A former tile warehouse is being completely renovated to create affordable, shared office space for Chesterfield’s entrepreneurs and start-up businesses.  Once complete, Monkey Park will also house a community cafe, a bike workshop and a bakery run by The Gingerbread Boy (previously found on Chatsworth Road).

Based at Clifton and Chester Street in Brampton, the centre is a not-for-profit social enterprise, designed to benefit local people and projects, as well as creating three employment opportunities.

Spokesperson, Christine Redding, said: “This is not just another café.  Monkey Park will pour profits made back into the local community so it’s in everyone’s interest to get it right.

“We’re trying to support community enterprises & social entrepreneurs that give something back to Chesterfield.  As part of this, we’ll be creating a new network of community enterprises within the town.

“We developed the centre through research and visits to similar hubs in Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester.  The initiative will be steered by a community interest company led by angel investors and local businesses.”

Monkey Park is already creating quite a buzz, with nearly 300 likes on Facebook and a bank of nearly 50 local residents volunteering their services to help the project get off to a flying start.

Visitors were also invited for a sneaky preview earlier this month to share ideas about how the venue should look and feel as well as to choose their favourite cakes and coffee.

More volunteers are wanted to help prepare the centre ready for opening in the autumn.  Anyone else interested in getting involved should search ‘Monkey Park’ on Facebook or Twitter.

Planning permission has been granted to redevelop the site of The Trumpeter to create a new local centre for the Grangewood community in Chesterfield.

The demolition of The Trumpeter will enable a complete redevelopment of the site, creating a new local centre.

The proposals for the site include a new Pub/cafe-bar and convenience store along with 3-4 independent retail units, potentially creating 30 new jobs in the local area.

Terry Caton, Developer, said “Caton Enterprises Ltd is a local business operating in Chesterfield for some 23 years. As such we didn’t just want to take away the facilities from the community. We wanted to look at this site in a different way.’

Martin Rix, of MAD architects LLP, says ‘We are trying to create a new retail centre for the community, providing facilities and services which are much needed in the area, and hopefully this development can act as a catalyst for further improvements locally.’

The planning department commented in their committee report that “The development has been sympathetically designed to reflect the scale and form of the wider area. A contemporary design approach has been taken which is felt would give the scheme an independent identity that would serve beneficial.”

Terry says ‘The design team are now developing the technical design to enable works to start on site and we are looking to open the new local retail centre to the public in 2016″.

One of the UK’s most senior economic figures and an expert in looking at business’s future challenges will be guest speakers at the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership Annual Conference.

The free business breakfast event will be held from 7.30am to 10am on Tuesday July 14; at The Leengate Legends Lounge of the Chesterfield FC Proact Stadium, at 1866 Sheffield Road, Chesterfield.

D2N2 – a partnership of business, local authorities, and skills and training providers which promotes economic growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire – holds an Annual Conference each year.

Representatives from businesses, local authorities, education providers, community organisations and others working in the D2N2 area are welcome to attend the free event. They will hear about the Local Enterprise Partnership’s work over the last year and its ambitions for the future.

The agenda for the Annual Conference will be as follows:

7.30am to 8am – Registration and light breakfast provided.

8am to 9.15am –

• Welcome and presentation by D2N2 Chairman Peter Richardson.
• Presentation by Chief Executive David Ralph.
• Short video on the work of D2N2 over the last year.
• Guest speaker – Trevor Williams, Chief Economist for Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, Visiting Professor at the University of Derby’s Business School and co-author (with Victoria Turton) of Trading Economics. Trevor will look at where UK growth is coming from in the next few years and its main challenges, in the context of the new Government’s first Budget (due July 8).
• Guest speaker – Christopher Barnatt, Futurist and author of website ExplainingTheFuture.com, Associate Professor of Strategy and Future Studies at Nottingham University Business School, and the author of Seven Ways To Fix The World and 25 Things You Need To Know About The Future.

9.15am to 10am – Business Panel. A panel featuring D2N2 Board members and guest speakers will answer business questions live from the audience. Hosted by Neil White, Editor-in-Chief at the Derby Telegraph.

10am – A chance for networking and close of the event.

Peter Richardson, Chairman of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The Local Enterprise Partnership has had a terrific year.

“Highlights have included the launch of the Growth Hub last December, with its team now a vital resource to aid businesses, and the announcement in March this year of £214m in European funding for projects improving skills provision, entrepreneurship, business competitiveness and a wealth of other drivers of economic growth.

“We look forward to welcoming delegates to our Annual Conference, to hear how we’ve moved from planning to delivery and about our ambitious plans for the future.”

To book online to attend the Annual Conference (a maximum of two people per organisation, please) go to the D2N2 LEP website www.d2n2lep.org/About/Events

BHP Accountants and the Derbyshire Times recently published their list of the top 50 businesses in North Derbyshire and the state of the economy.

Dominic Staniforth of BHP said “Against a backdrop of a stable economy, controlled growth and record employment, North Derbyshire continues to shine brightly and is rapidly becoming a powerhouse of the region. Overall the Top 50 SMEs in North Derbyshire contribute turnover of over £712 million, generate pre-tax profits in excess of £55million and employ over 4,000 people.”

“At the headline level these numbers reflect a growing confidence in the area and demonstrate a willingness to invest. 2014 certainly felt different to previous years and many companies reported significant growth suggesting sustainable confidence and an improving economy.”

Download the report and discover the top 50 SMEs in North Derbyshire in 2015

Chambers of Commerce representing more than 11,000 businesses in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East have today written a joint letter to the Treasury, urging Chancellor George Osborne to bring forward the confirmation and delivery of the Eastern Leg of HS2.

The letter, which has been signed by the Presidents and Chief Executives of the chambers for Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire, Doncaster, Sheffield, the North East and Bradford, Leeds, York and North Yorkshire, says it’s imperative that Government confirms the route as quickly as possible and accelerates its delivery plans.

It refers to research undertaken by professional services firm KPMG in 2013, which suggested the proposed leg, linking Birmingham with Leeds via the East Midlands and Sheffield and then further north through a direct connection to the East Coast Main Line, has the potential to deliver a GDP impact of £4.1bn for the East Midlands, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

The Chancellor was in Derby on Monday, where he unveiled his vision to make the Midlands an ‘Engine for Growth’ in the UK. He said that HS2 is “the great engineering project of our age and it will transform the economic geography of our country.”

He also said that it will “bring massive benefits to the Midlands by way of new jobs, enhanced connectivity, capacity and regeneration.”

And Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin yesterday (2 Jun) said that the HS2 project will begin within two years and will be constructed in full, after the general election had delivered a “massive vote of confidence” in the scheme.

The areas along the proposed Eastern Leg of HS2 are already home to some of the UK’s most dynamic and innovative manufacturing and engineering firms, and also boast a strong professional services sector in their cities, a thriving construction sector and a burgeoning creative industries sector, among others.

The letter states that improving links between these businesses will allow them to exploit the benefits of agglomeration, boost success in these key sectors and help to forge an economy that is truly balanced, both geographically and sectorally.

The increased productivity and competitiveness which the HS2 Eastern Leg will facilitate could also bolster growth locally and support long-term international success.

Chris Hobson, Head of Information and Representation at East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire), said: “HS2 is the single-biggest transformational transport infrastructure project in generations and represents a huge opportunity for businesses in the East Midlands. It will bring the capacity and connectivity that will help underpin the region’s future success, so it must deliver for the whole region.

“As representatives of more than 11,000 businesses along the proposed Eastern Leg, we are calling on the Chancellor to proceed to delivery of HS2 without delay, ensuring the legal framework is completed as soon as possible and the groundwork is done to enable the concurrent development of the Eastern and Western Legs of Phase 2.

“The creation of a new economic powerhouse in the north, to complement the well-established one in the south, places further emphasis on ensuring north-to-south connectivity for this region, the ‘Engine for Growth’ which provides the UK with its manufacturing spine.

“However, uncertainty kills confidence.  It is imperative that Government confirms the route as soon as possible and that delivery plans are accelerated to maximise the business benefits which come with creating a national rail network that can compete with the best in the world and create the opportunities needed for long term economic growth.”

Read the HS2 Chamber letter