chesterfield news

New local radio station set for launch in North Derbyshire

A new local radio station serving Chesterfield and North Derbyshire is launching later this month, providing people across the area with local news and information along with a variety of music.

The team at the newly-created North Derbyshire Radio says it aims to ‘fill the void’ left by recent broadcasting changes by providing local news, sport and entertainment, as well as supporting local charities and businesses across North Derbyshire.

The service will be launched on on Monday 22nd March and has been created by Former Peak FM presenter and programmer Naz Premji, now a regular contributor to BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC TV’s Final Score’s football coverage.

“I spent many great years at Peak107/Peak FM after the people really welcomed me with open arms when I arrived in 2001,” says Premji.

“I’ve always had an affinity with the area and the people of North Derbyshire. With the help of some familiar faces and voices and some new ones too, I’m hoping we can bring truly local radio back to this very distinctive part of the country.”

The line-up includes several local presenters who are familiar voices to listeners in the area, including Mark Chadwick, Claire Salanyk, Naz Premji and the return of the legendary Richard Spinks who will be back with his famous Late Night Love Songs show.

North Derbyshire Radio will also feature another former Peak FM favourite, Jason Hardy, as well as John Isherwood, Richard Shaw Wright and Michael Weadock.

The station will play a variety of music and provide local news and information throughout the day.

North Derbyshire Radio will be available online at www.northderbyshireradio.com and on the North Derbyshire Radio Android and Apple smartphone app and on smart speakers.

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Chatsworth supplies hundreds of ready meals to the vaccination frontline

Chefs at the Chatsworth Estate have begun creating ready meals for distribution to Covid vaccination centres across Derbyshire, with hundreds of meals being delivered to frontline workers every week.

Hot food for hard working volunteers and staff includes Chatsworth favourites such as lasagne, macaroni cheese, cottage pie made with local beef, and mushroom and leek risotto among others.

Instead of preparing meals for visitors to Chatsworth, for the past few weeks chefs in the Carriage House Café kitchen have been cooking ready meals to provide vaccination staff working long hours with fuel for the fight against Covid. Chatsworth’s delivery drivers have been dropping off meals at destinations including Chesterfield Royal, St. Oswald’s in Ashbourne, Royal Derby and others among the county’s 24 vaccination centres.

Derbyshire has shown that it is leading the nation’s vaccination roll-out – in one week recently, the country vaccinated the second highest proportion of eligible residents in the whole of England.

Chris Baily Jones, Head of Catering at Chatsworth: “The vaccination drive in Derbyshire and elsewhere is absolutely vital in making us all safe for a way out of lockdown. We’re determined to do our bit to support Derbyshire NHS and all the people working such long hours to get as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible.”

Ready meals for Derbyshire vaccination centres has been made possible with funding from Chatsworth Estate alongside personal contributions from a number of individuals at Chatsworth. The Devonshire Group community forum, which includes Chatsworth, is chaired by Lord Burlington, son of the Duke of Devonshire, and was set up at the start of the Covid pandemic to reach out and support local communities.

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

For more information on Chatsworth and the community, visit https://www.chatsworth.org/about-chatsworth/our-shared-future/

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

Images supplied by the Chatsworth House Trust

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New business gets off to a flying start at Markham Vale

Daher Aerospace Limited is the latest business to join Markham Vale – a flagship regeneration site in North Derbyshire – creating 23 new jobs.

The aircraft manufacturer and industry and service equipment supplier has been awarded a new contract to provide logistic services from their base at Markham Vale for Alstom in Derby which is building new monorail lines in Cairo.

Cabinet Member for Clean Growth and Regeneration, Councillor Tony King said: “We are extremely delighted to welcome Daher Aerospace Limited to our family of businesses at Markham Vale creating 23 new jobs for the area.

“After a very challenging year for businesses this announcement sends a strong signal to other investors that Derbyshire is a place that helps businesses to survive and thrive.

“We’re thrilled they have chosen Markham Vale and have confidence in the Derbyshire economy and its potential for growth.”

The business has moved into MV55 – a pre-built 55,000 square foot industrial warehouse at the site located at Junction 29A of the M1 in Derbyshire.

Michael Betteridge at Daher Aerospace said: “Following our success in being awarded a new logistics contract, the attractiveness of Markham Vale both in terms of location and building fitted perfectly with our requirements.”

This latest announcement follows a successful start to the year for Markham Vale as two large units for Aver Property Partnership Limited – a joint venture between Ergo and NFU Mutual – are due to complete in the coming weeks.

And popular restaurant Chester’s has chosen the site for its second location with planning permission granted and work due to begin on site in the next few weeks.

Richard Hinds, Development Surveyor at Henry Boot Developments, said: “Markham Vale proved an ideal location for Daher, with brand new industrial space close to key motorway networks and a strong local skills base. We’ve no doubt that MV55 will prove a very successful base for the business.”

Find out more about Markham Vale here: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/developments/markham-vale/

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

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£2 million ‘Taste Local’ scheme to support more than 1,500 people across the D2N2 region

DBC Training, working in partnership with Orbital Recruitment have been allocated £2m of European Social & Investment Funds (ESIF) to deliver the ‘Taste Local’ programme in the D2N2 region.

Taste Local is exclusive to the region and will provide valuable investment in skills and recruitment to help support unemployed people into Food & Drink sector jobs– unlocking new opportunities and supporting over 1500 local people to upskill, re-skill and gain employment to provide a boost to the economic prosperity of the region and help with the Covid recovery.

Taste Local will offer fully-funded training for D2N2 residents to help improve their employability and support business’ recovery at this challenging time. This includes bespoke packages of employment, skills and recruitment solutions at no cost to your business.

Courses/Services include (but are not limited to):

  • Basic Food Hygiene
  • Food Safety
  • Standards & Certification
  • Health & Safety in the workplace
  • Bespoke modules such as Butchery / Bakery
  • Access to additional funding such as Kickstart & Apprenticeship incentives
  • Recruitment and HR support from Orbital

Kerry Bentley, Managing Director at DBC Training said: “We are delighted to launch the Taste Local programme and offer new investment for our region’s businesses in this growing sector, whilst also improving the skills and employment prospects of 1500 local D2N2 residents. This really couldn’t come at a better time as we look to support our region and local economy to recover, rebound and thrive following the pandemic”.

Mark Burton Director at Orbital Recruitment added, ‘This last year has been challenging in so many ways but as an established business owner in the D2N2 area we are delighted to help support our community with our contribution to post Covid regeneration. The Taste Local project is a fantastic opportunity to access free training and recruitment at a time when the food and drink sector needs it most.’

For more details contact DBC Training directly at info@dbc-training.co.uk or 01332 295 588.

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

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Chesterfield Waterside progressing well in 2021

The town’s £340 million Chesterfield Waterside scheme continues apace following the submission of an additional Reserved Matters application for the remaining elements of Basin Square, to the new ‘One Waterside Place’ office accommodation.

Recognised as being one of the UK’s largest regeneration projects, Chesterfield Waterside is being led by Chesterfield-based Bolsterstone Group Plc working in conjunction with Arnold Laver Group and Chesterfield Borough Council.

Since 2019 the scheme has made significant progress with construction beginning on 173 two, three and four-bedroom homes at Waterside Quarter in 2020 followed by the start of construction on the seven-storey office block – One Waterside Place at Basin Square, in 2020.

Avant Homes’ £36 million development forms part of The Park character area of Chesterfield Waterside and is the company’s largest site in the Chesterfield area to date.

The showhomes opened in August last year and in only six months nearly 20% of the 173 homes at Waterside Quarter have been sold with some already occupied.

Avant Homes Central head of sales, Dawn Bennett, said: “We’ve received a great response from buyers at our Waterside Quarter development and interest in our homes has remained consistently strong since its launch in 2020.

“In September, we unveiled three of our design-led two, three and four-bedroom showhomes, which were shortly followed by our first residents moving into their homes.

“Work on-site is still progressing well and with more than 30 homes now sold, we’re hugely excited to continue to see great success at Waterside Quarter.

“The showhomes comprise of The Beckbridge, The Northbridge and The Westbridge house types, all of which have elevations that are entirely bespoke to this development. These properties have given interested buyers a chance to see the Avant Homes specification first-hand by personal appointment and, as a result, we’ve seen a surge in interest for our homes.”

Last year, the Basin Square character area at Chesterfield Waterside also made significant progress. The first phase will see the delivery of Grade A office space, known as One Waterside Place, to meet the requirements of local occupiers. Tenants have already been secured for part of the building, and further tenants are being sought by property agents Knight Frank and FHP. In September 2020 Chesterfield Borough Council secured a forward funding agreement with Chesterfield Waterside Ltd, to bring forward construction of Waterside Place in the Basin Square neighbourhood of the development.

Harry Orwin-Allen from the Sheffield office of Knight Frank, said: “Chesterfield Waterside is an exciting, high quality, mixed-use scheme which will revitalise the eastern side of Chesterfield on an unprecedented scale for the town.

“This development comes at a time when Chesterfield is becoming a popular base for SMEs with its good town centre facilities and links to the motorway network.”

The office block is part of a wider business and residential offering in phase one of Basin which comprises offices, a hotel, multi-storey car park and build-to-rent apartments, which will be centred around the new canal basin and pedestrianized public realm which will be home to the renowned Dame Barbara Hepworth sculpture.

Britcon (UK) Ltd, a leading Civil Engineering, Building and Steel Frame Solutions company began construction of the office block in October. As part of the contract with Chesterfield Borough Council, Britcon will utilise local labour and local contractors across the whole build process as well as working closely with Chesterfield College.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Work is progressing well on site and we hope that One Waterside Place will be complete and ready for businesses to move into from September 2021. The development, which is being led by local company Bolsterstone PLC, has already created around £1.7 million of orders for local contractors. The project is also helping young people develop skills – an innovative partnership with the college is allowing students to track the process and learn more about the construction industry. When Covid-19 restrictions allow, there are further plans for site visits for local schools, and on-site work experience opportunities.

“Waterside is just one of several major developments in Chesterfield that will help ensure the town has a strong economic recovery following the pandemic. Together with our HS2 Station Masterplan it will see that area of the town completely transformed, making it more attractive for visitors and businesses, which will help further strengthen the local economy and ensure there are great opportunities available to everyone in our community.”

Peter Swallow, Managing Director of Bolsterstone Group PLC which is leading the Chesterfield Waterside scheme, said: “We are delighted with the progress Chesterfield Waterside is making with both the residential and commercial offering. The strong interest from both residents and businesses is testament to both the progressive design and quality of the buildings at Waterside.

“The submission of the Reserved Matters application ensures that the progress we are making continues at pace despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.”

You can find out more about the Chesterfield Waterside development here: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/developments/chesterfield-waterside/

To book an appointment to view the showhomes at Waterside Quarter call 01246 889 450 or visit www.avanthomes.co.uk/waterside-quarter/

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£46 million investment in Derbyshire’s roads and pavements agreed

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet has agreed work totalling over £46 million to be carried out on the county’s roads and pavements over the next year.

A huge investment in the county’s roads and pavements has been agreed at a meeting of the authority’s cabinet on Thursday, 11th March.

The council also announced a further £40 million for each of the following two years.

Councillor Simon Spencer, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said: “The money we will invest over the next 3 years will see a step change in how we tackle improvements on our highways network.

“Next year alone we will surface dress 260 roads and resurface 78 roads and 65 pavements. 84 miles of roads will be surface dressed, and 11.5 miles will be resurfaced.

“We’re also going to make improvements to drains and spend money on other measures to prevent flooding.

“To tackle accidents on the roads we’ve 46 safety schemes which aim to reduce the numbers of people killed or seriously injured in accidents. Improvements will also be made to the cycle network.

“Then for the following two years we will spend around £40m each year in our bid to keep Derbyshire moving.

”The work will be carried out by our own team, and by specialist contractors which we will bring in to help us meet this ambitious programme.”

The work will be carried out by the council’s own employees, and a range of specialist contractors. To help manage the extensive scheme of work a small team of employees will be recruited shortly.

The table below shows how the funding is set to be distributed over the next year:

Roads £16.154 million
Pavements £3.152 million
Drainage and flood management £6.634 million
Bridges, structures, retaining walls and highway boundary structures £3.81 million
Signs, lines and signals £3.218 million
Street lighting £2.401 million
Rights of way £1.698 million
Cycle routes £0.677 million
Greenways £0.185 million
Traffic management £0.48 million
Key Cycle Network investment £0.57 million
Local cycling and walking investment £0.299 million
Public transport £1.6 million
Road safety £1.992 million
Preparation and implementation of major highway projects £0.25 million
Highways Maintenance Challenge Fund and Active Travel Fund £3.684 million
Total 2021 to 2022 programme £46.803 million

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Tourism businesses in Derbyshire urged to apply for ‘safe travels’ stamp

The area’s official tourist board is encouraging businesses across the Peak District & Derbyshire to capitalise on the opportunity to apply for an international ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

National tourist body VisitBritain recently announced that tourism businesses in the UK registered to the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard scheme can now be automatically issued with the international ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the WTTC.

The ‘We’re Good To Go’ scheme, launched last year by VisitEngland in partnership with Tourism Northern Ireland, VisitScotland and Visit Wales, is a free UK-wide industry standard and consumer mark to reassure customers that businesses are adhering to Government and public health guidance.

There are currently over 750 businesses in the Peak District & Derbyshire with ‘We’re Good To Go’ accreditation.

The scheme has been recognised by WTTC as meeting international global standardised health and hygiene protocols and for its role in supporting the recovery of the UK tourism sector.

The WTTC stamp enables travellers to identify destinations around the world which have adopted global standardised protocols, so they can experience ‘Safe Travels.’

Jo Dilley, Managing Director of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, says: “We’re delighted that businesses in the Peak District & Derbyshire certified to ‘We’re Good To Go’ can now automatically register for the WTTC’s global Safe Travels stamp, recognising the high standard of protocols we have in place.

“This international stamp sitting alongside our UK standard mark will help to provide further reassurance for visitors, staff and local residents alike that our businesses are putting all the right measures in place to ensure they are Covid-safe.

“As the tourism industry works towards reopening, it is also a timely boost for businesses as well as for future international visitors, reassuring them that they can plan future trips to the Peak District & Derbyshire with confidence.”

Businesses already registered to the ‘We’re Good To Go’ scheme can log into their online account to download the WTTC Safe Travels stamp. Any business not already part of the scheme can apply through the usual process and indicate within that application their wish to use the additional global WTTC stamp.

For more information visit: https://goodtogo.visitbritain.com

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

Mam Tor, Visit Peak District

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BHP Corporate Finance builds on success with deal advisory teams

A multi award-winning division of leading regional accountancy firm BHP now has over 20 deal advisory specialists sharing expertise across all aspects of corporate finance.

Building on 18-months of increased deal activity during a global pandemic, BHP Corporate Finance has bolstered its headcount with Will Sykes moving into its M&A advisory team and Mathew Oldfield into Transaction Services. This closely follows significant growth in team numbers in recent years, including two partner appointments in 2019.

Following a successful year’s internship with BHP Corporate Finance in 2018, Will completed his degree at the University of Leeds before joining the firm as part of its Graduate Recruitment Scheme. With a year’s post grad experience in BHP’s audit and tax teams under his belt he has now joined Corporate Finance on a full-time basis.

Mathew followed a similar route, training and qualifying with BHP’s audit team before switching to his new Transaction Services role in November 2020.

BHP Corporate Finance has a wide range of expertise across M&A, Transaction Services and SPA advisory, with seven partners and three directors leading these specialist service lines. The firm also boasts one of the region’s largest corporate tax advisory practices.

This expertise has recently been put to good use advising Greenhous Group on its disposal of Smart Fleet Solutions to highly acquisitive online automotive dealer Cazoo, and YFM Equity Partners’ investment in marketing automation platform Force24.

Other recent deals include Foresight Group’s investment in Sheffield-based M.R. Machine Knives, and engineering service and support group Pharos on the disposal of its power generation division to RSK Group.

Kevin Davies, partner at BHP Corporate Finance, said: “I’m tremendously proud of the way our team has adapted, expanded and succeeded in spite of the unusual times and the differing challenges that all businesses are currently facing.

“With the numerous talented and dedicated individuals that have recently joined us we’re confident that we will have another strong year with a team fully-equipped to meet the increasing demands of the deal-making environment.”

Martin Athey, Transaction Services Partner, added “These recent recruits not only demonstrate BHP’s commitment to nurturing and developing its people, but also highlight the specialisms, expertise and strength in depth across all of our service lines”.

BHP Corporate Finance provides a full range of personalised lead advisory and transaction support services for corporates, management teams, investors and funders.

Find out more about how they can assist here: https://bhpcorporatefinance.co.uk/

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

Bottom picture: Matthew Oldfield. Top picture: Will Sykes

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Chesterfield’s Heathcotes Group appoints Recruitment Business Partner

Chesterfield-based care provider, Heathcotes Group, has appointed Emily Frost as recruitment business partner to support its specialist residential services nationwide.

Emily brings a wealth of experience in overseeing successful recruitment and talent acquisition within the health and social care sector. Prior to joining Heathcotes, she held senior recruitment roles for a variety of major care providers, encompassing specialist services for children, the elderly and adults with mental health needs, autism and learning disabilities.

She is now responsible for recruitment across all areas of Heathcotes’ organisation including its office-based support operations and 72 residential care services for adults with learning disabilities and complex mental health needs.

Emily said: “I am very excited to join an organisation like Heathcotes Group, which has a very forward-thinking approach to investing in people and supporting their long-term progression. The company has won national recognition for its workforce development policies, including an award-winning apprenticeship programme. It’s certainly an organisation that facilitates long-term career progression – around ninety per cent of the senior management started out as entry-level support workers.

“The pandemic has given everyone a greater appreciation of social care and how vital it is to the lives of some of society’s most vulnerable people. Working life at Heathcotes focuses on helping our service users to progress from residential care to a more independent life, so our support teams know that they are making a lasting difference. Highlighting that sense of achievement is important in attracting talented, compassionate and dedicated people to our sector.”

Heathcotes Group’s range of specialist services supports individuals with Asperger’s Syndrome, autism, Down Syndrome, learning disabilities, Personality Disorder, physical disabilities, Prader-Willi Syndrome, sensory impairments, speech difficulties and severe epilepsy. The company offers full-time residential care services alongside supported living which enables service users to develop their independence in self-contained accommodation backed by 24-hour care support when needed.

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

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Chesterfield welcomes new pop-up events company

A new luxury pop-up events company has arrived in Chesterfield, providing people with the opportunity to hire exclusive garden igloos for use in their private spaces.

Diamond Domes and Dining is aiming to help people celebrate occasions safely, while remaining within their own household group or support bubble.

The company, founded by Chesterfield resident Chloe Britland has already achieved a number of successes since its launch, and is now looking forward to taking bookings for multiple households and groups getting ready for their long-awaited catch-up from March 29th.

Chloe explained how she hopes the new venture will help local people re-connect in a safe way when restrictions are eased: “Throughout the lockdowns, there have been so many people that have missed out on special events, dates which should have been memorable occasions and I felt that something was needed to fill the gap. I saw the garden igloos a while back, they’re manufactured overseas and I knew I could dress them up and make them look fantastic!”

The company’s signature ‘Diamond Dining’ package includes a fully-decorated igloo in the customer’s garden with mood lighting, luxury tableware and options to add flowers, balloon designs and cakes. There is flexibility for the customers to make the event completely bespoke around their needs.

Diamond Domes and Dining has also been launched with the ethos of promoting and celebrating as many small local businesses as possible at a time of need. As part of this, the company is running a Mother’s Day giveaway competition on its social media pages in collaboration with other businesses in the area.

Other local companies included in the giveaway include:

  • Talking Balloons
  • Totally Cheesecakes
  • Sam’s Flower Boutique
  • The Tupton Tap
  • Farview Farm Creations
  • Massage by Bec Needham
  • Small Town Girl Bakery

Chloe added: “I feel that the area is really growing with new businesses and is proving an exciting time for entrepreneurs and business owners. The lockdown has placed a huge emphasis on supporting your local small businesses and I believe this should be celebrated and businesses should work together to support one another.

“I have had a crazy response since launching in February and I am so excited for the future.”

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Chesterfield residents can have their say on major new cycling and walking route

Derbyshire County Council has published ambitious plans for an east-west walking and cycling route for Chesterfield and local people are being asked for their views.The government has awarded the authority  just over £1.6 million to create a new route for cyclists and those on foot.

The route will go from the A619 junction with Holymoor Road, along Chatsworth Road and the existing Hipper Valley Trail, through Queen’s Park, and to the hospital by using Crow Lane and Wetlands Lane.

The plans for the route include improving existing sections by widening and resurfacing, to provide enough space for all users and allow for better social distancing.

Councillor Simon Spencer, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said: “This new route will help many people to walk or cycle into the town centre, to the railway station and the hospital.

“We’ve already seen a huge increase in the number of cyclists in the town centre and this route will help to take more traffic off the roads, which can only be a good thing for everyone.

“We can’t use this money for anything else, nor can we use it anywhere else in the county, so I’d urge everyone who lives locally to have a look at the plans and let us have their views.”

The consultation closes on 25 March 2021 and you can take part here.

Chesterfield and North Derbyshire already has a number of cycling routes, catered towards all ages and abilities. We’ve put together a list of 10 great routes in our area for you to take on…  Find out more and get on your bike today!

And for those who are new to cycling or unsure on how to get started, we’ve put together a guide to show you how easy and convenient cycling in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire can be. It’s a great way to improve your own health and the health of our local environment!

Cycling in Queens Park - Get on your bike in Chesterfield

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