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

1st September 2020

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.”

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Chesterfield Museum to host virtual Local History Day

1st September 2020

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

28th August 2020

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.

Please note our images were taken prior to the Coronavirus pandemic

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

New three storey menswear store opens on Chatsworth Road

26th August 2020

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, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Witchcraft & Wizardry mystery adventure game comes to Chesterfield

25th August 2020

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

‘Chesterfield in Lockdown’ exhibition looking for contributions

24th August 2020

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, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Chesterfield squash courts and 3G football pitches to reopen

21st August 2020

After successfully reopening gyms, swimming pools and fitness classes, Chesterfield Borough Council is pleased to announce that squash courts and 3G pitches will be re-opening to the public from Tuesday 1 September.

Initially those customers who had regular bookings prior to closure will have the opportunity to continue their booking, which will be open to new customers once existing customers have had the opportunity to confirm their bookings. If you are an existing customer, the leisure team will contact you directly.

Councillor Jill Mannion-Brunt cabinet member for health and wellbeing said: “Lots of people get their weekly exercise from playing squash or five a side football and it’s really important that we can help people exercise more by restarting these sports at our facilities.”

In order to safely reopen these facilities, the council has followed industry specific advice issued by England Squash and the English Football Association. As part of the restrictions for reopening, you can only play with people in your household or social bubble. You must also bring your own equipment in order to play.

There are several other guidelines in place. Find out more here: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/leisure-centres-re-opening (opens in new tab)

Booking can be made by calling Queen’s Park Sports Centre on 01246 345555, emailing qpscenquiries@chesterfield.gov.uk or for squash using the online booking system here (opens in new tab).

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

Virtual events provide medal opportunity for Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon runners

19th August 2020

Runners will have an opportunity to claim a 2020 Redbrik Chesterfield Half Marathon medal this year despite the event’s cancellation due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Virtual events have been confirmed for the original event weekend of 16th to 18th October, with participants invited to run a Half Marathon, Five Mile or 10k distance before publishing post-run pictures and/or times on the page’s Virtual Events Facebook page, or tagging the event on Instagram and/or Twitter.

The Redbrik Half was cancelled due to Covid-19 creating safety concerns, with the brand-new Redbrik Foundation Chesterfield 10k replacing the event from 2021.

Entrants into the originally-planned 2020 Redbrik Half Marathon who have deferred their entries to the new Chesterfield 10k will receive a medal free of charge on completion of one of the Redbrik Half Marathon Virtual Events – as will those who have already entered the 2021 Redbrik Foundation Chesterfield 10k.

Runners who have not entered either event but want to claim a Virtual Event medal can also enter online for a small fee, with details to be announced soon.

With the Redbrik Half Marathon’s charity partners – Ashgate Hospicecare and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice – due to miss out on funds pledged by those running this year’s Half Marathon events, organisers have encouraged Virtual Event participants to raise funds for good causes which would ordinarily have received tens of thousands of pounds in donations.

John Timms, Event Director said: “We’re really looking forward to seeing people take to the streets safely for the Redbrik Half Marathon’s Virtual Events weekend.”

“This is a fantastic way for those disappointed at the event’s cancellation to still claim a medal and be rewarded for all the training and efforts they have been putting in over the last few months preparing for the event.”

“It’s also vitally important that we continue to pledge funds for great causes such as Ashgate Hospicecare and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, which have both missed out on huge chunks of funding following the cancellation of events due to the pandemic.”

“It won’t quite replace the incredible buzz of the Chesterfield Half Marathon, but this is our chance to give back to those who supported the Redbrik Half in the three years since its inception, and those who have already pledged their support for the Redbrik Foundation Chesterfield 10k.”

Mark Ross, Managing Director of Redbrik Estate Agents, said: “It’s great that entrants into the 2020 Redbrik Half Marathon still have a chance to claim a medal despite the event’s cancellation – it’s certainly unusual and something I’ve not seen a lot of cancelled events offer to entrants.”

“It’s also a fantastic way in which people can still generate much-needed funds for causes such as Ashgate Hospicecare and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, two charities which have done unbelievable work during the pandemic and continue to serve local people and communities despite the current circumstances.”

“We’ve been proud to support the Chesterfield Half Marathon since its re-launch in 2017 and look forward to seeing people take part in this year’s virtual events, as we head towards the all-new Redbrik Foundation Chesterfield 10k in 2021.”

The Redbrik Half Marathon’s Virtual Events will be supported by Pronto Paints, a leading regional industrial paint manufacturer.

Pronto Paints Managing Director, David Beckford, said: “We’re delighted to continue supporting the health and wellbeing of the people of Chesterfield and the surrounding areas by pledging our support to the 2020 Redbrik Half Marathon’s Virtual Events.

“We love the idea behind the Redbrik Half Marathon’s Virtual Events and getting behind the event despite the ‘real’ Half Marathon being called off fits within our company ethos of continuing to support the health and wellbeing and physical activity of the community.

“We can’t wait to see medals being awarded for all those who take on the Virtual Redbrik Half Marathon.”

To find out more about the Redbrik Foundation Chesterfield 10K, click here.

Image credit: Paul Horton Photography

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New local radio station launched for Chesterfield, Matlock and North Derbyshire

17th August 2020

Launching as a local radio alternative to big national brands; Radio Rewind is a new digital age radio station for the communities of Chesterfield, Matlock and North Derbyshire.

The aim is to provide a professional-sounding radio station with friendly and familiar presenters who care about issues and events across Chesterfield, Matlock & North Derbyshire.

The station has been founded by two locals; Andrew Haslam and Joseph Turton, who both grew up in the Chesterfield area, surrounded by local radio and media. Between the two, they have previous experience working at online radio stations, an extensive history with a range of live events and knowledge of the broadcast media space.

Andrew Haslam and Joseph Turton

As a part of the station’s big plan, a local drive time show has been penciled in to start later this year, as well as putting several other local show slots together ready to be filled with local talent. One of which is local radio presenter James Hilton, who has over 20 years of radio experience.

Playing a range of music, from timeless 80s hits, right through to the latest charts and local music, with other shows dedicated to Rock, Blues, Late Night Love Classics and Dance Music, Radio Rewind is designed to appeal to radio listeners in the area, and fill the gap that has been left behind.

Radio Rewind’s Station Manager, Andrew, said: “As someone who grew up listening to local radio in Chesterfield, I am excited to be working on this new local radio station, and hope that we are supported by people and businesses in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire so we can work towards bringing local radio back on the dial, as well as online.”

He then added: “With more than half of radio listening now being via digital platforms such as DAB, smart speakers and other online sources, now is the right time to launch Radio Rewind, which is proud to stand as a local station.”

Co-Founder, Joseph Turton said: “A goal for us with Radio Rewind, is to be able to offer a professional sounding local radio station which endeavours to support local businesses, community groups and residents. As a station we pride ourselves on offering high quality and entertaining shows, along with, travel updates, local content & national and local news.”

“As support and listening increases for the station, we can bring on more and more local shows.”

To help make a difference in the area of North Derbyshire, Radio Rewind runs ‘Local Focus’, which is designed to help promote local events and not-for-profit organisations looking to showcase their groups and encourage people to join in with activities. Local Focus is free for any non-commercial group in the area and features will run regularly across the day.

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

Chesterfield people urged to join the Refill Revolution and cut down on waste

17th August 2020

The Plastic Free Chesterfield community group are encouraging Chesterfield people to join the Refill Revolution and bring their reusable water bottle, coffee cup or container to fill up on the go, rather than buying a single-use alternative.

With the school holidays, staycations and summer day trips in full swing as lockdown has eased, a new Summer of Refills campaign to help cut down on litter has been unveiled.

In the town, you can refill at more than 20 venues including Bottle & Thyme, Fred’s Haberdashery, The Cheese Factor, Stephensons Tea and Coffee House and Chesterfield High Street Award nominee Steph’s Sustainable Stuff. Plastic Free Chesterfield is highlighting a different business a day on their social media channels.

Simon Davidson, Owner of The Cheese Factor, said: “The Cheese Factor is joining the Summer of Refills campaign so people can start to help the planet by refilling containers not throwing them away!”

Steph Mannion of Steph’s Sustainable Stuff said: “I’m taking part in the Summer of Refills campaign to help the people of Chesterfield reduce their dependence on single-use plastics. Bringing their own containers for food, toiletries and cleaning products can save money and cut down on waste.”

Greg Hewitt, Community Lead of Plastic Free Chesterfield, said: “As the public get back out and about, enjoying their summer holidays, I hope they will choose to reuse and bring a reusable water bottle, coffee cup or container with them. We can all join together to make a difference and reduce single use in our community.”

The list of all Chesterfield businesses taking part can be found here.

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

Series of digital events launched by Chesterfield Museum

7th August 2020

Chesterfield Borough Council’s museum’s team have been busy planning a series of digital events to commemorate the 75th anniversary of V-J Day and the end of World War Two, and a range of online summer holiday activities. There are lots of great activities for the whole family to get involved in.

V-J Day – 75^th Anniversary

Chesterfield Borough Council will be commemorating the 75^th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) by launching an exclusive video on the Chesterfield Museum Facebook page.

V-J Day takes place on Saturday 15 August and the Museum have partnered with History’s Maid to develop a video that commemorates this day and the soldiers who tragically lost their lives in the Pacific campaign.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “Our virtual VE Day celebrations were a great success and I’m pleased to be able to announce a similar selection of events and activities to help commemorate the anniversary of V-J Day.”

The video, along with activities for viewers to download, will be released via Facebook at 11am on Saturday 15 August. It will provide some important background to V-J Day including how it marked the end of World War Two. The video and activities will remain on the website for people to view and download.

Follow Chesterfield Museum on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/chesterfieldmuseum

Summer Holidays Online

Chesterfield Museum’s main exhibition this summer was going to be ‘Put That Light Out!’ which would explore the home front in Chesterfield during World War II, including rationing, holidays at home, the Women’s Voluntary Service and the Home Guard.

In order to bring this exhibition to life on a digital platform, the Museum will be running three online videos which aim to tell the story of everyday life during World War Two.

The videos will be available on the Chesterfield Museum Facebook page at 11am on three consecutive Mondays starting from 17 August.

Councillor Kate Sarvent continued: “I’m delighted that the Chesterfield Museum is able to make these videos available online, as it’s so important that we remind ourselves and teach our children and young people about what life was like during World War Two. The Chesterfield Museum website also has a selection of activities including some brilliant arts and crafts that will help young people connect with history and understand the impact of World War Two.”

The first video focusses on evacuation and you will learn about the role of an evacuation officer, how it felt to send her own children away and will discover what ‘operation pied piper’ was. You will also find out how gas masks influenced women’s hair styles, the meaning behind ‘saucepans for spitfires’ and how the blitz affected Chesterfield.

On the 24 August you can learn how rationing changed the lives of local people when it was introduced in January 1940, find out what was in weekly rations and some of the hints and tips that were popular at the time to make rations go further.

It will also look at ‘dig for victory’ and how this encouraged everyone to become vegetable gardeners and grow their own produce anywhere, even on the top of Anderson shelters. There is also a special look at the incredible work done in supplying food for the country by the Women’s Land Army during World War Two.

The final video in the series will be released on Monday 31 August and will explore why clothes rationing was introduced when materials were scarce and why this meant that boys wore shorts all year round no matter the weather. People were also encouraged to repair clothes and recycle old fabric, creating an overall message of waste not, want not.

The series of three video will be released on Facebook, www.facebook.com/chesterfieldmuseum, and the selection of activities that will help young people connect with history and understand the impact of World War Two can be accessed here: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/museum from Saturday 15 August.

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