Chesterfield Champions Olympic Success

This month I would like to look forward to next year’s Olympics and the involvement of Chesterfield in an event that will attract a worldwide viewing audience of 4 billion, but how is it relevant to Chesterfield?  This event isn’t just about sport, it is about, business, culture and community as well.

Our last Champions Breakfast meeting focussed on the Olympics and how Chesterfield has been and how we can get further involved.

For businesses there are still a large number of contracts relating to the event to be won.  So far 7 Chesterfield companies have won contracts on the Olympic project, this helps to support local jobs and add to the kudos of our businesses.

We also have local athletes, we were fortunate enough to hear from Liam Pitchford, a commonwealth medal winner, British number 2 and hopeful member of the British Olympic Table Tennis squad, to talk about his plans over the next year in the build up for the Olympics.  Also there is Hannah Lawrence, member of the British Fencing Squad, who is proud to promote Chesterfield is one of our Chesterfield Champions.

Local artist Paul Cummins has been commissioned to produce an installation for the Cultural Olympiad, showcasing the creative talent we have in our town.

It’s also how we get involved as a community and there are a number of initiatives being developed with local schools and communities to celebrate this once in a lifetime opportunity. One example being Mandeville, the Olympic mascot, will make the school sports day extra special for pupils at Walton Holymoorside Primary School in Chesterfield, Derbyshire on 21 June this summer as a prize for taking part in a competition about exploring what is unique about their community.
If you are planning an event or have a story about the Olympics contact us at dominic.stevens@dncc.co.uk


As always the latest news on Chesterfield can be found at www.chesterfield.co.uk

Meet the Chesterfield Champions

In previous blogs I have talked about how the ‘Chesterfield Champions’ are driving forward Destination Chesterfield, with the support of the Borough Council, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to mention some of the businesses, how they got involved, and why they are proud of Chesterfield.

Steve Perez of Global Brands said “I am passionate about continuing the investment that is already happening here – investment that will attract new business and put Chesterfield on the map as an exciting, ambitious and beautiful place to live and work.”

Laura Jo Davis of Adorn Jewellers based in the Shambles chose Chesterfield for their business because “When considering opening Adorn our priorities were the look and feel of the location and the accessibility for locals and tourists. Chesterfield was the obvious choice for its historical look and feel which compliments Adorn perfectly, with it's wide range of shops and wonderful market.

Hannah Lawrence who is Britain’s number 2 fencer and is training for the Olympics said “I have realized that without the community spirit of Chesterfield I would never have had the drive to achieve what I have, nor to keep striving to achieve, and I hope to promote my home town further in the run up to our own Olympic Games, London 2012.”

Guy Robinson of Robinson Packaging said “I am proud to be a direct descendant of John B Robinson and believe the central location of Chesterfield with good rail and motorway links has contributed to the success of our business”.

Claire Gage, an award winning ceramic artist said “Chesterfield has a thriving creative community which I have benefited from being involved with. There are also a number of supportive creative networks here in the East Midlands who's support and advice have helped me to build my business quickly”

You can read more about the businesses involved and their views on Chesterfield at http://www.chesterfield.co.uk/

What are your favourite things about Chesterfield? Let us know and we will add our favourites to a new section of the chesterfield website later in the year. Simply tell us why you love Chesterfield in less than 300 words and email it to dominic.stevens@dncc.co.uk.

Finally, some good new with which to close this month’s column- Chesterfield Waterside, the landmark Development project proposed for the land adjacent to the A61, which formerly housed the Trebor Bassett factory, and the Arnold Laver timberyard, has been selected at number 50 in Regeneration and Renewal magazines top 100 projects in the UK- a significant achievement, and one which is sure to put the Town on the map for further Inward investment.