chesterfield developments

Plans for Sensory Hub outlined by Chesterfield FC

Chesterfield Football Club has announced that plans for a Sensory Hub at the Technique Stadium are well underway.

Jane Cooper, who is a director of the club and a trustee of the Community Trust, has played an instrumental role in the project. She was a guest on BBC Radio Sheffield earlier this week to talk about the plans.

The Chesterfield FC Community Trust Sensory Hub is a stand-alone building which will be located opposite the entrance to Chester’s Den. It will be a safe, quiet space with sensory equipment and sensory lighting. There will also be a Sensory Garden to the rear.

The Hub is intended for the use of autistic people who need a quiet space to retreat from the noisy, often chaotic environment of a football ground. It will also benefit autistic people and people with profound and multiple learning disabilities in the wider community. It will support autistic youngsters to access the Community Trust’s activities and alternative education provision.

It will be a community resource, open for members of the wider community to hire on an hourly basis and will be a welcome alternative to Chester’s Den who find the play centre environment challenging.

Why is the Sensory Hub needed?

• Autistic people can often be overwhelmed by the sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells of the world around them and they can become ‘overloaded’ with information.

• This can lead to a ‘meltdown’ or ‘shutdown’ often meaning that they find it difficult to access busy and noisy environments such as a football stadium.

• This impacts on their life and that of their family, friends and those who support them.

The design of the Sensory Hub has been agreed and will be supplied by Rise Adapt. The club has planning permission from the local authority who have commended this provision. Chesterfield FC Community Trust is now applying to funding bodies for the circa £60,000 it will cost to create the Sensory Hub and the sensory garden to the rear. Other fundraising initiatives are likely to follow.

A statement on the Chesterfield FC Community Trust website said: “Chesterfield FC’s vision is to be THE most accessible football club in the country and providing the Sensory Hub will be a step towards achieving this vision. The Football Association motto is ‘For All’ and we intend to make that a reality.

“In the longer term we want to create a quiet viewing area of the pitch on matchdays. A full access audit of the site is underway which will identify other ways in which we can improve.”

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

Posted in Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , ,

Office space? Chesterfield has it all!

With rapid regeneration currently taking place in Chesterfield, we got the thoughts of two people in our town helping to lead the way in providing high quality office spaces.

Developments such as the Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre and One Waterside Place are set to open this year, while existing spaces are continuing to be revamped to create affordable and state-of-the-art premises for businesses.

Whether you’re just launching or taking steps to grow your business, Chesterfield has plenty of options available. Find out more at: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/invest-in-chesterfield/office/

To find out more about the Chesterfield Property and Construction Group, go to: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/propertygroup/

Building high-quality offices in Chesterfield

Tom Swallow, Development Manager, Bolsterstone Group PLC

Offices remain important to companies – they are vital hubs to facilitate collaboration, team building, training and mentoring particularly where younger members of the workforce are concerned.

The post-pandemic return to the office has led to a shift away from the ‘traditional’ approach to office space. Businesses are now reconsidering how they use their space and looking at how they can adapt it to a more modern, agile way of working. This has resulted in a dramatic change in office space requirements. and a ‘Flight to prime’.

As a result of the pandemic, companies are now looking to modern, high quality workspace to attract their staff back into the office and maximise on the efficiencies of agile working.

Companies want modern, quality workspaces that are flexible and provide good services and amenities. Quality is overtaking quantity, as it’s unlikely all employees will be in on the same days as they adopt a hybrid working from home /office model.

On the back of the delivery of high quality office developments and refurbishments across the borough – Chesterfield is in an excellent position to capitalise on the change in office demands post pandemic.

A 2021 survey by CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, found that 63% of employers planned to introduce or expand the use of hybrid working to some degree, combining time in the workplace with time at home, depending on the needs of the job, the individual and the team, and the team working practices.

Additionally, many large companies are now looking to move away from their single city centre HQs and, instead, implement a ‘hub and spoke’ office model – a network of smaller regional offices in well-connected locations.

With new offices at The Glass Yard, and the Enterprise Centre and our own scheme, One Waterside Place at Chesterfield Waterside, nearing completion, Chesterfield is well positioned to meet all the post pandemic office needs.

The addition of high quality office space to Chesterfield is important for economic recovery. The quality of space offered not only supports the growth ambitions of local companies, but also facilitates inward investment from companies locating from elsewhere in the UK (the hub and spoke model).

The social impact of offices is another emerging key factor for occupiers too, with Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) policies now at the heart of decision making. Sustainability is at the heart of such decisions – occupiers are focusing on their carbon footprint in all aspects of their operations. High quality design with a focus on sustainability through the whole life cycle of the building are real criteria for businesses looking to relocate and Chesterfield has designed buildings to meet the highest scoring criteria, further adding to its appeal.

The creation of new, Grade A office space with larger floor plates and high quality amenities allows Chesterfield to compete with other towns across the region. One Waterside Place for example is a BREEAM rated ‘Very Good’ property, has two passenger lifts, raised access flooring, air conditioning, LED lighting, a high-quality entrance foyer, showers and cycle parking facilities onsite. It is city-quality office space that allows employers to provide flexible and collaborative workspace in the post-Covid world.

Add The Glass Yard, the recently refurbished HQ building and the Enterprise Centre (BREEAM ‘Excellent’) to the town’s existing office space provision, and I believe we can truly say that Chesterfield has something for everyone – from start-ups to growing and mature businesses.

The new office marketing campaign, led by Destination Chesterfield in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council and Derbyshire Economic Partnership, provides a central showcase for companies to see available office space opportunites across the borough.

Our variety of office space, competitive cost, central location, mainline train station and proximity to the Peak District, is all helping make Chesterfield an obvious location for many businesses looking to balance and accommodate hybrid working arrangements for their workforce. The town has, once again, proved it is ahead of the curve.

Creating great working environments

Amy Revell, Co-Founder of We Are Spaces Ltd

The workspace is a fascinating topic for me, I’m a creative person with a keen interest in the psychology of why we do what we do. The workplace is the perfect blend of the two, bringing together people and property.

Our Businesses are full of different personalities, pressures and demands, which is why a quality workspace is so important to support the needs of your team. Throughout the pandemic we’ve all been forced to change and work in different ways, some embracing this, and others really struggling. But what is evidently clear in our modern world of working is to ensure we provide dynamic, engaging, sustainable and healthy workspaces for us all to achieve our very best.

The office isn’t just about providing a desk, we all need much more than this to feel inspired, energised and productive. To futureproof our offices, it’s important we adapt to hybrid working, meaning you are able to provide a little bit of everything, at any time. From open plan agile work stations, to quiet focus zones, collaborative areas, fully AV enabled meeting spaces, places to be sociable, to build trust and rapport, and crucially, an environment to allow our younger, less experienced workers to learn from their co-workers.

In addition, our health and wellbeing is a hot topic, and something we should all be striving to improve upon. Our workspaces need to be healthy environments, with good levels of fresh air and ventilation, robust heating and cooling systems, lots of natural light and acoustic comfort really needs to be considered. If we get all of these basics right, creating an engaging and productive space is much easier to achieve.

This is proving to be a huge success in Chesterfield as we are seeing a large increase in inward investment and large businesses looking to locate their workspaces here, due to the mix of high quality office space, good transport links and overall quality of life. This brings new and exciting job prospects to Chesterfield, its raises the aspirations of our young learners and workforce, more people look to live in Chesterfield and in turn boosts our local economy.

We are very fortunate in Chesterfield, as the council and local developers have continued to invest in a range of high quality workspaces. For example, the Northern Gateway has a warm and inviting reception with modern and bright furniture pieces, sociable shared breakout areas, temperature controlled office suites, with plenty of fresh air, natural light, acoustic baffles and lovely views of the towns greenspaces and iconic crooked spire.

The Waterside development has high reaching ceilings, with energy efficient LED lighting, fantastic fresh air and ventilation system, floor to ceiling windows, allowing all the natural light to flood in and the higher floors have fantastic views of rolling hills lush greenery. In addition, The Glass Yard really provides a fantastic industrial style workplace experience, with leisure, food and beverage and health and wellbeing businesses on site. In creating workspaces that allow us to create a great experience for the user, we will all have a happier, healthier and productive workforce.

Our workspaces also need to cater for the rapidly growing digital and tech sector. There is huge growth in new tech and digital starts up, and Chesterfield is already great at providing business support, but our workspaces also need to be able to provide fast and reliable broadband, spaces for efficient digital content creation and inspiring design to really allow new innovation to thrive.

This is where investing in a quality interior fit out and furniture, can have such a big impact on the overall success of the workspace. Lots of our businesses in Chesterfield are already embracing this. I have been working first hand with many. For instance, Hunters Estate Agents have now adapted to a fully agile work environment. Moving to The Glass Yard, they have reduced from 3 floors to 1, so they can work collaboratively together as a close knit team.

They have also been able to reduce their overall square footage, saving key overhead costs to their business. By working closely with the team, we have been able to understand their challenges and opportunities, and with the volume of high quality workspace on offer, they have been able to make great changes to their workspace, which will put them in a much better position for the next 10 years.

To this end, I hope you will be able to see how important it is that our councils and developers continue to invest and build high quality workspaces, so that we can attract new businesses, create more jobs, generate new revenue and grow further opportunities for everyone to thrive.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Blog, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Property and Construction, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , ,

Staveley Town Deal funding confirmed

Over £25m worth of projects which will benefit Staveley residents for generations to come have been given the official go ahead, after Government approved the package of all eleven projects within the Staveley Town Deal Programme.

It is a significant milestone for the range of projects that will receive funding through the Towns Fund, which are being delivered by a variety of organisations including Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council, Staveley Town Council, Barrow Hill Community Trust, Chesterfield Canal Trust, Staveley Miners Welfare Football Club and Tawnywood Ltd.

Together the projects offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to improve the quality of life for residents, create new employment opportunities with higher level skills, ensure it is a place where everyone can be proud to live and guarantee that the town and its residents have a bright future ahead – supporting Staveley as a place to start, stay and grow.

Ivan Fomin, Chair of the Staveley Town Deal Board and Managing Director of Staveley based MSE Hiller, said: “The projects that are being funded through the Town Deal are designed to complement one another and have been developed in response to the challenges and opportunities in Staveley. The project sponsors have worked hard to get to this point but we are now moving into delivering these projects and ensuring that they can benefit everyone in Staveley.”

Chesterfield Borough Council is the accountable programme lead but will also be delivering three projects using Town Deal funding.

A round up of the key projects being led by each partner is included below.

Chesterfield Borough Council

The Derbyshire Rail Industry Innovation Vehicle (DRIIVe) is a rail innovation and training centre located in Barrow Hill. It is being developed by the Council in partnership with Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society, Chesterfield College, the University of Derby, Newcastle University and Talgo.

Staveley 21 aims to regenerate and revitalise Staveley town centre. It is based around the masterplan developed last year and includes Wi-Fi connectivity and environmental improvements to ensure the town centre is attractive, with a good retail and leisure offering that residents can enjoy.

The final project delivered by Chesterfield Borough Council is the Construction Skills Hub which is a movable construction training centre initially based on a live construction site in Mastin Moor. It is being developed with a training provider and construction sector businesses to ensure people can develop the skills they need for a successful career and be ready to embrace future modern and sustainable construction methods.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council and Vice Chair of the Town Deal Board said: “The Town Deal represents a once in lifetime opportunity for Staveley and its residents. Each project is fantastic in its own right, but together they are truly transformative for the entire area. We want everyone to benefit from this investment and to understand how each of these projects can enhance Staveley and the local community.”

champions event

Derbyshire County Council

Staveley Waterside is the first phase of a mixed-use development centred around the Staveley Canal Basin. This will include the creation of an access road, pontoons to create moorings, a café and flexible office and workshop space for small businesses.

Wheels to Work is focussed on ensuring everyone can access employment and training opportunities by providing bicycles and e-scooters for those who don’t have access to a private vehicle and have limited transport options.  There will also be real time passenger information and EV charge points.

Derbyshire County Council is also leading on the reinstatement of Staveley Railway Station but this is subject to confirmation of funding from the Government to restore the Barrow Hill Line. A decision on this is expected in the near future.

Councillor Tony King, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet Member for Clean Growth and Regeneration and Member of the Town Deal Board, said: “This is a great opportunity to work together to benefit Staveley and the wider community.

“We’re looking forward to building on the success of our flagship regeneration site Markham Vale to open up the canal basin as a base for business and a visitor attraction.

“And we’re pleased to be widening out our Wheels to Work scheme to improve employment and training opportunities in the area as well as continuing to press the case for a train station in the town which will broaden opportunities for commuting for work and connectivity for business further still.”

Works road and canal basin

Staveley Town Council

Staveley Town Council is using the funding it has secured to extend the historic Staveley Hall and create a modern events space with an extension to the café and the creation of two flexible events spaces that can be used for informal community events and also business led events.

Councillor Paul Mann, Leader of Staveley Town Council, said: We are very excited about the proposed project to build a new conference and events centre at Staveley Hall. I believe that it fits well with the wider strategic plans for developing Staveley and it will provide a modern, energy efficient facility for the community and businesses that will add economic value and jobs to the Staveley area.”

Chesterfield events

Barrow Hill Community Trust

Barrow Hill Community Trust is the community development charity for the village of Barrow Hill and surrounding neighbourhoods. It is leading on the refurbishment of Barrow Hill Memorial Hall to create a modern community hub where local residents can access support services and socialise together.

Simon Redding, Chair of Trustees said: “The community trust and people of Barrow Hill are overjoyed that we will finally have the services which other communities take for granted.

The Memorial Hall will be a community hub for all, with the facilities which local people have asked for – all thanks to the Town Deal.”

Chesterfield Canal Trust

Chesterfield Canal Trust is restoring the Chesterfield Canal to the borough boundary. Works include the reconstruction of 850m of canal channel, a new aqueduct over the river Doe Lea, bridges, a new lock and 3km of footpath improvements along the towpath and connecting routes to multiuser trails, it complements other works the Trust is undertaking in Renishaw.

Peter Hardy, Chair of the Chesterfield Canal Trust, said: “Our scheme will bring enormous benefits to the residents of Staveley and surrounding areas with the extension of the canal from Staveley Waterside almost to the river Doe Lea. Together with the other projects awarded money from the Towns Fund, it will enhance the environment, health and wellbeing of all who live in the area.

“We are indebted to the local company Suon Ltd. which has donated the clay to be used in this project; without this generosity the scheme would not have been possible.

“This project is the catalyst for the Chesterfield Canal Trust to complete the restoration of the canal.”

Hartington Industrial Park

Hartington Industrial Park is a 20-hectare site that has outline planning permission for industrial and warehouse development that will create more local jobs near to the successful Markham Vale site. The funding will support the development of infrastructure and enabling works to bring forward the development.

Simon White, Property Director at Tawnywood Ltd, said: “At Hartington Industrial Park we are delighted that the Town Deal has given us the opportunity to move this site from a relatively low grade secondary industrial location to one able to offer new businesses excellent access and infrastructure and so become an attractive location to companies seeking high quality modern manufacturing and warehouse accommodation providing numerous jobs across a wide range of opportunities. The proposal is to emulate the success of Markham Vale on a smaller scale and create quality buildings attracting a wide range of employment types boosting the scale and quality of the local environment and job offers in Staveley itself.”

Hartington Industrial Park

Staveley Miners Welfare Football Club

Staveley Miners Welfare Football Club is using funding to create an academy where young people earn BTECs or similar qualifications in sport. It includes the creation of two classrooms above the club house and will also use some funding to improve the car park near to the Chantry Playing Fields.

Terry Damms, Chairman of Staveley MWFC, said: “I’m really excited by the prospect of further facilities for the Staveley community and creating closer links for 16 to18-year-olds to develop their skills and complete their education. The purpose-built education facility will not only support local education it can also be used by other bodies like the Derbyshire FA to provide training and courses. Together with the Town Deal Accelerator Funding, the club will receive around £0.5 million of investment through the town deal and this supports funding provided through Viridor credits.

“The youngsters of Staveley have the best possible opportunities. We would like to thank the Staveley Town Deal Board for their commitment to us and support through the funding. The Trojans are here to serve the community and this is yet another clear example of us understanding and delivering the ethos required to suit this wide range of people within the Staveley community.”

You can find out more about the Town Deal and keep up to date with the latest developments here: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/staveley-town-deal

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , , ,

Progress continues on new urgent care department at Chesterfield Royal Hospital

The ‘super structure’ of the £24m Urgent and Emergency Care Development (UECD) at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has now been completed.

The UECD, due to open its doors in Spring/Summer 2023, has now reached the next stage in its build with the final concrete floor slab, now in place thanks to the expertise of specialist tradespeople.

The final section will be the base for offices, changing facilities and staff rooms.

Berenice Groves, Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer, said: “This is a great landmark moment for the development. It means we have completed a pivotal stage, without issue or concern and the structural elements are now in place. As we move forward, we’re focusing more on how the building will function and truly benefit our patients, colleagues and visitors.”

The concrete used is steel fibre reinforced concrete. The steel fibres reduce the need for traditional reinforcing bars and mesh as the fibres, making the process more effective and efficient. The concrete was pumped through a mobile concrete pump to the work site before being vibrated, and ‘floated’. ‘Powerfloating’ essentially polishes the surface of the concrete to achieve a smooth uniform finish to a high level of accuracy.

Though the concrete can now be walked on, having been poured on Friday, 11 March, it will continue to set for a further 56 days.

Berenice added: “The move to complete our structure of the UECD is a hugely positive and welcome one. The concrete – like many of the elements of the building – was managed by professionals, who are specialists in their area and we are very pleased with the process to date.”

The Trust recently went out to patients, colleagues and the public to ask about the colours and artwork for the new development – the results of this will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Chesterfield Royal Hospital supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

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

£5 million restoration confirmed for Chesterfield Canal as part of Staveley Town Deal

The Chesterfield Canal Trust says it is delighted to have been awarded £5.3 million from the Staveley Town Deal Fund.

The funding means that over the next three years, the canal will be extended by half a mile from Hartington Harbour onto the Staveley Puddlebank which runs across the Doe Lea valley.

There will also be two miles of multi-use towpath all the way to Renishaw. There will be a new lock and two new bridges, and a siphon pipe to take the water from Staveley Waterside (the new name for Staveley Town Basin) to the new canal section. In addition, full designs will be prepared for further work.

Peter Hardy, Chair of the Chesterfield Canal Trust said: “Our scheme will bring enormous benefits to the residents of Staveley and surrounding areas with the extension of the canal from Staveley Waterside almost to the river Doe Lea. Together with the other projects awarded money from the Towns Fund, it will enhance the environment, health and wellbeing of all who live in the area.

“It will be the catalyst for the Chesterfield Canal Trust to complete the restoration of the canal.

“We are indebted to the local company Suon Ltd. which has donated the clay to be used in this project; without this generosity the scheme would not have been possible.”

The Trust further hopes to complete the canal restoration through to Renishaw. This will include the spectacular Doe Lea aqueduct, planned to be 37 metres long and 10 metres above river level.

The Trust’s volunteer Work Party has already started its Rewatering Renishaw project which will bring another half-mile of canal back to life. The aim is to join the two projects together finishing up with an extra 2½ miles of canal in the next few years.

For the next few months, the Trust’s Project Team, led by Mark Potter, will be making detailed preparations, preparing tender documents, appointing staff, and awarding contracts.

The first actual construction work will be the new Trans-Pennine Trail bridge, just east of the existing Eckington Road Bridge. This is scheduled to start early next year. The main earth moving to rebuild the Puddlebank will not start until 2024.

The Trust appointed George Rogers as its Development Manager just under three years ago. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to get the restoration to this point. Upon hearing the news of the award his reaction was “Now the hard work starts!”

The Trust has expressed its gratitude for all the support that it has received from Chesterfield Borough Council, the Staveley Town Deal Board, Derbyshire County Council, Lee Rowley MP, Toby Perkins MP, countless councillors and, perhaps most importantly, its membership and the local people in whose hearts the canal holds a very special place.

Chesterfield Canal Trust and Suon Ltd. support the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Love Chesterfield, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , ,

Peak Edge Hotel receives go-ahead for hotel expansion and luxury spa

Derbyshire’s premium, four-star Peak Edge Hotel, has just been granted planning permission to expand the existing hotel and build a luxury spa.

The application for planning was approved on March 22nd, which will see an additional 27 bedrooms, in addition to a large spa facility featuring a range of experiences including a heated, indoor-outdoor hydro pool, sauna, steam rooms, several treatment rooms, and its own dedicated café bar.

The development follows huge efforts over the last 18 months to renovate and expand the hotel and adjoining 2 AA rosette awarded restaurant, Red Lion. Works already completed include an expansion of the existing Orangery Suite into the new Oak Room; additional restoration works to the property’s second function suite, The Walton; an expansion of the Red Lion restaurant and additional back of house and office space.

Owner Steve Perez said: “This is the exciting next phase in building a stunning destination for visitors to Derbyshire and for the local community. The extended hotel and luxury spa facility will be built to blend into the existing countryside and will be designed to the most exacting standards. We’re hoping to build a hotel and spa that exceeds expectations of all our guests, present and future”.

With planning permission now approved, updates on the plans, designs, and timings will be shared throughout the process.  Building work is likely to start in late Autumn, ideally in October, with completion expected by November 2023.

To find out more about Peak Edge Hotel visit www.peakedgehotel.co.uk

Recently, the hotel was commended as the best wedding venue in Derbyshire, after scooping the accolade at the 2022 Hitched Wedding Awards.

The Peak Edge Hotel supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , ,

Council reveals plan to revitalise and regenerate Chesterfield town centre

Start-ups, consolidation and inward investment has resulted in 310 more businesses being established in Chesterfield post pandemic than prior to March 2020.

“We’ve come through the pandemic in pretty good shape and demand for commercial space has gone through the roof,” said Dr Huw Bowen, Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council who was speaking at the town’s annual Celebrate Chesterfield event.

“However, the Levelling Up funding is important to getting our high street back to where we want it to be. We need to work together like never before post pandemic.” he added.

Chesterfield has received nearly £20 million of Levelling Up funding to transform Chesterfield Town Centre. The funding, which is being matched by £6 million of investment from Chesterfield Borough Council will underpin the Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield improvement plan.

The delivery of the  improvement plan is expected to increase land value in the town centre by 16% and shop occupancy levels to more than 90%, resulting in increased spending which will support the creation of around 100 new jobs in the town centre.

“We’re immensely grateful for the Levelling Up funding. It will make a big difference to the town centre to support our growth ambitions.” said Dr Bowen.

The Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield programme will see key spaces in the town centre regenerated and reimagined, including Market Place, New Square, Burlington Street and Packers Row, Corporation Street and the George Stephenson Memorial Hall.

The refurbishment and remodelling of the George Stephenson Memorial Hall will bring together a theatre, cinema, bar, café and exhibition space in one asset to allow greater cultural inclusion and participation.

In addition to the creation of new outdoor dwelling and entertainment space, the town centre will have a new lighting strategy and greater data connectivity to enable digital way finding, smart street lighting, predictive maintenance, environmental monitoring.

Dr Bowen added: “We want to celebrate the town’s identity and spaces and seating for people and events in the public realm that will encourage people to stay and dwell longer and spend more in the town.”

Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield complements Chesterfield Borough Council’s Masterplan for Chesterfield Train Station. At the event it was revealed that construction on a new southern link road into Chesterfield Train Station will begin later this year as part of the council’s commitment to create ‘a sense of arrival’ in the town.

Construction of the new road follows the relocation of Jewson builders’ merchants to a new purpose-built site on Sheffield Road from its current position on Spa Lane next to Chesterfield Train Station. Demolition of the Chesterfield Hotel will also commence later this year.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council said: “2022 is already proving to be a landmark year for Chesterfield with the construction of the Enterprise Centre and One Waterside Place, both symbols throughout the pandemic that Chesterfield is always open and ready to do business.

“Alongside regeneration projects and new developments, Chesterfield Borough Council is invested in supporting the future of young people and local residents. We want better jobs and more jobs for local people. Our local labour clauses in contracts have created more than 800 local jobs in the last year alone with many of them being apprenticeships.

“We are fortunate to have both Chesterfield College and a University of Derby campus in the town centre which, together, are supporting more than 10,000 students and apprentices helping us have a skilled work force to attract further businesses to invest in the borough of Chesterfield.”

Now in its twelfth year, Celebrate Chesterfield is organised by Destination Chesterfield in association with The University of Derby and sponsored by Central Technology and Markham Vale. It is one of the most hotly anticipated business events in the area and this year welcomed around 250 delegates to the Winding Wheel.

Dom Stevens, Destination Chesterfield Manager, who led the event said: “Once again Celebrate was truly that – a celebration of all that is happening right now in Chesterfield and in the future. We continue to prove that we are a town punching above our weight and that reflects in the levels of funding we are attracting as well as the many new businesses that are choosing to make the town their home.”

As well as Dr Huw Bowen, speakers at the event included Professor Warren Manning – Provost Innovation and Research at the University of Derby, Stephen Wenlock – Joint Growth Unit Manager, Chesterfield Borough Council and representatives from two town centre businesses, Emma Stevenson from M’s Gallery and Andy Jupp from Paperstarlights, who have benefitted from the Digital High Street initiative.

For further information about Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield, visit www.chesterfield.gov.uk/revitalising-the-heart-of-chesterfield

To learn more about the office space and investment opportunities in Chesterfield, please visit https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/invest-in-chesterfield/office/

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Love Chesterfield, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , ,

Outdoor performance space created at Springwell Community College

A new performance canopy has been built at Springwell Community College with funding provided through the Staveley Town Deal.

The new canopy is next to the performing arts block – providing space for summer concerts and productions to be held outside. It can also be used by students during the day as a covered social and dining space.

Ian Wingfield, headteacher at Springwell Community College, said: “The SCART (Springwell Community Arts) provision at Springwell has had a challenging time through the pandemic and this investment will help to reboot and enhance this highly regarded programme. The new performance space is a welcome addition to our college and creates new opportunities for students to develop their skills and build on stage experience.”

The performance canopy was constructed during half term and benches have been placed under the canopy to provide a sheltered social and dining space.

As part of the Town Deal process, accelerator funding worth £500,000 was granted by Government to deliver projects ahead of the full set of projects that form Staveley Town Deal.

Ivan Fomin, Chair of the Staveley Town Deal Board, said: “The accelerator funding has really helped kickstart the Town Deal and demonstrates the broad ambitions of the Town Deal Board. The projects that have been supported through accelerator funding aim to improve the quality of life for local residents and ensure that Staveley is a place to start, to stay and to grow. I look forward to the summer when we can enjoy outdoor performances at Springwell Community College and I hope the community will turn out to support these performances too.”

Accelerator funding has also been used to create new play facilities on King George V Playing Field, upgrade CCTV in Staveley Town Centre, improve drainage on the Chantry Playing Fields and to undertake preparatory works for DRIIVe a rail innovation and training centre which will be built in Barrow Hill.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council and vice chair of Staveley Town Deal Board, said: “The accelerator projects are really just the first step in delivering the wider Town Deal, there will be lots of updates around the eleven key projects that form the Town Investment Plan over the next few months as well as the opportunity for residents to get involved.”

Find out more about Staveley Town Deal on the Chesterfield Borough Council website: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/staveley-town-deal

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

Plans to boost town centre to be put under the spotlight at Celebrate Chesterfield

After securing nearly £20m of Levelling Up funding, plans to boost the town centre and enhance its cultural offering are set to be unveiled at the annual Celebrate Chesterfield event on Wednesday 23 March.

At the event, Chesterfield Borough Council will unveil its plans for the modernisation and further development of the town centre as part of its journey to become a go-to destination for residents, retailers, and visitors.

A new Inward Investment Campaign for Chesterfield, focused on attracting further investment to the town, will also be launched at the event.

Now in its twelfth year Celebrate Chesterfield, which is organised by Destination Chesterfield in association with The University of Derby and sponsored by CT and Markham Vale, is one of the most hotly anticipated business events in the area attracting around 250 delegates.

This year, the event will also host the Derbyshire Festival of Business Exhibition, designed to showcase Derbyshire’s extensive business offer and capabilities.

Fully booked every year, businesses are being urged to book their tickets now to the free in-person event which is being held at the Winding Wheel from 7.30am – 11.00am.

Speakers at the event include Dr Huw Bowen, Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council and Professor Warren Manning, Provost Innovation and Research at the University of Derby

In addition to plans for the town centre, the conference speakers will also address progress on the town’s multi-million pound commercial and residential developments, office space and the Digital High Street programme.

Last year the popular Celebrate Chesterfield event was held online. Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield commented: “Chesterfield’s business community demonstrated resilience through the pandemic and continued to make significant progress in all areas. I am pleased we can finally come together in person and celebrate all that we have achieved in such testing times. It’s also important we look to the future and capitalise on the progress we have made to ensure the town remains a place where people want to live, work and invest.”

Dr Peter Dewhurst, Director, Strategic Projects at the University of Derby said: “The University is once again proud to be the headline sponsor of the Celebrate Chesterfield event, which we see as presenting an excellent opportunity to bring together and showcase the talent that is helping Chesterfield recover from the challenges of recent times. What’s more, this year’s event is being promoted as part of the inaugural Derbyshire Festival of Business that is being used to elevate our fabulous county as a great place to launch and grow a successful business.”

Ian Snow, Managing Director of CT said: “CT is delighted to sponsor this event and continue our support to promote Chesterfield as a great business destination. We are proud that our roots are in Chesterfield. The fantastic central location, together with the investment into Chesterfield to build a town people want to both live and work in, is supporting the growth of our business to offer a nationwide IT service. We are lucky to be in good company, surrounded by exceptional businesses from the legal, manufacturing and engineering sectors and we look forward to meeting everyone at this great event later this month.”

Anthony Clitheroe, Director at HBD which is jointly developing Markham Vale in partnership with Derbyshire County Council, said: “Markham Vale is at the heart of the business community, so we’re pleased to be able to support Celebrate Chesterfield and the launch of the Derbyshire Festival of Business – there’s no better advert for Derbyshire as a place to do business than the ambitious, growing companies based at Markham Vale. Benefiting from excellent connectivity and a great local skills base, they continue to create new jobs and attract investment into the region.”

Markham Vale

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, added: “Celebrate Chesterfield is a fantastic opportunity for our business community to come together to hear and discuss the significant investments that the council and its partners are making across our town and borough. We need a strong business community to maximise the opportunities created by these investments and to contribute to our aims of making Chesterfield a thriving borough and improving the quality of life for local people.”

For more information on the FREE event and to book a delegate place at Celebrate Chesterfield 2022, please visit here: www.chesterfield.co.uk/celebrate

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Love Chesterfield, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , , ,

“There has never been more opportunity for young people to build a career in hospitality in Chesterfield.”

Destination Chesterfield Chair, Peter Swallow has given his thoughts about exciting developments taking place across Chesterfield as we enter March.

Spring is in the air. I for one cannot wait for the longer, warmer days and, rather than staying indoors. I, like many of you, am starting to think about venturing out again in the evening.

Whilst some of us may have been hibernating during the winter months, it is pleasing to see that the hospitality sector in Chesterfield has not been. Despite the challenges that the pandemic has thrown at it, new bars and restaurants have opened in the last six months, and more are opening soon.

Most recently Vicar Lane Shopping Centre welcomed Pizza Pi and before that Albert’s Jüngerer Bruder opened in Rykneld Square in November last year. The town centre will also shortly welcome The Dirty Habit on Holywell Street, taking over the unit that once was the Rising Sun. This new bar will also have outdoor space.

The pandemic has helped us all appreciate the outdoors, and it is great to see more businesses using their outdoor space to draw people to their venue. It benefits not only their business but also the high streets and town centre too.

With the transformation of the former Co-op on Elder Way into units for bars and restaurants, which also has fantastic outdoor dining space, it is fair to say that Chesterfield town centre’s night-time economy is set to get livelier in 2022.

As well as boosting Chesterfield’s night-time economy, giving local people and visitors more choice, these businesses are also creating jobs and opportunity. Albert’s Jüngerer Bruder has created 20 jobs alone.

Outside the town centre, Chesterfield’s hospitality scene is thriving. The Batch House at The Glass Yard is shortly to open and will offer everything from Indian street food to craft beer. While Chesterfield’s four-star hotel, Peak Edge, has recently been awarded the best wedding venue in Derbyshire.

With more than 16,000 students in North Derbyshire set to gain their GCSE and A level qualifications in the next five years, there has never been more opportunity for young people to build a career in hospitality in Chesterfield.

It is not just the hospitality sector which offers opportunity to young people.  At the recent Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Skills and Employability Conference it was revealed that that green and digital skills are most in demand from employers. This highlights the need for businesses and education and training providers to work together to ensure that young people are equipped with the skills needed to get good jobs.

Looking to the immediate digital skills needed to support the local economy, however, the Chesterfield Digital High Street campaign has been instrumental in enabling retail, hospitality and leisure businesses across the town to get online and trade digitally alongside their high street presence.

Ensuring young people know about the opportunities available to them now and in the future cannot just be the responsibility of businesses and skills and education providers. The proverb ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ comes to mind. It highlights the importance of community and what we can all do to support young people leaving education this year and beyond.

From offering work experience to simply telling young people about your job, we can all help them take their first step onto the career ladder and build their future right here in Chesterfield, ensuring the local economy thrives now and for future generations.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Blog, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , , , ,

Plans approved for Stephenson Memorial Hall

Ambitious plans to refurbish Chesterfield’s historic Stephenson Memorial Hall, which houses the museum and the Pomegranate Theatre have been approved by Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee.

This approval means that Chesterfield Museum is now closed to begin the complex process of moving the historic collection into safe storage.

The refurbishment of Stephenson Memorial Hall is projected to cost around £17 million with £11 million of funding being secured via the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. Chesterfield Borough Council has received almost £20 million through this Government fund, the other £8 million will be used to support and enhance the Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield Project.

Together this funding will help ensure that Chesterfield is a vibrant market town by improving connections across the town centre and enhancing the visitor economy.

Under the plans the refurbished Stephenson Memorial Hall will bring together an extended Pomegranate Theatre, a reconfigured and modern museum, alongside new gallery space, a café bar, education and community facilities.

The work will also protect the Grade II listed building and ensure that it remains part of the borough’s heritage for many more generations to come.

Creating a more accessible experience is another key aim of the proposals. The plans include three new lifts which will significantly improve the accessibility of the building for visitors, artists, and employees.

Also included in the plans are improvements to lighting, heating, and ventilation.

Revolution House, which tells the story of the Revolution of 1688, will reopen on Friday 15 April. The free museum will then be open every Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday from 11am to 4pm until Sunday 18 September.

Chesterfield Museum will also be launching Museum on the Move later this year, this will see some of the popular interactive events hosted in alternative venues around the borough. More details on these events will be released soon.

Whilst the Museum collection is moved the Pomegranate Theatre will continue to operate as normal and tickets can be booked by calling the box office on 01246 345 222 or by visiting the Chesterfield Theatres website.

More detail on the ambitious plans will be outlined by Chesterfield Borough Council’s Director of Economic Growth, Neil Johnson at Celebrate Chesterfield 2022 taking place on Wednesday, 23rd March.

To find out more about the event and book your place, go to: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/celebrate/

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Love Chesterfield, Property and Construction, Uncategorised, VisitingTagged in , , , , , , ,

Stay informed

Keep up to date

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

Signup to our newsletter