will help inform the actions taken by the council.”

“Individuals included in the working group have interests or experience in this area so this will be very useful in helping us to shape our plans for the future.”

The working group will explore how both the council and borough can work towards becoming carbon neutral.

The working group will develop a fully costed action plan that will be presented to a meeting of full council by March 2020.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Visiting

Derbyshire County Council to cover apprentice training costs for local SMEs

Small and medium-sized businesses across the county could have their apprentice training costs paid for 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 including manufacturing, creative, service, construction, finance and business, care, retail and many more. There are 100s of different types of apprenticeship at a wide variety of different levels.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, Councillor Tony King, said: “This is a great opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses in the county to boost their level of skills, either by taking on a new apprentice, or training existing employees.”

“We will pay for the training needed, and provide expert help to find the right apprenticeship for your business and employees.”

More information is available from Lucie Andrews, Skills Adviser at the D2N2 Growth Hub, via email lucie.andrews@d2n2growthhub.co.uk or by calling 0333 006 9178.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development

New partnership set to help Chesterfield achieve its goals

A new closer working relationship between Chesterfield Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council, focussed on delivering key regeneration projects, will help achieve the borough’s growth strategy.

As highlighted in the Chesterfield Borough Council’s growth strategy approved in 2018, there are a number of significant growth and regeneration projects underway in the borough. Collectively, these projects provide an opportunity to put Chesterfield on a higher growth path. For Chesterfield’s communities these projects will bring the opportunity to access up to 10,000 new jobs.

The new Joint Growth Board will ensure the councils will consider at a strategic level how best to deploy resources to ensure delivery timescales and outcomes are met.

Resources will be shared to accelerate and achieve further economic development in the area, with both organisations currently involved in a number of multi-million-pound projects across the borough including the Northern Gateway project, Chesterfield Waterside, Staveley Corridor improvements and planning for HS2. There will also be a dedicated skills delivery officer to ensure the work readiness of local people to take advantage of the new jobs that will be created.

Councillor Terry Gilby (right), Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said: “Both councils have ambitious economic growth programmes underway, so the creation of the new Joint Growth Board will allow us to accelerate project delivery, share resources and have a more joined-up approach to working with our private sector partners.”

“We put our communities first in each of the projects we undertake, so I believe that the new jobs, housing and benefits this partnership will bring to our local economy will help to make Chesterfield a thriving borough.”

Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for economic development and regeneration Councillor Tony King said: “As Derbyshire’s largest town, we all want to see Chesterfield thrive.”

“That’s why it makes sense to work together, to pool our resources and efforts to create jobs and drive economic growth. It’s all part of our approach to being an Enterprising Council and it’s what our residents and businesses expect.”

The Joint Growth Board will include the leaders of both councils, as well as the appropriate portfolio holders who will be responsible for monitoring the delivery of a defined list of key projects and decision to ensure plans remain on track.

Councillor Gilby continued: “This is really great news for the borough. The new board will allow a direct link to the political leadership of both councils and will create a multi-disciplinary resource able to work flexibly across identified priority projects.”

One of the next projects on the horizon in the heart of Chesterfield is a new enterprise centre (below) for both start-up and medium sized businesses on the Holywell Cross (donut) car park, with work due to start after the archaeological dig is finalised. This is one element of the Northern Gateway project, funded by a Sheffield City Region Infrastructure Fund grant of £5.83 million.

Works are also underway on Elder Way and Knifesmithgate to create new retail outlets under the new Premier Inn, as well as there being street improvements planned in the area next year.

Enterprise Centre

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield

Using social media to show what Chesterfield has to offer

In a political climate where Brexit seems to be dominating the headlines and creating economic uncertainty, I am pleased to report that Chesterfield continues to buck the trend.

And nowhere was this more evident than at the recent Chesterfield Investment Summit held at Casa Hotel.

We’re boasting some of the biggest developments in the region, including Markham Vale, HS2, Chesterfield Waterside, Northern Gateway and Peak Resort, and this feels the tip of the iceberg. There is huge opportunity for Chesterfield’s high street.

In a room packed with members of the business community, we heard how the regeneration of our high street is taking shape. Excitingly, footfall at Vicar Lane Shopping Centre has increased by 36% over the last six months thanks to their use of social media.

I was stunned to hear that we are spending an average of 136 minutes a day scrolling through 300 feet of content on our phones. For the first time ever, people now spend more time on their mobile phone than watching TV. While I don’t think I fall into this category, my adult children definitely do.

There has been a huge shift in human behaviour over the last 15 years which has been driven by our use of social media. But, as always, Chesterfield is ahead of the game. The town and its retailers are using their social media accounts, like Facebook and Instagram, to engage with people and draw them not just to their business but to the town in general.

Partnership and collaboration have been at the heart of the town’s marketing campaign since we launched Destination Chesterfield in 2010. It’s reaping rewards for everyone – investors, residents, businesses and visitors. But there is still room for improvement.

If you are active on social media, then consider using it to help Chesterfield grow further. The next time you’re visiting Chesterfield town centre, ‘check in’ online to the businesses you visit. If you’ve had good service, leave them a review on their social media pages or on TripAdvisor. Share pictures of the many town centre events, food and drinks and tag Chesterfield in your post.

With a smart phone and a social media account at your fingertips, you can become an unofficial but valued member of the Chesterfield marketing campaign.

Chesterfield is a town of opportunity and the more people that know this will drive forward our ambitions to not only deliver our current development plans but also attract further investment and continue to help our high street to not only survive but thrive.

If you want to keep up-to-date with all the developments, news and events in Chesterfield on social media, then you can on Twitter (@chesterfielduk), Instagram (@chesterfielduk) and Facebook.

Blog by Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield

Create Change Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Blog, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Visiting

Elder Way becomes Chesterfield Champion

Pledging its continued support to Chesterfield town centre, Jomast Developments, the company behind the multi-million-pound regeneration of the former Co-op department store on Elder Way, has become a Chesterfield Champion.

Jomast’s Elder Way project is now one of more than 180 champions who are helping to drive development of the local economy and raise the profile of the town.

Welcoming Elder Way to the Champions’ line up, Dominic Stevens, Destination Chesterfield Manager said: “Elder Way is a pivotal site in Chesterfield that is helping transform the town’s Northern Gateway. I’m delighted to welcome the scheme onboard as a Champion showing that the town is a great place to not only live and work but also invest.”

Since investing in Chesterfield in 2016, Jomast has spent millions transforming the top two floors of the four storey building into a Premier Inn hotel, breathing life into the town’s famous 1930s, Mock-Tudor building and helping create more than 20 new jobs.

Further jobs are set to be created in the town as the basement and ground floor of Elder Way will be developed into restaurant and leisure space.

Part of the Destination Chesterfield campaign, the Chesterfield Champions scheme is funded through support from local businesses and Chesterfield Borough Council which has worked closely with Jomast to regenerate Elder Way.

Mark Hill (right), Commercial Property Director at Jomast Developments, added: “Since investing in Chesterfield we continue to be impressed by the public and private approach to helping the town reach its potential. It is very much a joint effort that is reaping rewards in terms of attracting investment to the town and we’re delighted that Elder Way is able to play a role in this.”

Elder Way is an integral part of Chesterfield Borough Council’s Northern Gateway Scheme which includes the new multi-storey car park on Saltergate. Work will also begin on a new enterprise centre for small to medium sized businesses on part of the site of Holywell Cross (Donut) car park.

For more details about the development, including available units and business space at Elder Way, click here.

Click here to find out more about becoming a Chesterfield Champion.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Visiting