Featured

Vicar Lane encourages visitors to enjoy a ‘Blind date with a book’

Vicar Lane Shopping Centre has teamed up with The Works and Waterstones to bring an innovative initiative to the shopping centre, aimed at getting more local people to enjoy reading.

In celebration of National Read a Book Day, customers can enjoy a Blind Date with a Book – completely free.

From Monday 6th September, Vicar Lane is encouraging people to head to St James Square where they’ll find a ‘Reading Zone’, complete with beanbags and deckchairs, and the Blind Date with a Book set up.

Locals can have a read of the brief synopsis on the wrapped books, and pick one that takes their fancy.

The Reading Zone will be in situ at the shopping centre in the heart of Chesterfield for the week.

Shaun Brown, Operations Manager, Vicar Lane said ‘’We’re excited to celebrate National Read a Book Day with the launch of Blind Date with a Book.

“We all lead busy lives and it’s hard to remember to leave time for ourselves, so by setting up a Reading Zone at the shopping centre, we hope people will be encouraged to take time out of their day to sit down and read a book!’’

The latest initiative comes off the back of the popular Summer Zone at Vicar Lane, which saw residents treated to some of the best sporting action on the big screen in St James Square over July and August, along with pop-up bars and food vendors.

The centre is home to a wide range of both quirky, independent shops and cafes, sitting alongside well-known national high-street retailers. Find out more about the shopping centre here.

Vicar Lane Shopping Centre supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , , ,

County Council announces bumper Autumn of adult education courses

Learning opportunities are available for people across Chesterfield and Derbyshire, both online and face to face this autumn as part of Derbyshire County Council’s adult community education service.

During the pandemic many of the classes offered by the council’s adult community education service had to be moved online. This worked successfully in lots of subject areas so as the service gears up for the new term starting in September it will be offering a wide range of online courses as well as ones at its 16 centres spread across the county.

The online courses give students the flexibility to join in from their home or business and include ‘student paced’ ones that learners can do at any time in the advertised period.

Courses leading to qualifications and skills start from Monday 6 September with opportunities to join later in the year as well. These will be both online and face to face and include employability skills, maths and English GCSEs, digital skills, setting up your own business and environmental training.

There will be a week of free taster sessions of some of the learning for leisure courses from Monday 13 September. These are ideal for residents who may not be sure if a particular course is for them. There’s a choice of over 20 different subjects including:

  • boxing
  • music
  • foreign languages
  • creative writing
  • poetry
  • murder mystery evening – the Crich Creeper
  • social media for business
  • cookery
  • exercise – both gentle and more challenging

Then the wide range of learning for leisure courses, both online and face to face, get underway from Monday 20 September with day schools and one-off evening sessions later in the term. Languages, arts and crafts, healthy living, care for the environment, personal development and creative cookery are amongst the subjects on offer.

Those wanting to gain essential digital skills, improve their qualifications, change career, set up a business or learn to lip read will find courses to suit them as well. And there are family learning courses and provision for adults with learning disabilities and those wanting to improve their mental health.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Councillor Alex Dale said: “I’m delighted that our adult education service can now offer face to face classes as well as continuing with online learning.

“This blend of learning is widening the opportunities for more residents to get involved and means that we can offer even more subjects whether for leisure or to gain qualifications”.

Bookings are now open. Find the full details in the adult education course brochures.

Book a learning for leisure course

Booking details for the qualification and skills courses varies and specifics are given in that brochure. Course fees vary with some courses free of charge and concessions for those on certain benefits and Derbyshire Gold Card holders.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , ,

Chesterfield businessmen to complete marathon for canine charity

Two dog-loving local businessmen are planning to design and complete their very own marathon route to raise money for their favourite canine charity.

Paul Gosney, who lives in Chesterfield and Tony Dent, from Ecclesall, Sheffield, are taking part in the Virtual London Marathon on Sunday October 3 on behalf of national charity Support Dogs, whose training centre is in Brightside.

Tony, a partner at B&B Vehicle Contracts, a vehicle leasing specialist in Chesterfield, and Paul, business development manager at City Taxis, are old friends who share a common love of dogs.

The pair, neither of whom have run a marathon before, are currently plotting a 26.2 mile marathon route starting at Dronfield Woodhouse and finishing at Support Dogs via various parts of Sheffield – hopefully around six hours later.

They plan to post staging posts online to encourage supporters to cheer them on at various points along the way, snaking through the city and avoiding as many hills as possible! Support will be provided by their friend Jim as pacemaker on his electric trike, Spike le Trike, and Tony’s wife Katey in a back-up van.

“We both love dogs, and Support Dogs do amazing work,” says Tony, whose company has made Support Dogs their charity of the year.

“I’ve known about their work and supported them for many years. I was recently watching one of their videos about a young girl whose life was turned round by her assistance dog, and every time I watch it, I cry!  It’s heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time.

“It gives someone a new lease of life which you would not expect from an animal. The sheer joy that a dog brings to people’s lives and what these dogs do is incredible. They give people who have disabilities such freedom and a new lease of life, and that’s what’s it’s all about for me.”

Tony and Paul are now hard at work in the gym and pounding the streets in preparation for the event, in which participants can choose their own marathon-length route.

Toy had heart surgery two years ago, so the Virtual London Marathon is a big challenge. Both men, who have set themselves a fundraising target of £3,000 are planning a practice half marathon route in September to test their fitness.

“When people hear that we’re doing a ‘virtual’ marathon they seem to think that it’s online and we’re not actually running 26.2 miles – but believe me we are!” says Paul.

Support Dogs trains assistance dogs for children and adults with autism, epilepsy and physical disability, enabling them to lead safer, more independent lives. It receives no government funding, and for every dog it trains it receives more than 50 requests for help.

If you would like to sponsor Tony and Paul go to Virgin Money Giving

City Taxis supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , ,

Baker Mallett to take on sporting challenges in fundraiser for youth charity

Chesterfield Champion Baker Mallett has been announced as a Silver Partner for The Starting Blocks Challenge, a fundraising initiative created by UK youth sports charity, Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.

The campaign encourages participants to celebrate the moments that shaped them, by revisiting places, people or moments in a sporting way. Over the next 12 months, #TeamBM will be going back to their own individual starting blocks whilst raising funds to support DKHT in providing life changing opportunities for 11-25 year olds, facing disadvantage across the United Kingdom.

Staff team ambassadors at the company will take on challenges such as running, cycling and walking and will be inviting industry colleagues to join in, take part and #gobacktogiveback. Staff will also be completing motivational, performance and resilience workshops, delivered by elite athletes also supporting the scheme.

Baker Mallet’s involvement in the Starting Blocks Challenge aims to contribute to the first objective in the firm’s social value agenda – “Health & Wellbeing for our Clients, our Staff and the Local Communities in which we work by promoting physical activity, supporting the mental health agenda and helping vulnerable people”.

Baker Mallett Chairman, Neil Griffiths, said of the partnership: “We are incredibly proud and humbled to be invited to support such an important initiative. The last 18 months have been particularly difficult for young people and so we must act now by providing money and the right support and resources through Dame Kelly Holmes Trust to make a difference in as many individual young lives as possible.”

The challenge has had a successful start, with Baker Mallet’s Jon Mcallister raising £400 after completing the first in a series of challenges, cycling from Wigan to Manchester and back again.

Dame Kelly Holmes Trust delivers transformational programmes designed to improve wellbeing, help build healthy relationships and unlock the confidence and self-esteem needed to achieve in education, work and life. Over the next ten years their goal is to improve the health and wellbeing of 10,000 young people across the UK.

Baker Mallet supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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

Exciting arts project re-creates the first live-linked satellite broadcast to celebrate our region

Junction Arts, in association with six arts organisations from across three counties, is set to be take part in ‘Our Place’ which showcases the people and places of the East Midlands, through the arts.

Led by the Chesterfield-based community arts charity, Our Place travels the East Midlands to celebrate diversity, community, culture and place. Through seven creative residencies, Our Place brings together the hills of the High Peak to the streets of inner-city Leicester, where Ukrainian dance from Derby will share the stage with embellished aprons made in rural Lincolnshire.

Junction Arts will be working with several project partners: City Arts (Nottingham), High Peak Community Arts (High Peak), People Express (Swadlincote), Soft Touch (Leicester), Surtal Arts (Derby) and The Hub (Sleaford).

The project has seen over 50 participants working with 27 artists throughout the summer in a series of diverse residencies involving textiles, VR, filmmaking, dance, creative writing and music video production.

The new work created through each residency has been brought together into a feature length film broadcast by Director Chris Bevan, co-curated by Junction Arts with partners and artists to showcase and connect communities across our diverse East Midlands region.

Managing Director of Junction Arts, Paul Steele says: “The project is about connecting people and places. After a hard year of dealing with lock downs and restricted activities, what better way to bring back local communities, by celebrating the people in them and sharing the unique cultures and talents with others.

“We know what it feels like to be ‘in this together’ and we’ve taken that feeling of connectedness and built it into a project where people from across three counties are uniting to share what it means to live in a place in this moment and time.”

Junction Arts were inspired by the first global TV satellite broadcast conceived in 1967, entitled ‘Our World’ which ended with the Beatles performing ‘All You Need is Love’ for the first time, during the height of the Vietnam War.

For their creative residency, Junction Arts commissioned Movement and Theatre Director Chris Yarnell and writer Simon Marshall to work with young people from Derbyshire LGBT+ Youth group to explore what it means to be young, LBGT and growing up in Chesterfield. Filmed within the property of where the group meet, ‘place’ is explored through creative writing, performance and spoken word demonstrating the exciting spirit and anarchic energy of young people challenging norms and finding their place in the world.

The celebratory web broadcast will launch on the Our Place website at 6:30pm on the 9th September 2021: https://junctionarts.org/our-place-broadcast/

Junction Arts supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Love Chesterfield, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , , ,

Shorts wins ‘In-house finance team of the year’ at prestigious accountancy awards

The finance team at Shorts Chartered Accountants has been named ‘In-House Finance Team of the Year’ at the Yorkshire Accountancy Awards 2021.

The annual awards ceremony, which took place on August 19th, celebrates the achievements and successes of the region’s best accountancy professionals.

The accolade is one of several gained by Shorts in recent years, showing substantial recognition from industry peers. They include:

  • Advisory Firm of the Year, Yorkshire Accountancy Awards Winner 2018
  • Mid-Tier Firm of the Year, British Accountancy Awards Finalist 2016
  • Insider Dealmakers, Corporate Finance Firm of the Year – Shortlisted 2016, 2017 & 2018
  • Insider Dealmakers, National / International Dealmaker of the Year – Shortlisted 2017 & Winner 2018
  • Insider Dealmakers, Mid-Market Dealmaker of the Year – Winner 2017 & Shortlisted 2018
  • Insider Dealmakers, Deal of the Year up to £2.5m – Winner 2018

Prior to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shorts finance team was already producing regular and detailed information across the whole firm and partner group. However, the work they completed during the COVID period was essential to ongoing stability, enabling sound business decisions to be made during an extremely uncertain period.

The team demonstrated excellent standards of work and improved efficiencies, including production of revised budgets, and enhancing many internal reports.

Michelle Frost, Practice Director at Shorts said: “Our finance team blows me away with their enthusiasm and drive for continuous improvement. And when any of them have the available capacity, they will always offer a helping hand to other team members. True gems.”

According to the judges of the event: “Shorts Chartered Accountants demonstrated a focus on continuous improvement, carrying out a transformation programme that really impressed the judges, and showed how they were integral to the overall success of the business.”

With a long-standing heritage of over 130 years, Chesterfield-based Shorts has grown from a local business to a nationally recognised award-winning firm. With over 120 staff, the company is one of the largest practices in the region.

Shorts Chartered Accountants supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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

Council bids for £20m of Government money to further boost Chesterfield town centre transformation and cultural offering

Plans to create a modern and extended customer experience at the Stephenson Memorial Hall – which houses Chesterfield’s Pomegranate Theatre, and Museum – are at the heart of a bid for almost £20m worth of Government funding submitted by Chesterfield Borough Council.

The council’s bid to the Levelling Up Fund makes the case for an allocation of £11m towards the costs of a £15.6m project to remodel and refurbish Chesterfield’s ‘striking’ Stephenson Memorial Hall.

Under the plans, the refurbished Hall would bring together under one roof an extended Pomegranate Theatre, a reconfigured and modern museum offering, alongside new gallery space, a café bar, education and community facilities.

If successful, the remaining £8.5m would be immediately allocated to further regenerate Chesterfield’s historic town centre, with investment centred on four key public spaces – Corporation Street, Rykneld Square, Market Square and New Square – and how these are connected to one another.

These spaces would be re-imagined for a range of flexible uses including markets, festivals, events, cultural celebrations, and community gatherings in a programme that will aim to complement the offering at Stephenson Memorial Hall and other key town centre assets such as the Church of St Mary and All Saints (Crooked Spire) and Market Hall Assembly Rooms.

The funding would enable delivery of a vastly improved public realm alongside new seating, landscaping, lighting, and signage, and a step change in digital connectivity.

The proposals are the next stage of the council’s ambitious plans to transform Chesterfield town centre and make sure the borough’s market traders, retailers and other employers are strongly positioned to recover from the long-term economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “We recognise the need to invest in Chesterfield town centre to make sure it remains a vibrant place for generations to come – providing great opportunities and experiences for local people and businesses, and keeping Chesterfield on the map as a go-to place for visitors.

“We’re already making significant progress on our £1bn borough-wide growth programme to create new jobs for local people, support new business start-ups, improve employability through better skills provision, revitalise former industrial sites and attract new investment.

“But our ambitions don’t stop there. Here in Chesterfield, we have a compelling story to tell and a prosperous future ahead of us – one which we firmly believe is deserving of further investment as part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.

“The council’s bid seeks funding to invest in another round of ambitious projects which will further bolster our work to transform how Chesterfield town centre looks and feels, while creating a flagship visitor experience in one of the town’s most iconic and striking buildings.”

The Government’s £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund is open to local councils to support investment in town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets.

Chesterfield Borough Council expects to hear in November 2021 whether its bid has been successful.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , ,

Recon Electrical launches free lamp recycling initiative for businesses in Chesterfield

A Chesterfield electrical wholesaler has launched a new initiative to help fellow businesses in the town improve their sustainability, by offering a lamp recycling service.

Recon Electrical is providing firms with a free drop-off point to safely dispose of and recycle their old lamps. The recycling bin will be located in the Recon Electrical trade counter car park.

Businesses are able to simply drive up to the facility on Broombank Road and load up their lamps. They will then be recycled in-line with the latest legislation and guidance.

In the UK, businesses follow waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations which aim to reduce landfill and decrease the impact on our environment caused by hazardous substances.

Russ Gratton, Director at Recon Electrical Ltd. said: “As a business we feel its important now more than ever to operate in an environmentally contentious manner and the recycling of waste materials is high on that agenda.

“Even the smallest contribution towards saving the planet is worthwhile in our opinion and cumulatively can make a huge difference, it’s great to be able to offer a recycling service locally for waste lamps and we would encourage any business to utilise this service, no matter how big or small. We also have a recycling point for small waste batteries inside our trade counter which is open for all to use.”

While compact fluorescent bulbs and fluorescent tubes must be recycled due to the products containing mercury, Recon Electrical says not all lightbulbs can be recycled. Both incandescent and halogen bulbs should be disposed of in your normal household waste.

Before recycling any old lamps, businesses must fill in a consignment note which can be downloaded from the government website.

Recon Electrical supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in Business, Development, Featured, Home, Love Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , ,

Chesterfield FC Community Trust’s Camp Inspire receives praise from local MP

An initiative which has been providing activities, food and support to young people and families in need has been praised by a local MP, alongside receiving regional TV coverage.

Lee Rowley, MP for North East Derbyshire, recently visited Camp Inspire, the innovative programme delivered by Chesterfield FC Community Trust at Parkside Community School.

Camp Inspire was designed to help children and young people, many of whom are disadvantaged or vulnerable over the summer holidays.

After taking a look at the activities organised to keep the attendees engaged, Mr Rowley said: “It was fantastic to visit Camp Inspire again and see the great work happening every day by those involved.

“Having visited last year as well, it is brilliant to see Camp Inspire even bigger and better this year – and doing so much.

“Thanks again for allowing me to come and meet with the inspiring leaders and young people!”

Following the success of the inaugural programme, Camp Inspire returned on a larger scale this summer, with over 200 youngsters attending on a daily basis.

With funding from the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme, every child is provided with a free, hot, nutritious lunch.

Camp Inspire also received television coverage on ITV’s Calendar news recently, displaying the work carried out by Chesterfield FC’s Community Trust for families in need.

Scott Atkinson, the Trust’s head of education and wellbeing, said: “We received so much positive feedback following the inaugural Camp Inspire and we are determined to make a similar impact this year.

“With over 200 attending daily, I understand that we are going to be the largest HAF provider in the East Midlands, catering for the most vulnerable children in our community, which is fantastic.”

Chesterfield FC Community Trust supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 190 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Summer, VisitingTagged in , , , , , , ,

Chamber calls for clarity on the future of HS2 East

The chief executive of East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) has commented on uncertainty around the future of the HS2 Eastern Leg, calling on the government to “stop playing games” with the future of our region.

If delivered in full, Chesterfield will stand to benefit from the Eastern leg of HS2 in a number of ways, with high speed trains carrying passengers to and from Chesterfield station. There are also proposals for regeneration of the area around the station, along with further plans for a maintenence depot in Staveley, creating a significant number of new jobs in the area.

Commenting on the ongoing uncertainty regarding the future of the HS2 Eastern Leg, East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) chief executive Scott Knowles said: “Fundamentally, nothing has officially changed regarding the future of the HS2 Eastern Leg since last year when the Government said it would set out its proposals in the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP).

“Yet it seems like every other weekend, we are reading reports in national media outlets in which anonymous Whitehall civil servants are sending out signals to diminish its chances of happening.

“With the IRP being kicked down the road continuously and not expected until the autumn, it has left a void for constant speculation that is causing huge uncertainty at a time when we need to know the direction ahead for future regional economic planning.

“It’s time for the Government to stop playing games with the future of our region, and those other areas that would stand to benefit significantly from HS2 East.

“While many of our perceptions have been adjusted during the pandemic, the huge economic benefits that HS2 can bring as part of the much-hyped levelling up agenda haven’t changed.

“Much of the understanding around HS2 appears to be hopelessly flawed. It is much more than just a new railway, bringing growth in the form of business investment, house building, place regeneration, high-skilled job creation, innovation, green technologies and more to areas that have faced chronic underinvestment over a number of years.

“Indeed, we are already seeing these plans start to come to fruition across Birmingham, where the certainty of the first phase of HS2 has already spurred private sector investment and development.

“Without the development of HS2 as promised, these plans will be critically undermined, and any delivery that does happen will certainly not be of the magnitude aspired to.”

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

Construction progresses well on new affordable homes in Loundsley Green

Construction of the latest affordable homes being built for Chesterfield Borough Council is progressing well, with new homes set to welcome families later this year.

As part of Chesterfield Borough Council’s commitment to increasing the supply of affordable properties across the borough, 21 new properties are being built on the former Brockwell Court site in Loundsley Green.

Environmental improvements, including the creation of wildflower meadows and planting areas, are also included in the scheme to help boost biodiversity, support pollinators and create a better living environment.

Despite the challenges faced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the council’s main contractor, Henry Boot Construction, started work on site in May 2020 and the homes are set to be completed in late 2021.

The new development, named Badger Croft, will comprise of ten two-bedroom houses, six three-bedroom houses, four four-bedroom houses and one three-bedroom bungalow – all of which will be added to the council’s housing register and let to local families.

As part of the council’s planning permission, whilst works are ongoing on site, Henry Boot Construction is working with the local Holmebrook Conservation and Improvement Group to complete additional landscaping works close to the new development that will help to enhance the wider local community.

Holmebrook Conservation and Improvement Group already maintain land in the area on behalf of the council and have worked closely with the council’s tenant participation team to improve the look and feel of the neighbourhood and promote conservation and biodiversity in the area.

Members of the group have already created a wildflower meadow, installed wooden planters and planted over 100 trees. Now with the support of Henry Boot Construction, further environmental improvements are to be carried out, including mowing paths in the wildflower meadow and planting fruit trees, building and installing more planters and creating a new border for planting.

Councillor Chris Ludlow, cabinet member for housing, said: “We’re pleased to see that works at Brockwell Court are progressing well. We’re committed to meeting the housing needs of local people, now and in the future, and these new properties will provide affordable, modern and accessible homes for families in our borough.

“It’s also really important that new developments in the borough take account of environmental issues – contributing to a more sustainable future for us all. Creating attractive places for people to live is at the heart of what we do. We’re really lucky to have had the support of Holmebrook Conservation and Improvement Group for a number of years, maintaining some of the land on our behalf, so we’re really pleased to see this develop even further with the help of Henry Boot.”

Tony Shaw, Managing Director, Henry Boot Construction, said: “As part of our commitment to achieving net zero carbon by 2030 we were keen to support the community through providing an enhanced conservation space which encourages sustainability, as well as being an area people can treasure and enjoy.

“It has been a privilege to work closely with the Holmebrook Conservation and Improvement Group who have such passion and work so hard to maintain and develop these areas and we hope these improvements will be much enjoyed by all.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Property and Construction, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , ,

Stay informed

Keep up to date

Dont miss out on all the latest news, updates & special offers.

Signup to our newsletter