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Chamber chief executive writes to Prime Minister demanding greater clarity for businesses in lockdown decisions

The chief executive of East Midlands Chamber has written to Boris Johnson urging the Government to provide greater clarity to businesses over lockdown restrictions.

Scott Knowles told the Prime Minister yesterday (1 December) about the “dissatisfaction” felt by the private sector in the region regarding plans to place Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire into Tier 3 measures.

He said the East Midlands has been impacted by restrictions longer than anywhere else in the country, with Leicester and parts of Leicestershire the first area to be placed under local lockdown at the end of June, and reminded Mr Johnson of the five tests requested by the chamber of commerce – which represents 4,250 members across the three counties – by which to assess decisions taken.

Commenting on the new tiered approach to restrictions in the letter, Scott said: “I understand the difficult discussions involved in this and the numerous factors that have to be taken into consideration.

“However, I wanted to express our dissatisfaction at the outcome for the majority of the East Midlands and ask for greater clarity over the basis on which decisions were taken, future plans for ending these restrictions and greater support for those businesses impacted.”

Five tests for continued coronavirus restrictions on business activity in the East Midlands

The five tests set out in June, when the Leicester lockdown came into effect, were:

1) Any decisions around closures must be based on evidence that can be shared with those affected and taken on as local a basis as possible

2) Businesses must be given enough time to make the practical preparations needed for closing and reopening

3) An exit strategy, including triggers for changes, must be made available to businesses to support them in their planning and decision-making

4) Businesses adversely impacted must be given additional grant support to compensate them for costs associated with being shut, losing trade and investment into making themselves Covid-secure

5) During closures, steps must be taken locally to reduce the risk of further disruption, including improvements made to testing and tracing

Scott added that clear, timely and consistent communication was vital in underpinning these tests.

While businesses accept the country was still learning about the nature of coronavirus in the spring and early summer, he believes there are no longer any reasons why the tests shouldn’t be met nine months on and asked for feedback from Government on decisions taken that affect the East Midlands.

“To be clear, this is not intended to be a petulant request,” he added. “Working with our members, we see the on-the-ground impact that restrictions are having in terms of business failure, livelihoods destroyed and jobs lost, along with the negative social and health fallout of this – which promises to have a longer-lasting and greater deleterious impact than the virus itself – and believe that our businesses and the communities they serve deserve better.”

The Chamber has also offered to work closer with the Government to ensure communication to and from businesses in the region works better than it has to date.

With recognition the pandemic will continue to impact lives for months to come, Scott added: “A strong, growing private sector will be central to securing our recovery and ultimate success. There is no alternative that anything other than a fully open and functioning economy will right the recovery of the region.

“Right now, businesses require more focused and enhanced support, both financial and to support in planning, in order to ensure as many as possible are fit for growth in 2021 and beyond. Meeting our tests will help ensure this happens.”

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Bridge Help invites local businesses to help it support Chesterfield Food Bank this Christmas

Bridge Help is reaching out to Chesterfield Champions and asking them to help it support Chesterfield Food Bank with a little bit of luxury this Christmas.

Until Wednesday 16 December, Bridge Help is inviting local businesses to drop off donations of new and unopened packs of biscuits, chocolates, crisps, mince pies and Christmas cakes and puddings at the firm’s offices on Old Brick Works Lane off Sheffield Road.

Bridge Help will match all donations of luxuries with essential food, including cereal, long life milk and tinned goods, and then deliver everything to the Chesterfield Food Bank warehouse in Sheepbridge in time for Christmas.

December is the busiest time for Food Bank. The Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest network of food banks, expects a 61% increase in the number of food parcels needed this winter.

Chris Sellars, Chief Executive of Bridge Help, explained: “The team and I really wanted to support a charity this Christmas. Given the current economic climate and the predicament many people now find themselves in because of job loss, the Chesterfield Food Bank was the obvious choice for us all. As well as taking care of the necessities, we think it’s important to extend the spirit of Christmas by donating some small luxuries as well.

Chris explained the decision to offer up Bridge Help as a dropping off point for donations from the business community, saying: “With so many businesses working remotely, we hope we can help with their charitable efforts in the community this year by offering Bridge Help as a central dropping point for everyone who’d like to make a donation to Chesterfield Food Bank this year.”

To ensure a Covid-secure and socially-distanced donation, Bridge Help is inviting people to simply call ahead and arrange to drop their donation outside the door. A member of the Bridge Help team will collect the donation and store it safely until we make the drop off to the Chesterfield Food Bank

If you would like to make a donation, please call Phoebe on 0333 303 4681.

For further information about Bridge Help visit www.bridgehelp.co.uk or follow the company on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

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

Derbyshire Education Business Partnership shortlisted for Children & Young People Now Awards

Derbyshire Education Business Partnership has been shortlisted for The Advice and Guidance Category in the Children & Young People Now Awards. The Awards highlight the very best practice in work with children, young people and families. In a year of turmoil and unprecedented challenges, the Awards recognise innovation and impact across the sector.

The partnership’s submission was for Directions – a new remote careers and guidance support service. Directions was developed in a response to COVID-19 to ensure continued support for the Raising Aspirations programme; which targets students identified as being most in need – young people facing multiple barriers to engaging fully with their education.

Clare Talati, Managing Director said, “When lockdown started in March 2020, young people were no longer able to access face to face support via school. Directions ensured that our experienced and dedicated staff could still get to know the young people, their strengths and aspirations and were able to provide support at a critical phase. We are incredibly proud to be recognised for our work.”

The programme – available to young people and their families in secondary and special educational needs and disability schools – includes access via telephone, email, webchat and video conferencing to:

• Careers advice and guidance

• Employer workshops

• How to guides

• Transition support

• Study techniques and resources

DEBP developed a range of new resources to support remote curriculum delivery covering over 20 themes including applications, Apprenticeships, employability, mental health, resilience, stress management, wellbeing and much more.

Employer support has also been fundamental to Directions and employer volunteers have provided many creative ideas, as well as their invaluable perspective on work and employment.

Since September, Derbyshire Education Business Partnership has adopted a blended approach of in-school ‘Raising Aspirations’ delivery, alongside ‘Directions’ remote service. This will see more than 2,000 young people supported through this project alone up until July 2021.

For more information on DEBP please visit www.debp.org

DEBP supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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Report finds Chesterfield is one of the happiest places to live in East Midlands

A report published by Rightmove has found Chesterfield to be the second happiest place to live in our region. The property company compiles a list of happiest places to live across the UK each year, with St. Ives in Cornwall coming out at the top of the list nationally.

In the East Midlands region, Chesterfield sits just behind Loughborough who top the list, followed by Northampton, Derby and Lincoln.

The Rightmove study, now in its ninth year, asks residents to tell the company how they feel about where they live, as well as asking them to rank ten happiness factors.

The ten factors range from how friendly the neighbours are and how good the local services are, to the sense of belonging and the quality of nature and green spaces in the area.

Dom Stevens, Manager at Destination Chesterfield said “With stunning countryside and great outdoor spaces on the doorstep in the nearby Peak District – which proven to benefit mental health, great road and rail connectivity to major cities, superb local amenities and strong and supportive communities, Chesterfield really does have it all when it comes to the ingredients for a happy place to live.”

Rightmove says people living in rural and coastal areas were found to be happier with where they live than respondents living in cities and urban areas, which reflects a nationwide trend of people desiring better access to outdoor spaces.

The study also discovered that people living in rural and coastal locations were more likely to have developed a greater affinity with their local area during the initial lockdown period, with our study suggesting that accessibility to green spaces made people more appreciative of where they live.

Of the people who plan to buy or rent in the next 12 months, over half (56%) claimed they now place greater importance on access to nature and green spaces when deciding on the area and home they want to live in.

Rightmove data property expert Tim Bannister said: “Our latest research shows that despite all the challenges that this year has brought, many people have been able to reconnect with their local area and community which has had a positive effect on how they feel about where they live.

“Overall, I think lockdown has enabled people to rediscover what’s on their doorstep, and spending more time in their local areas has made people value their surroundings and communities so much more. This year’s study shows a greater appreciation for green spaces and nature, and a strong correlation between people living in coastal and rural areas and how happy people are where they live.”

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

Barlborough-based Avant Homes appoints Mark Pearson in newly created role

Barlborough-based housebuilder Avant Homes has appointed Mark Pearson to the newly created role of group director of marketing technologies as it looks to further strengthen its customer experience through technology.

Mark Pearson joins Avant Homes with more than 17 years of experience in the housebuilding industry across graphic design, studio management and technical solutions.

In his new role, Mark will be responsible for evolving the way Avant Homes communicates to its customers by providing technology solutions that enhance the house-buying journey while also improving internal processes and systems.

Commenting on his appointment, Mark said: “I am very excited to be working for Avant Homes. They have many things embedded that already make them a brilliant housebuilder, and I hope to be able to add further layers to the business’ already established success.

“I will bring my technology-based approach to the business by working to humanise and personalise the marketing communications experience, and ultimately further improve a customer’s journey from that first interaction to purchasing a home and beyond.”

Avant Homes is one of the UK’s leading private residential property developers. The company currently has 60 live developments being delivered by five regional operating companies located within the Midlands, Yorkshire, north east England and Scotland. The Avant Homes Group builds approximately 2,000 homes each year, has a turnover of circa £500m and employs around 780 people.

Avant Homes chief executive officer, Colin Lewis, said: “We are constantly seeking new ways to improve our technology and processes for the benefit of our customers. This newly created role will allow us to explore the latest solutions, systems and forward-thinking processes – both internally and externally – to further advance the digital experience for our customers.

“Mark’s expertise in marketing technologies teamed with his natural ability to grasp cutting edge solutions makes him an ideal fit to work with us on achieving our ambitious growth objectives, and we are very pleased to have him on board.”

Avant Homes supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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Chesterfield’s Custom Solar complete work on £74,000 green energy project with local e-commerce firm

Chesterfield based Custom Solar has completed a £74,000 project at a fellow North Derbyshire business, creating energy savings equivalent to supplying eight average UK homes with electricity for one year.

Xbite is an e-commerce firm based in Chesterfield in which operates retail brands including 365Games.co.uk, Roov.co.uk, Maison & White, Pukkr and Shop4. The firm was awarded a maximum value £20,000 low-carbon energy grant to help install over 270 solar panels at its HQ offices at Barlborough and warehouse at Markham Vale.

The grant was made available through the DE-Carbonise project, a collaboration between the University of Derby, Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council which offers help to SMEs seeking to lower their carbon emissions and will contribute to the total project investment of £74,000.

Custom Solar installed 278 panels onto the Xbite HQ at Balborough, which will generate 74,760 kw/h per annum, enough to power 21 residential homes for the year. This solar installation will also reduce CO2 emissions by 21 tonnes per year which is the equivalent to the tailpipe emissions of 10 fossil fuel cars.

Gary Sucharewycz, development director at Custom Solar, said: “We are delighted to be working with Xbite. Whilst we are a national developer and provider of solar systems it is great to support local projects such as this. Investing in sustainability and renewable energy projects is majorly important to the environment, good for our communities, and great for businesses wanting to make an impact by generating their own power on site, which in turn makes significant savings on their power expenditure.”

Nick Whitehead, managing director at Xbite, said: “As part of our values to innovate and invest today for tomorrow, we are investing heavily to install solar panels at our Barlborough HQ. This installation means we can look to decrease our environmental impact, with beneficial gains towards operational performance, therefore improving our overall economic performance.

“The DE-Carbonise Team took all the hassle away from applying for the grant and were great to work with. Solar panels will help us reduce our CO2 emissions by 20,731kg per year, and generate 74,760 kWh per year of electricity, some of which we will be able to sell back to the National Grid.”

Ade Agbonyin, project officer at De-Carbonise, said: “Through our guidance, Xbite saw the chance to radically improve the company’s energy and environmental efficiency and make the shift to more sustainable business practices.”

The DE-Carbonise project launched in November 2019 and is a 3-year extension to the previously successful and award-winning D2EE project, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Grants of up to £20,000 are available for businesses looking to improve their environmental practices. Over 500 businesses in Derby and Derbyshire have been supported to date.

Custom Solar Ltd. supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

 

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Summit details roadmap key to Chesterfield thriving post pandemic

Public health will dominate the agenda in 2021 as Chesterfield looks to recover financially from the pandemic.

That was the message from Chief Executive of the Association of Town & City Management, Ojay McDonald, who headlined the fourth annual Chesterfield Investment Summit held on Wednesday 25 November.

Speaking at the virtual event which was organised by Destination Chesterfield, Mr McDonald said: “Public health will absolutely dominate the debate and will dictate how our town centres evolve going forward. We need to see town centres as ultra safe zones. People want safe, regulated spaces where they can meet, greet and network.”

He stressed that, despite the imminent vaccine, no-one knows whether the current town centre issues caused by the pandemic are short or long-term.

Mr McDonald did, however, highlight opportunities for the town centre brought about by the increase in home working. “Town centres can look to Paris in France for inspiration and its 15-minute city plan which has everything you need within a 15-minute radius on foot or bike.”

As well as addressing the challenges facing the high street and its long-term survival, the summit also outlined how the town plans to capitalise on the office and rail opportunities that are projected to emerge post Covid.

Office expert Darren Mansfield, Partner at Global Real Estate Consultants Knight Frank, who also spoke at the summit, agreed that home working would continue however demand for high quality office space locally was also forecast to increase.

He explained: “Employee fatigue and deficiencies in data protection have all emerged from working from home, therefore it is not a long term option. Instead, a hybrid model of home and office working is at the heart of the workspace strategy of the future. Offices will become showcases that are the centre of innovation, education and employee wellbeing.”

Rather than having a single large office, Mr Mansfield said that businesses will want to spread risk. As a consequence, large businesses will look to regional markets like Chesterfield, which is well positioned to capitalise on the increased demand for quality office space, with new developments at Chesterfield Waterside and Northern Gateway as well as having excellent road links and mainline rail connectivity.

At the summit, Chesterfield’s SMEs operating in the rail sector were identified as having a critical role to play in the ‘Building Back Better’ 2030 agenda.

Speaking at the summit Elaine Clark, Chief Executive of the Rail Forum Midlands, urged SMEs in the town to collaborate and work better together to capitalise on the opportunities available now in the rail sector.

“HS2 construction is well underway and there are opportunities now. There is a lot of expertise in the area but Chesterfield cannot be complacent and rely on its rail heritage. Local companies are well-placed to support future investment however they must collaborate with each other in order to compete with large companies on the continent.”

Capitalising on the forthcoming HS2 stop in the town, Chesterfield Borough Council has recently taken a part freehold, part leasehold interest in the former Chesterfield Hotel site. The site, which has been vacant for a number of years, has been identified as a key development opportunity in the emerging HS2 Station Masterplan, which aims to harness the opportunities presented by HS2 and revitalise the area around Chesterfield.

In addition to rail, the office sector has also been identified as a strategic priority for Chesterfield Borough Council. Speaking at the Summit, Huw Bowen, Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council referenced the council’s commitment to funding both the new town centre Enterprise Centre and the new seven-story office block at Chesterfield Waterside. He said that it was ‘absolutely the right thing to do’ to make these investments at the height of the pandemic when sadly too many Chesterfeld residents were losing their jobs.

The new Enterprise Centre, once complete, will support up to 32 new start-up businesses providing not only technology enabled space but also on-site business advisers to support the town’s entrepreneurs to develop their ideas and establish great businesses for the future.

He commented: “Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Chesterfield continues to move forward. Town centre regeneration – and supporting retailers and office-based businesses to adapt to changing work practices post-Covid – is a key element of the council’s Economic Recovery Plan.

“This includes the Northern Gateway Scheme where construction of the new Enterprise Centre on Holywell Cross (Donut) is well underway, and the new office development at Chesterfield Waterside. Well done too to Blue Deer Ltd. who are also on site progressing The Glass Yard development at Sheffield Road.

“The town won’t have seen office accomodation of this quality before. The key now is to make sure that these offices meet the needs of employers looking to provide socially distanced, flexible and creative work space in the post-Covid world.”

Cllr Tony King, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, Derbyshire County Council also spoke at the free event which was broadcast live by Virtual World and organised by Derbyshire Economic Partnership, Destination Chesterfield and Marketing Derby and is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

You can watch the Investment Summit at https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/events/chesterfield-investment-summit/

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

Funded training available to employers and individuals facing redundancy in Chesterfield

Funded training has been made available to employers and individuals facing redundancy in Chesterfield and the wider Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire region.

Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) and Skills Support for Redundancy (SSR) are programmes developed to upskill employees within small and medium-sized businesses in the D2N2 area, along with offering tailored training for individuals at risk of redundancy or those who have recently been made redundant.

SSR helps people access training courses in order to further their skills and qualifications to help them get back into the workplace. The project works in collaboration with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) and the National Careers Service (NCS).

It helps provide advice on how to claim benefits, how to create a CV and provides career guidance. It also works to bridge any skills gap an individual may have that prevents them from getting back into the workplace.

Courses include IT skills, administration, leadership and management, education, health and social care, warehousing and storage and retail operations.

SSW provides recognised accredited qualifications and bespoke training courses to enhance your employees’ skills, increase the competitiveness of your business and boost the local economy.

Training on offer includes:

Upskill for workplace success

-Training and advice in a wide range of vocational and sector specific training to help secure employment in your existing business or to help you change your career

Career progression training 

-Developing higher skill levels to take you to the next step in your career, such as leadership and management or supervisory skills and training

Support with securing a new job

-To give you the best chance of securing a new role, the project can help build on your transferable skills and support where required with CV writing, online job searching, completing applications and interview techniques, or signpost you to local services that will be able to offer additional support

Rob Matts, Head of Skills Support for the Workforce at Serco, said: “I would urge businesses looking to train their staff, and individuals looking to progress their career, to take advantage of the funded training on offer. We look forward to enabling more businesses to upskill their staff and grow.”

For more information and eligibility criteria, email skillssupport@serco.com or visit www.serco.com/ssr

To find out more about working in Chesterfield, click here 

 

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Proof will be in the pudding for ‘levelling up’ funds, says Chamber in response to Rishi Sunak’s spending review

Responding to Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spending review statement on Wednesday (25 November), Scott Knowles, chief executive of East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire), said: “The Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecast that GDP will contract by 11.3% in 2020, the largest fall in output for more than three centuries, underlines the massive scale of the problem we face as a nation.

“It’s important the Government recognises it’s the private sector that will get us back to growth so it must have a proper plan in place to provide the continued support for businesses to get them through this pandemic.
“The £3bn Restart programme, which will help more than one million people who are unemployed for over a year find new work, is a significant intervention that will help both young and old people enter sustainable employment. It builds on the work of the Work & Health Programme, the Kickstart scheme and Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) scheme – three projects the Chamber is helping to deliver.

“If the 2.2% increase to the National Living Wage is going to come into force in April like the Chancellor has promised, he must be prepared to ensure support is in place for the businesses that will have to bear these increases, many of which are in the sectors hit worst by the pandemic, such as hospitality, leisure and retail – otherwise this may only add to the burden of firms already struggling to survive amid continued shutdowns.
“It was positive to hear the Chancellor commit to the new Shared Prosperity Fund matching the numbers involved with current EU structural funds, which have been essential to parts of the country such as the East Midlands, and we await more detail on what the pilot programmes next year will involve.

“Finally, the £4bn pledged on levelling-up and a new UK infrastructure bank to be set up outside London appear to be positive moves, and it’s good to see various Government departments working together on this rather than in siloes.

“However, it must be noted that there have been so many announcements like this over the years by successive chancellors from different political parties, and it is not always clear which funds are new and which ones are repackaged from previous commitments.

“Ultimately, all these pledges amount to absolutely nothing until we see this money spent on the ground. We already know the East Midlands receives less infrastructure investment per head than anywhere else in the country – £268 per capita in 2018/19, just 56% of the £481 national average – and we still await confirmation of the Eastern Leg of HS2. On this one, the proof of the pudding will very much be in the tasting.”

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

Work completed on 10 new apartments in the heart of Chesterfield

A-Rock Construction have completed a new development of 10 luxury apartments located on Saltergate, in the heart of Chesterfield town centre. Moss Court has been designed with the over 50’s in mind. The one and two bedroom apartments are available for rent from December 2020.

Following a selection process, A-Rock Construction commissioned Derbyshire based artist, Dennis O’Connor to create a piece of public art which would be visible from the street and encourage people to reflect on the past use and history of Saltergate.

The road itself is named Saltergate due to its past association as the principal route used by the Cheshire to Chesterfield salt trade; believed to date from at least the 12th Century. Currently, there is nothing to commemorate or recognise this aspect of the town’s history and this design celebrates this historic trade route which gave the name to one of Chesterfield best known roads.

The gate is highly decorative and is constructed from stainless steel. Dennis O’Connor of Sculpture Works researched the history and created a beautiful design to fulfill the brief. The design includes reference to the rich history of Chesterfield as a market town, depicting a market stall on the cobbled marketplace. The Crooked Spire can be seen giving the piece a nod to the site’s more recent history as the home of the former Chesterfield FC Social Club and previous home to the Spireites.

Rockie White, Director of A-Rock Construction Ltd – “This project has been a great experience to be part of. We have enjoyed the process, from understanding more about local history of Saltergate through to manufacture and installation of a piece of art that can be enjoyed by residents and local people alike. We are delighted with the gate and feel it gives Moss Court a unique piece of artwork that finishes off the development perfectly.

Local Estate Agents, Lime Living have also been appointed as letting agents for the new development, which has been named after Chesterfield F.C’s record goal scorer, Ernie Moss.

Lime Living owner, Jamie Wajs said: ‘We are delighted to be appointed as the letting agents for Moss Court and to be associated with a famous local name which is held in high regard by many Spireites. The apartments are finished to an excellent standard throughout, thoughtful in detail & stylish appearance and offer excellent close to town centre living.

The interest shown so far as we start to conduct initial viewings has been very encouraging and the feature gate is receiving many complimentary comments. It is great as a local independent agent to be working with a respected local business in A-Rock Construction.’

Lime Living Estate Agents supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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

Chatsworth Chefs Create Hundreds of Ready Meals to Support Families in Need

Chatsworth will be providing more than 1,200 freshly prepared ready meals to a Derbyshire food bank in the run up to Christmas to help support families in crisis.

Every week, 150 of the family favourite recipes created by the Chatsworth chefs are being delivered to the Jigsaw Food Bank. Operated by Church in the Peak, the food bank serves communities across Derbyshire and the Peak District.

More than 4,000 meals have already been provided to those in need since the initiative began earlier this year. Chatsworth initially contacted the food bank looking to donate produce unlikely to be used in its restaurants due to the lockdown. The chefs swung into action after finding out good quality ready meals would make a real difference to the people being referred to the food bank for help.

Since April, chefs in Chatsworth’s Carriage House Café kitchen, who usually prepare meals for visitors, began cooking a range of ready meals for those in need. The meals are then frozen and donated to the food bank in Matlock.

On the menu are family favourites developed by the Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop including cottage pie made with local beef, lasagne, macaroni cheese and mushroom and leek risotto, to name just a few.

Head of catering Chris Bailey-Jones said: “Being able to provide a service that plays to the strengths of our team at such a challenging time has been wonderful. We’ve all felt that by taking a little extra time in our working week we’ve been able to do something that really makes a difference to the local community.”

The meals are delivered weekly to the Jigsaw Food Bank which provides food to individuals and families in the local community who find themselves in a crisis situation.

The ready meals initiative is made possible with funding from Chatsworth alongside personal contributions from a number of individuals at Chatsworth. The Chatsworth Estate is represented on the Devonshire Group community forum. Chaired by Lord Burlington, son of the Duke of Devonshire, this group-wide forum was set up at the start of the Covid pandemic to reach out and support local communities.

Andrew Lavery, Chief Executive of the Chatsworth House Trust and Chief Financial Officer for the Devonshire Group, said: “As part of our commitment to our shared future we have been looking at how we can work with our local communities, and also help in the fight against the coronavirus. Donating to the food bank to help support families in these difficult times is important and we hope to continue this throughout the winter months.”

A large number of charitable organisations are supported by the Devonshire Group through donations of money, items and complimentary tickets, and by offering savings on commercial rates. In 2019, charitable giving across the Devonshire Group amounted to £334,452.

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

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