Featured

Cashless parking coming to Chesterfield

Paying for parking in Chesterfield has just got easier as Chesterfield Borough Council partners with PayByPhone, the global leader in mobile parking payments, to offer drivers the option of cashless parking when visiting the town centre.

Cashless parking payments will be introduced to all of the council’s pay and display car parks from 7 September 2020 and will mean motorists no longer have to search for the right change.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The new car-parking system will offer you a quick and convenient way to paying for your parking. You’ll no longer need to queue at the ticket machine, and you’ll be able to pay from the comfort of your car.

“Over recent months, we have been encouraged to make cashless payments where possible to help reduce the spread of Covid-19, and we think that this new way of paying will help to do this.

“This new system will help to ensure that we continue to play our part to stop the spread of the virus, as well as offering more flexibility for people who are visiting our town centre and supporting our local businesses.”

PayByPhone will be available in the following car parks: Holywell Cross, Durrant Road, Devonshire Street, Theatre Lane, Spa Lane, St Mary’s Gate, Station Road, Queen’s Park Annexe, Queen’s Park North, Queen’s Park South, Coach Station, Derbyshire Times and Albion Road.

Drivers will be able to pay for parking on their phones through the PayByPhone app which is available to download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, meaning that they can pay for parking from the comfort of their car. The app is quick and easy to install and use. It also gives drivers the added benefit of extending their parking sessions remotely.

Adam Dolphin, Sales Director for PayByPhone UK, said: “We are very excited to launch PayByPhone in Chesterfield and we encourage everyone to download the PayByPhone app so they are ready to take advantage of this new service.

“With one in 10 adults in the UK now choosing to lead a largely cashless life, and seven in 10 using contactless payments, the shift away from using notes and coins is not only the smart and safe choice, but also one that should be relatively easy for most.”

Frequent visitors can also purchase parking at a reduced rate on a weekly, monthly or annual basis through the PayByPhone app.

Motorists can continue to pay by cash if they prefer by visiting the pay and display machines as usual. The scratch card parking will also continue to be valid and visitors can continue to purchase these from the Visitor Information Centre.

More information on car parking in Chesterfield and how to use the app can be found at www.chesterfield.gov.uk/pay-for-parking-by-phone

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield, Visiting

Local residents asked to share views on Staveley’s future

Residents are being invited to have their say on the future of Staveley through an online consultation organised by Chesterfield Borough Council.

The feedback will contribute to the development of a new vision for Staveley that will be used to support the Staveley Town Deal.

The Staveley Town Deal is aiming to secure up to £25m of funding to help build a stronger economy for Staveley. This consultation will be used to support a new ‘place vision’ for Staveley; Chesterfield Borough Council want to know what makes the Staveley area special, how you feel about the area, and how you would might like to see it develop in the future. The consultation is open until Tuesday 15 September.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “It’s vital that local residents and businesses have their say on the future of Staveley. We need to work together to ensure that we are delivering the projects that matter most to the people of Staveley.”

Ivan Fomin (pictured), who is chairman of the Staveley Town Deal Board and Managing Director of local business MSE Hiller, said: “It is a great chance for local people to be involved in deciding how this funding should be used. A key measure of the success of the project will be the level of local benefits that can be achieved for the local community.”

The Town Deal will allow Staveley the opportunity to build on the foundation of previous regeneration activity. For example, the council previously worked with Staveley Town Council on the refurbishment of Staveley Hall which was funded by Heritage Lottery and European Regional Development Fund. This has enabled the renovation of the listed building and the creation of managed workspaces and a community café.

There are also plans for the development of the Chesterfield Staveley Regeneration Route and work is progressing on the remediation of the Hartington site.

The new ‘place vision’ will be used to support the Town Investment Plan which the council aims to submit to Government in the Autumn. It has already submitted a bid for accelerated funding to help kickstart several projects that will have an immediate impact.

A total of five projects were put forward for consideration from this accelerator funding including new CCTV equipment for the town centre, sports pitch development at Staveley Miners Welfare Football Club and new play equipment for King George V Playing Field.

A Staveley Town Deal board has been established and this will help oversee and guide projects that deliver the most value for residents of Staveley. The board is composed of elected members from Chesterfield Borough Council, Staveley Town Council and Derbyshire County Council, both local members of parliament, representatives from local charitable organisations, Derbyshire Police, education leaders and representatives of the local business community.

The Town Deal Board is also appealing for project ideas to be submitted to be considered for inclusion of the bid. Some projects have already been identified, but more are welcome.

Find out more about the Staveley Town Deal and share your views here: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/business-and-economic-growth/regeneration-and-economic-growth/staveley-town-deal/get-involved-in-the-staveley-town-deal

You can also make suggestions for projects here: https://mytown.communities.gov.uk/town/staveley-derbyshire/

Staveley Hall

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

Greatest Hits Radio goes live in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire, with applications now open for ‘Back to Work’

Peak FM has been rebranded as Greatest Hits North Derbyshire, part of the largest commercial radio network in the UK.

The station has also launched local content campaigns today, celebrating the voices and music of North Derbyshire and promoting local job opportunities.

Greatest Hits Radio North Derbyshire. will bring feature upbeat classic hits from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s and will be delivered by well-known broadcasters including Simon Mayo, Mark Goodier, Janice Long, Paul Gambaccini and Pat Sharp.

News bulletins will carry locally gathered stories, local traffic bulletins and local information to reflect the interests of Chesterfield and North Derbyshire. For local advertisers, the move will provide significant scale and a broader range of advertising opportunities. 

Applications have also opened for Greatest Hits Radio North Derbyshire’s ‘Back to Work’ campaign, providing free advertising of local job opportunities to North Derbyshire’s employers and job-seekers.   

Local employers are encouraged to submit vacancies for inclusion, allowing them to reach a wide audience of local job-seekers free of charge.  Job vacancy bulletins will be broadcast four times a day to local audiences and will be promoted on the Greatest Hits Radio North Derbyshire website.  

 Greatest Hits Radio North Derbyshire will kick off with a Top 500 countdown of the country’s most popular songs, ahead of new local content programmes to run over the autumn:  

  • ‘Cities of Sound’ – A weekly documentary series celebrating the musical heritage of towns, cities and regions across the UK, including North Derbyshire

The station has been launched alongside a major marketing campaign across TV, print media, radio and digital and social platforms. Central to the campaign is the idea of ‘music bringing good times’ to our lives. It will feature some of Greatest Hits Radio’s favourite artists, including David Bowie, Tina Turner, Madonna, Queen and Bob Marley. 

Graham Bryce, Group Managing Director, Hits Radio Brand Network, comments, “We are excited about the role for Greatest Hits Radio North Derbyshire in giving local communities and listeners in North Derbyshire the music, content and local connections we know they value highly, as well as a platform for a future of digital listening.  We are committed to retaining our local relationships and look forward to engaging closely with local listeners and businesses as we launch our airtime initiative.”

Chesterfield council houses homes building Brampton

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Local MP praises innovative Derbyshire manufacturer

Bolsover MP Mark Fletcher has praised a Chesterfield manufacturer for its resilience and hard work amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

Mr Fletcher, who is campaigning to bring more jobs to Bolsover, made his comments while visiting Blachford UK, which designs and manufacturers acoustic insulation products for industrial vehicles.

Since resuming production post lockdown, the company has created more than 20 brand new full-time roles at its Holmewood site thanks to a booming order book.

Commenting on the visit to the company, Mr Fletcher said: “It was fantastic to visit such an innovative and brilliant manufacturer based in the heart of Bolsover and a real pleasure to meet so many of their team and to understand how passionate they are about their work. Blachford pride themselves on the quality of their products which makes them global leaders in their industry. To have them here is a source of pride to our communities and our constituency.”

Jason Lippitt, Managing Director of Blachford UK, commented: “I am delighted that Mr Fletcher was able to find time in his busy schedule to visit us. We were really keen to show him first-hand that it is not all doom and gloom in the UK right now. There are challenges, but I believe we should face these head on and with positivity. Our parent company fully supports us and sees its UK arm as being central to delivering solutions across Europe.”

Blachford UK is part of the global Blachford group, benefitting from an extensive supply chain and distribution options. Formerly TMAT, Blachford Acoustics Group acquired the Holmewood-based business in 2014 from former owner and current Managing Director Jason Lippitt.

The acquisition of the business enabled Blachford to provide common, coordinated solutions in both North America and Europe. The business was rebranded to Blachford UK in 2017.

Serving Bolsover since 2019, Conservative MP Mr Fletcher is for unlocking the untapped economic potential of Britain, particularly in the Midlands and the North; a desire Mr Lippitt also shares.

Jason added: “We have a strong business here in Derbyshire. Our expertise and products are world-leading and in demand. There are many other companies like Blachford who are doing well, however we just hear the disaster stories right now. We need to move forward, celebrate success and send the message to Europe and the world that Britain’s manufacturing sector is in business and doing well and will continue to do well regardless of Brexit or the pandemic.”

Since July 2020, the company has increased its workforce by 20 per cent. People interested in working at Blachford, should email recruitment@blachforduk.com

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

Chesterfield Museum to host virtual Local History Day

Chesterfield Museum will be hosting a virtual Local History Day on Saturday 12 September.

The Chesterfield Local History Day is an annual event that normally takes place at Chesterfield Museum with a variety of local and family history societies hosting stands where you can find out more about the societies and hints and tips to help you with your own research.

However, due to the museum being closed, this year’s event will instead be hosted online on the Chesterfield Museum Facebook page: www.facebook.com/chesterfieldmuseum

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The Chesterfield Local History Day is a great way for anyone to learn more about the history of our town and to discover some great resources that will help them research their family history. I’m proud of the work the team have put in to bring this event online and help make these resources available to everyone because it’s really important that we know our own history.”

Content will be posted on the museum’s Facebook page from 10am throughout the day (Saturday 12 September). Some of the highlights include before and after photos of Chesterfield Canal from Chesterfield Canal Trust, photographs of the old Royal Hospital from Chesterfield Photographic Society and a ‘Hidden Nature’ self-guided tour between the rivers, Hipper and Rother which is a collaboration between Friends of Spital Cemetery and the Don Catchment Rivers Trust.

The Hidden Nature Tour begins at Riverside Retail Park and follows the river Hipper to where it meets the river Rother at the bottom of Spital Cemetery. There’s lots of information about the hidden nature in the cemetery as well as a look of the industrial history along the route and how this links to the cemetery.

Chesterfield and District Family History Society will be also be explaining how to start researching your own family history, which will hopefully inspire you to have a go yourself.

The event has a selection of activities for the whole family and there will be various children’s activities provided by Steamworks. This includes ideas to help build a model of Chesterfield Parish Church Spire, making and testing different bridge structures inspired by Horn’s Bridge, creating a boat to sail on the Chesterfield Canal and exploring how train wheels stay on the track like at Barrow Hill Railway.

The museum staff will also be posting various local history videos and challenging you to guess some mystery objects. One of the museum’s collection officers has created a Historic Walking Trail around the town centre which you can print out and follow to learn about how Chesterfield has changed over the years.

The Museum team are currently appealing for members of the public to share stories, memories, images and items from lockdown, in order to add to the collection and help remember this unprecedented crisis and the impact it has had in Chesterfield.

To find out more and share your stories please contact the team via the Chesterfield Museum Facebook page: www.facebook.com/chesterfieldmuseum or email: museum.collections@chesterfield.gov.uk.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Live theatre returns to Chesterfield

Chesterfield Borough Council is pleased to announce that Chesterfield Theatres will again be hosting live performances from October.

The first three live shows scheduled to take place are part of the Autumn Play Season, which takes place from Tuesday 13 October until Saturday 14 November at the Pomegranate Theatre. Customers will be able to purchase tickets to all three plays for the price of two. The tickets will go on sale from Friday 4 September.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “The return of live performances to the council’s theatres represents another step forward in Chesterfield’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.”

“I know the team have worked hard to make this possible and we very much look forward to welcoming our regular theatregoers as well as lots of new customers to our Covid-19 secure theatres.”

The three plays for the Autumn Play Season are Love Upon The Throne, Dead Certain and Live Bed Show. Each play will feature two different performers, drawn from the same social bubble, in order to help limit contact with other performers and audiences.

The Pomegranate Theatre is already open for cinema screenings and council staff have received lots of positive comments from customers about the safety measures that have been put in place.

The council has also followed the latest Government and UK Theatres guidance on how to re-introduce live performances to ensure the safety of performers, theatregoers and staff.

Tickets for the first three live shows and for other live performances as well as tickets for cinema screenings can be booked on the Chesterfield Theatres website: www.chesterfieldtheatres.co.uk

When booking tickets online, customers can also spoil themselves by pre-ordering tasty treats including ice creams, sweets and drinks at a reduced price. Snacks and drinks can also be purchased when attending the Theatres, but staff will only be accepting card payments.

The Pomegranate Theatre and The Winding Wheel Theatre are owned and operated by Chesterfield Borough Council.

Chesterfield Borough Council has secured £35,000 from the Arts Council Emergency Response Fund to support the re-launch of the Pomegranate and The Winding Wheel theatres.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Please note our images were taken prior to the Coronavirus pandemic

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Growth for Chesterfield e-commerce firm leads to doubling warehouse space

A growing Chesterfield e-commerce firm is more than doubling its warehouse operation to 102,000 sq ft in an expansion move to a prime industrial site at Markham Vale.

Xbite, which ships products around the globe, has taken a multi year lease on a warehouse at Markham Vale J29a M1, as part of ambitious expansion plans for the growing company which was set up in a back bedroom 16 years ago.

Xbite was started at home in 2004 by Nick and Keely Whitehead retailing video games online. In 2012, it built its own premises in Barlborough and reached a £23m turnover.

The firm, which currently has a £42m turnover, will move immediately to the 102,000 sq ft warehouse, reconfiguring its current 45,000 sq ft base at Barlborough into an office for its 130 employees.

Xbite has taken on 24 staff in the last three months, and expects to recruit another 50 staff by Christmas and expand its executive team. It operates brands including 365 Games, Roov.co.uk, Maison & White, Pukkr and Shop4.

Nick Whitehead, Managing Director at Xbite, said: “We have outgrown our much loved 45,000 sq ft unit at Barlborough and needed a warehouse that had the space and setup required to deliver our current and future objectives.”

“Markham Vale will enable us to deliver a better work environment for all our warehouse operatives, not only will we have the space needed to deliver better performance, there is enough space to ensure that social distancing is easier for everyone to adhere to, which we expect to be around for a while yet.”

“The increase in online shopping plus our diversification from computer games and DVDs into home and gardenware has seen unprecedented growth for us. Our homeware website Roov.co.uk is where our future growth will come from, enabling this expansion of premises and creating jobs.”

Rebecca Schofield, Head of the Yorkshire industrial team at Knight Frank and sole agent on Markham Vale, said: “This warehouse is ideal for a business that needs to hold and move products quickly across the country as its location at Junction 29a of the M1 allows easily access to South Yorkshire, the East Midlands with direct connectivity to the M1, and subsequently the M18, A38 and further afield.”

Markham Vale has proved a huge success with existing occupiers including Great Bear, Smurfitt Kappa, Ferdinand Bilstein, Gist, Meter Provida and Holdsworth Food.

For further information on Markham Vale click here.

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

New three storey menswear store opens on Chatsworth Road

Independent menswear retailer Master Debonair has opened Chatsworth Road.

The three-storey store has undergone a recent refit, with casual wear on the ground floor, suits and accessories on the second floor and a private showroom on the top floor.

Offering affordable menswear with a full range of jeans, chinos, shoes, accessories, shirts and suits. The summer collection includes shorts, short sleeve shirts and t-shirts and the top floor of the building is a private showroom where wedding parties, large groups or one to one appointments can use.

Founded by husband and wife team Simon and Eve Whitaker in 2016, the award-winning company now employs 25 people across its two stores, offices and distribution centre.

Simon Whitaker of Master Debonair, said “There’s a wide range of independent shops, restaurants and coffee shops to explore just a few minutes from the town centre on Chatsworth Road and it’s the perfect place for us. We have done a full refit of the building, uncovering as many original features as possible and adding a few of our own.”

“We don’t think there are any other stores quite like ours in Chesterfield and we hope the local community love it. As well as our full range of clothes and accessories we offer 1 to 1 personal styling, custom tailoring and wedding services for the guys.”

Master Debonair won Best Independent Menswear Business in 2019. Master Debonair’s North East store won the ‘Best Independent Menswear’ title at the Drapers Independents Awards 2019, which took place in London in September.

Master Debonair was named Best New Business by Drapers in 2017 and was shortlisted in four categories for the 2019 awards, receiving more nominations over the years than any other independent retailer in the country.

“Our customers are often shocked at how reasonable our prices are,” Simon added. “We want to give people confidence in the clothes they wear and the service we offer really is exceptional.”

The new store can be found at 270 Chatsworth Road, Chesterfield, S40 2BH. Master Debonair is also available to order online via their website. You can also find them on social media.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Witchcraft & Wizardry mystery adventure game comes to Chesterfield

Grab your wands and cloaks, the wizarding world is coming to Chesterfield in an all-new spell-binding Witchcraft and Wizardry adventure event.

Players will embark on a mysterious and magical journey into a world of witchcraft and wizardry plagued by dark magic, where teams of 6 muggles will compete to locate virtual witnesses, crack clues and defeat the darkest entities in the realm.

CluedUpp Detective Days are like giant, outdoor escape games. This spell-binding outdoor adventure game will take your team on a mysterious and magical journey across town. Work with your team-mates to crack the clues, solve the puzzles and save the realm.

CluedUpp’s founder, Tref Griffiths said “Due to the success of our previous games, we wanted to create something completely different and otherworldly. We’re big fans of all things fantasy here at CluedUpp, take the biggest names in fantasy such as Harry Potter and Game of Thrones. We thought it was about time we created our own magical mystery within this genre.”

Taking place entirely via the CluedUpp smartphone app, all you need in order to take part is a phone and a team of 6 fellow witched or wizards to compete in the race to unravel the mystery on September 19th 2020.

Tickets for the event are on sale now. For more information and how to book, click here.

Images by CluedUpp Games.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Derbyshire schools prepare to reopen

Schools across Derbyshire are preparing to reopen their doors next month to all pupils.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home

‘Chesterfield in Lockdown’ exhibition looking for contributions

Chesterfield Museum is currently working with a number of local organisations in order to put together an exhibition that conveys different experiences of ‘Chesterfield in Lockdown’.

The Museum team are appealing to the local community to get in touch with stories, memories, images and items that express their experiences during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Organisers hope that by working with local people, community groups and organisations, residents can come together to share memories of lockdown and isolation.

They are also keen to include the stories of key workers who have kept Chesterfield and the UK going during this unprecedented crisis.

There are three main areas of the upcoming exhibition which the team are seeking submissions for:

Photographs

  • Images that you’ve taken on your mobile or with your camera during this time or anything that you feel is an image of ‘Lockdown in Chesterfield’ (signs, queues, empty parks or streets)
  • Images of what has helped you cope with Lockdown (nature, your garden, cooking, reading, screenshots of chats with friends and family online).

Items & Keepsakes

  • Artworks, pictures, paintings, models, textiles – any projects that you’ve embraced and focused on. For example, all the rainbows created.
  • Items and objects that will always remind you of this time / period such as home-made mask, walking shoes, toilet roll, bottle of hand gel

Stories and Thoughts

  • Your thoughts about the past six months and ‘Lockdown’ expressed through diary extracts, blogs, poems, letters, emails.
  • Anecdotes & little stories of some of the things you’ve experienced.

If you would like to contribute to this exhibition please contact the Museum Collections Team via museum.collections@chesterfield.gov.uk or rachel.fannen@chesterfield.gov.uk

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting