Residents to choose artwork for Chesterfield sports centre

1st June 2015

Chesterfield residents can have their say on the artwork which will grace the new Queen’s Park Sports Centre.
There are three options of the artwork which will be outside the new Chesterfield Borough Council facility, which is currently under construction.
The three options are:

• Heartbeat – designed by Nottinghamshire sculptor Michael Johnson. The design shows an image of a regular heartbeat symbolising wellbeing and exercise. At 12 metres long and 2.8 metres high, the design would be made of stainless steel with mosaic and bronze elements.

• Wave – designed by Matlock sculptor Stuart Marsh, showing a wave representing grace, strength and determination. The design would be 2.2 metres long and 1.8 metres high and made of stone from the Peak District.

• Jump – by West Midlands based artist Mick Thacker. This is a sculpture of a time lapse motion of the human figure jumping. The design represents the beauty of movement and the joy of life itself.

Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for planning said: “We are keen for residents to have their say on which of these three pieces of art will be at the entrance to the new Queen’s Park Sports Centre.

“As a council, we have a policy that one per cent of the money spent on new developments must be spent on public artwork, this has led to some of the well-known pieces of art in the borough, including the Growth sculpture at Hornsbridge and the Spirit of Saltergate celebrating Chesterfield FC.
The consultation is available to complete online from Monday 1 June to Friday 12 June from a link on the council’s website: www.chesterfield.gov.uk.

People can also see the designs and vote for their favourite design at the existing Queen’s Park Sports Centre on Boythorpe Road, the Healthy Living Centre in Staveley, Chesterfield College and the council’s Visitor Information Centre in Rykneld Square.

The new Queen’s Park Sports Centre is currently being built on the site of Queen’s Park Annexe.
The £11.25 million project is paid for by £6.725 million from Chesterfield Borough Council, £2.5 million from Chesterfield College, as part of a dual use agreement, £2 million from Sport England’s Strategic Facilities Fund and £25,000 from Squash England. Read about the development

The new centre will open in early 2016. The existing centre on Boythorpe Road will remain open until the new one is complete.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Uncategorised

Chesterfield Marathon awarded official racing licence

14th April 2015

The Chesterfield and Derbyshire Marathon has been awarded an official road race licence from UK Athletics (UKA).

The race, one of biggest mass participation events in Chesterfield, was granted the important affiliation after officials carried out full checks to the route.

The licence is awarded to all events which observe strict guidelines from UKA, including correct route measurement and full risk assessment of the course and headquarters, as well as providing adequate medical facilities.

In return, race organisers benefit from listings on the UKA’s event website amongst others and access to Run Britain’s online race entry system, as well as public liability insurance for the event.

The licence also means that runners who are affiliated to a club can now take their time from the event and add it to their official results from the racing calendar.

The Chesterfield and Derbyshire Marathon, sponsored by local company The PK Group, is operated by the Chesterfield-based Kids ‘n’ Cancer charity, one of the country’s leading organisations in supporting families and patients to access proton therapy treatment, which is not currently available in the UK.

Mike Hyman, Kids n Cancer co-founder, said: “Being granted the official UK Athletics licence is fantastic news for us. This affiliation will really allow us to enhance the reputation of the Chesterfield and Derbyshire Marathon and build on the huge success of the 2014 race.

“The feedback from some runners last year was that they were disappointed their race times could not be part of their official results from the racing season, but the licence has changed this.

“Our aim with the Chesterfield and Derbyshire Marathon was to help put the town on the map and attract people from all over the world. Our official road race status will only help in ensuring we can make the event one of the best in the country.”

Registration is now open for this year’s race, which will take place on Sunday 20th September.

Runners can now sign up online to take part in the event, which will include a full marathon, half marathon, fun run and a team relay race, where four competitors take a share of the full Marathon course.

The event will once again be in support of children’s charity Kids ‘n’ Cancer, along with other local charities and good causes.

This year, both the full and half marathon – as well as the fun run – will start and finish at Queen’s Park in Chesterfield.

Early bird prices for entry are available until midnight on 31 May 2015 and are £35 for the full marathon, £30 for the half marathon, £100 for the team relay and £5 for the fun run. As last year, any individuals raising £250 or teams raising £500 for Kids ‘n’ Cancer can enter for free. Runners will also have the option to have their ‘chipped’ race bib posted to them before race day.

To sign-up for the Chesterfield and Derbyshire Marathon or to become a volunteer visit www.chesterfieldmarathon.org.uk.

Posted in Uncategorised

Local Charities Benefit from Chesterfield Marathon Money

16th February 2015

A number of local organisations have each received £100 thanks to money raised at last year’s Chesterfield Marathon.

More than £3,000 has been shared between charities including Ashgate Hospice, Fairplay, the Mayor’s Appeal and others during a special presentation of cheques, which took place at Maison Mes Amis in Chesterfield.

The rest of the money raised from the race has gone towards children’s charity Kids ‘n’ Cancer UK, which specialises in securing Proton Therapy treatment for young people with different forms of cancer.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Chesterfield attended to receive their cheque for the Mayor’s Appeal.

Also at the event was 24 year old, Victoria Crampton, who is gearing up to take part in the Marathon De Sables – known as the toughest footrace on earth – in aid of Kids ‘n’ Cancer.

Victoria talked about her preparations for the challenge, which will take place in April 2015 and will see her run 150 miles, the equivalent of nearly six marathons, over six days in extreme temperatures of up to 50 degrees centigrade.

Victoria said: “I know it is going to be mentally as well as physically challenging and will be the hardest thing I will probably ever do. The heat, exhaustion and pain will be overwhelming! But I hope that thinking about the reason I am doing it will spur me on and keep me going.”

Mike Hyman, founder of Kids ‘n’ Cancer and organiser of the Chesterfield and Derbyshire Marathon, said: “We are delighted to donate a share of the funds raised to these extremely worthwhile organisations and we hope the money goes some way to ensuring that the charities can continue the fantastic work they do.”

Registration is open for this year’s Chesterfield Marathon, which will take place on Sunday 20th September. For more information visit www.chesterfieldmarathon.org.uk.

Posted in Uncategorised

Spireites Raise Over £3K for Dementia UK

6th February 2015

The recent ‘Ernie Moss Day’ organised by Chesterfield FC saw £3,043.21 raised for Dementia UK.

Held to celebrate the career of the legendary striker, who is suffering from a form of dementia known as Pick’s disease, the match at home to Port Vale featured the sale of limited edition badges, Brampton Brewery’s ‘Ernie 8’ ale and a bucket collection.

A cheque was handed over to Dementia UK representative Will Hampshire at half-time in the game against Doncaster Rovers. Ernie and his daughters, Nikki and Sarah, took part in the presentation, along with Pete Whiteley from the Chesterfield FC Community Trust and Brampton Brewery director John Hirst.

Spireites Chief Executive, Chris Turner said: “It was great to be able to pay tribute to Ernie, who is one of the most popular players in the history of the club. We were delighted to be able to raise funds for a very worthy cause at the same time.”

Hilda Hayo, chief admiral nurse and chief executive of Dementia UK, said: “On behalf of Dementia UK and the thousands of families we work with, I would like to say a huge thank you to Chesterfield FC and all their supporters for supporting Dementia UK.”

Ernie’s family have set up a JustGiving page to raise funds online for Dementia UK. To donate, please visit: www.justgiving.com/Ernie-Moss.

Posted in Uncategorised

Young Entrepreneurs Head to Chesterfield Market

4th February 2015

Pupils from schools across North Derbyshire will be at Chesterfield Market on Thursday 5th February to wow shoppers with their products and services.

Chesterfield Borough Council is generously offering their facilities to host the annual trade fair, coordinated by the North Derbyshire branch of the enterprise education charity, Young Enterprise, which aims to equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise.

Eleven teams of students, aged between 14 and 19, will showcase a variety of goods, most of which they have made themselves.

“The scheme is designed to give students an insight into business and to inspire them to ‘learn by doing’. All participants are expected to operate in a professional manner as they would in the workplace,” said Jamie Toyne, Chair of the Young Enterprise’s North Derbyshire Area Board.

“The teams have been encouraged to be innovative and creative in the products they have developed and the ways in which they market their products to Chesterfield’s shoppers. We are all very excited to see what they have done so far and how they put their new skills into practice.”

In addition, two awards will be up for grabs on the day; judges will be visiting each of the stalls to judge the best trade stand and the best product or service. The panel of judges consists of local business people, Laura Jo of Adorn Jewellers, Vittorio Risorto from Calabria Cucina and the Mayor of Chesterfield, Cllr Alexis Diouf.

Speaking about the upcoming event, the judges said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for these students to get some valuable hands-on experience in business and the retail sector. We’re really excited about meeting the teams and finding more out more about them.”

Students will be trading at the small market place next to Dents Chemist from 9am – 5.00pm.

Posted in Uncategorised