Award winning start to the year for Chesterfield

It can be easy to forget, but a little recognition can go a long way and really does make a difference. For three years Destination Chesterfield and the Borough Council have worked hard to shout about everything that is great about the town, encouraging businesses and people to live, work and invest here. It really is a joint effort.

We were delighted therefore when our efforts were officially recognised recently at the inaugural UK Placemaking Awards, where the Chesterfield Borough Council’s regeneration team was named as Placemaking Team of the Year. Some of the support team involved in achieving this significant result for the Town attended the Awards Ceremony  in London in order to accept the award.

The awards recognise the projects, plans and people that are making places better through planning, regeneration, urban design, economic development or community renewal.

From the out-set Destination Chesterfield has been a team effort involving not just the campaign's marketing team and the Councils Regeneration team, but also the business community and the many Champions who actively support the campaign. Without their commitment we would not have made the measurable impact we have. The Placemaker award is a pat on the back for everyone who has actively participated in the Destination Chesterfield marketing campaign.

The awards and national recognition for Chesterfield didn’t stop there. Less than 24 hours later Chesterfield’s Market Hall was officially named as the UK’s best small indoor market. Since the Market Hall re-opened after its £4 million refurbishment it’s fair to say that opinion has been divided on the new look.

However, the results speak for themselves. Since re-opening market traders have reported doing good business, with significant increases in turn over, and the office space  above the markets will shortly be fully occupied. The council is also actively marketing promotional and retail space at the heart of the retail area near to the cafe.

Just look at other successful  towns and cities  and you will discover that it is the ones that are constantly evolving and investing who thrive- Our Market Hall is an excellent example of both. It is developments such as this and the forthcoming Chesterfield Waterside project that are putting the town on the map and bringing it to the attention of investors who, in turn, are creating opportunity for residents as well as future generations.

Only two months in to 2014, we have already celebrated success. If we are to maintain this good news throughout the year and beyond we must not lose sight of the fact that making our town a success is a team effort - the Placemaker award is testament to that.

Funding success for Chesterfield

There has been great news over the past few weeks with funding secured for businesses to develop and grow in Chesterfield.

 

£25m has been secured from the Regional Growth Fund for Sheffield City Region and Chesterfield has been fortunate to be part of this process. We know there will be just under £2m of the money for Chesterfield businesses, with potentially more for other companies in future, and this will be boosted to £10.1m as the businesses themselves put funding into the projects. The projects will secure 25 existing jobs and create an additional 205 jobs, all within Chesterfield borough. The majority will be related to new investment in manufacturing, both the development of new products and the introduction of new processes.

 

D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership also secured £5m from the Regional Growth Fund for the ‘Unlocking Investment Growth’ programme will means small and medium sized businesses can apply for grants of between £50,000 and £1m, which can be used to invest in individual schemes which help to create jobs, support business expansion and generate economic growth.

 

Chesterfield has also been successful in its bid for a £10k grant from the government for a Town Team Partner project. The bid, which was put forward by Destination Chesterfield and had the full support of the town’s MP, Toby Perkins and Chesterfield Borough Council was in response to the earlier unsuccessful bids for the Portas Pilot initiative.

 

This is excellent news for Chesterfield, the £10,000 funding will be added to £20,000 generated by the Chesterfield Champions scheme to launch ‘Incubation Street’, a new business start up scheme for Chesterfield. These are exactly the types of initiatives Destination Chesterfield and the Chesterfield Champions Scheme were set up for and we thank them all for their contributions which will go towards supporting the growth of the next generation of businesses in Chesterfield.

 

Details of how these funds can be accessed will be promoted on www.chesterfield.co.uk once full details are available.

Inspiring a generation?

I couldn’t write this month’s column without talking about sport and the Olympic Games. The Olympics have generated pride, passion and inspiration across the country and have created a new generation of role models as well as promoting Great Britain in a positive light across the world. Well done to Chesterfield’s Liam Pitchford for representing Team GB in the Table Tennis Team Event.

Following the success of the Olympics, we need to continue to develop the facilities and opportunities locally for people to participate in sport and I am proud to say that a number of Chesterfield Champions are involved in projects to achieve this.

Chesterfield Borough Council is working with Chesterfield College to help secure a major investment in Queen’s Park Sports Centre. The Council has agreed to move forward in principle to a dual use partnership with the College and further negotiations are taking place to bring this plan to fruition. The Council have also agreed to prepare and deliver a feasibility study to determine the best options for redeveloping the site.

Derbyshire Sport have recently launched the Derbyshire Institute of Sport with two hubs, one in Derby and one at Brampton Manor in Chesterfield. The aim of the institute is to provide high quality support to Derbyshire’s emerging talented sports performers, enabling them to achieve greater national and international success and in so doing, to enhance the reputation of Derbyshire. Further examples of sport initiatives in the area include Chesterfield Football Club and Derbyshire County Cricket Club working within in the local community and Chesterfield School Sports Partnership is promoting active lifestyles within schools.

The Olympics we’re not just about sport. UKTI, (the agency which promotes Britain to attract overseas business investment), together with Tourism agencies VisitBritain and VisitEngland have been using the opportunity of the Olympics to attract further investment and visitors to the UK. We will be continuing to work with our regional partners to market Chesterfield, promoting our inward investment opportunities and the town as a key gateway to the Peak District for visitors.