Celebrating our retail scene

Did you know that Destination Chesterfield has been around for three and a half years in March?

During this time I am proud and delighted to have been part of the team that has helped spread the message of our town’s success and make it a place businesses want to invest in and people want to live.

We have experienced some great achievements during this time, however it’s important to take time to reflect on this success; where we’ve come from and where we are going to. That’s why the Celebrate Chesterfield events are so important. We held our latest one on 19th March and 200 members of the local business community gathered at the Proact Stadium to hear from myself the Destination Chesterfield team.

Whilst we might have done the talking , we are in no doubt that it is the engagement of the local community – businesses, schools and residents – that has been instrumental in the tremendous success of Destination Chesterfield since the campaign began in 2010.

Today we have more than 140 Chesterfield Champions and the support for the campaign is stronger than ever, many taking the time to get actively involved either speaking at or sponsoring Destination Chesterfield events.

Our brand new Retail Awards are no exception. Launched at the Celebrate Chesterfield event, the awards capitalise on the town’s ongoing success as one of the UK’s top 10 best performing centres with the least vacant shops.

They aim to seek out, recognise, celebrate and promote Chesterfield’s retailers as well as highlighting their commitment and importance to the town and the local economy. Our town has a thriving retail economy which is envied nationally.

Where other town centres are faced with high vacancy rates, Chesterfield is bucking the trend and attracting high street names such as Debenhams and ToysRus as well as independent retailers, giving us an excellent mix of shops, helping us attract visitors to our town and investors to the area who are keen to capitalise on our retail success. Only last month it was announced that the national department store Boyes would be opening in Chesterfield.

The success of these awards however is down to you. Shops and stores can only win if they are nominated by you, their customers.

Making a nomination is free and the nomination period is open from 1st April – 30th April with the winner being announced at a grand awards ceremony at the Assembly Rooms on 18th June.

If you’re reading this following a recent shopping trip and you want to recognise the store for their excellent customer service or brilliant disabled access, then nominate now by simply filling in the form or online at www.chesterfield.co.uk/retailawards.

Make no mistake, you are instrumental in the success of the 2014 Chesterfield Retail Awards.