Celebrating Chesterfield

It’s that time of year again, time to celebrate and look back on everything that Chesterfield has achieved.

All too often we hear about the good news in isolation and it can be overshadowed by the bad which means it can be forgotten in the melee. That’s why Destination Chesterfield’s annual Celebrate event is so important.

This will be our third Celebrate Chesterfield event and takes place on Wednesday 25 March at the Winding Wheel. Last year was standing room only, however the stream of good news delivered by the Destination Chesterfield Team, left us all uplifted!

This year, Celebrate will be no different. We’ve made a point of building on last year’s success and striving to be even better in 2015.  In June we’ll be welcoming again the hugely successful Retail Awards and the Food and Drink Awards in October. We’ll also be celebrating our thriving manufacturing sector with Made in Chesterfield in November. This year it will be running over two weeks and will bring even more young people, teachers and businesses together.

It’s important to me that the young people who live here know that there is a future for them and marketing Chesterfield and its successful business sectors is crucial to this. We have a number of thriving industries and there is huge employment opportunities in all of them. The Manufacturing sector in particular is telling us they want apprentices now!

The hospitality industry is set to boom also. In the same week it was announced that not only was Chesterfield home to one of the top five hotels in the UK – Casa, but also that the outskirts of the town was to be the location for the £400 million Peak Development.

Whether you’re a resident, investor, business or visitor, there are exciting times ahead for Chesterfield. However, we must not forget about the past and present. So much has been achieved since we launched Destination Chesterfield in 2011 and I for one am looking forward to sharing the town’s numerous successes at Celebrate.

You too can share in the success. The event is free to attend, you simply need to register at www.chesterfield.co.uk/celebrate

Looking foward to 2014

Firstly - Happy New Year to all readers!

Chesterfield could not have asked for a stronger economic foundation on which to enter 2014. The Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce’s (DNCC) Quarterly Economic Survey for Q4 was released at the beginning of this year showing that the recovery that began in Q2 of 2013 had accelerated in Q3 to enable the area to finish off the year strongly.

In fact, figures from DNCC show that more than two thirds of businesses operating in Chesterfield expect turnover to improve over the next 12 months. George Cowcher, DNCC Chief Executive tempered this by saying: "Much work still needs to be done to ensure the recovery experienced is sustainable." I couldn't agree more. Chesterfield, however, should be confident it has laid the foundations for continued success and we will continue to see evidence of this throughout 2014.

In the first quarter of the year, the diggers will finally roll on to the Chesterfield Waterside site to begin construction of the first phase of new homes. In 2013, Chesterfield was one of the first areas to report a housing boom and it looks likely this will continue with a number of developments planned throughout the town.

In fact Barratt Homes, which is building 68 new properties on the former Chesterfield Football Club site on Saltergate, is one of the major contributors to the £300,000 Hornsbridge roundabout artwork –‘Growth’ – which will be appearing at the main gateway into Chesterfield from the M1 later this year.

There are many reasons to visit Chesterfield, not least out thriving restaurant and retails sectors. After the success of the inaugural Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards in October 2013, I am delighted to announce that the Destination Chesterfield board has approved the presentation of the awards again in 2014. We have also decided to launch the new Retail Awards-as with all awards, you have to be ‘in it to win it’ and we’ll tell you more about the competition process nearer the time.

Our aim is for 2014 to be the town’s most successful year yet both at home and away. That’s why we will be celebrating everything that comes from Chesterfield, whether it is food, arts and crafts or engineering equipment; we have a lot to offer, and many businesses based here are actually supplying goods throughout the world. Destination Chesterfield intends to celebrate this fact with our Made in Chesterfield campaign to be implemented in the autumn.

One thing that is sure to put the town on the map before then however is the arrival of none other than Sir Tom Jones at the Proact Stadium in June. He’s just one of many big names coming to Chesterfield’s entertainment venues in 2014, so if you’re not lucky enough to secure tickets for Tom, there is plenty more which is sure to be happening!!

As Tom Jones once asked: “What’s new pussy cat?” I can tell you with confidence there’s an awful lot new for Chesterfield this year.

Chink of light at the end of the tunnel

Second only to our world-famous crooked spire, Chesterfield’s market is also a well-known and loved feature of the town and is an important part of our heritage. We not only have one of the biggest open-air markets in the country, but we will soon have a spectacular brand new indoor market.

The end is in sight for the £4 million renovation of our Market Hall. In October the awning will be lifted off the new glass roof, and the refurbished market hall will be unveiled and opened, once again, for business.

Chesterfield Champions were privileged to have a recent behind the scenes tour mid renovation and, without exception, everyone felt excited and positive about what this major investment means for our town and economy.  Aside from what you’d expect in a market, there will be office space and, more importantly, incubation studios specifically for new and fledgling businesses. This must make Chesterfield market not only a great place to shop but also a rich vein of business development.

Externally, the Market Hall will add yet another stunning piece of architecture to our town. All too often a visit into Chesterfield town centre involves a tunnel-vision approach. However look above the shop fronts and you will see some historic and grand buildings that, when put together, make us a very attractive town and tourist destination.  It can come as no surprise that we were voted as the Coach Friendly Town or City of the Year at the annual Coach Tourism Awards earlier this year.

Now we just need to sort out the main gateways to Chesterfield town centre to ensure they don’t let down our Town, which is so full of character. I am confident that such improvements will happen sooner rather than later as there are plans to transform the Donut roundabout area in an estimated £50 million development scheme into a high quality shopping and leisure area, and to improve the ‘Donkin’ roundabout at the entrance to theTown.

Similarly there is strong interest for Chesterfield Waterside on both the housing and commercial elements of the scheme and it is hoped that initial works will start towards the end of the year.

I for one see a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. Construction projects across the country, indeed the world, have slowed in recent years however the economy is picking up and nowhere is this more clear than Chesterfield.

Markham Vale for one continues to attract investment. Already more than 200 jobs have been created on site in the past couple of years and now Ready Egg is building a new factory which will create 50 Jobs. I am confident we will hear more success stories like this going forward as investors recognise the potential in Chesterfield and commit money and resources.

Inspired Investment

Destination Chesterfield recently held an event to update local businesses and media on progress of the regeneration schemes in Chesterfield. I thought I would share the highlights from this event as it is clear from the presentations that although times are tough in the commercial world, we are seeing real progress on several of the local schemes.

By way of example, Chesterfield Waterside has secured £2.4million from the Sheffield City Region’s Growing Places fund. This will allow the new canal link to be built on site which will in turn enable commencement of housing construction on the former Laver timber yard element of the project. A planning application for the canal works is to be lodged by the summer with work planned to start later in the year.

The Borough Council will shortly announce the details of their delivery partner for the Northern Gateway development, the objective of which is to enhance the Towns’ retail offer, and take Chesterfield into the top 100 shopping destinations in the UK. They will select their preferred partner in May, with a planning application being programmed for late autumn and if all goes to plan the development being completed in 2015.

Markham Vale, located at Junction 29a of the M1, continues to grow from strength to strength. The site was recently awarded Enterprise Zone status by Sheffield City Region and has seen continued investment including Squadron Medical’s new 40,000 square foot facility and the 100,000 square foot national distribution centre for Andrew Page Ltd, a national distributor of car spares/parts.

To keep up to date on the latest news in respect of the main development sites in Chesterfield please visit www.chesterfield.co.uk

Shopping for the Future

These are exciting times if you are a shopper in Chesterfield. The town has high occupancy rates, good footfall, one of the largest markets in England and a great mix of independents alongside high street names. However as part of the town’s on-going regeneration the offer is to be improved further.

Chesterfield Borough Council is to undertake a £4 million refurbishment of the town’s historic Market Hall. These major improvements take place because of a funding package which includes £2.1 million of European and Lottery grant with the remaining money coming from the Council. The planning and listed building applications will be submitted in late July with consultation over the summer/autumn. Market traders who have units in the Market Hall have been offered temporary accommodation, the main part of which will be in a temporary market hall on New Square. Traders are expected to vacate their current stalls in January 2012. The refurbishment should begin in February 2012 and the Market Hall is scheduled to reopen in February 2013.

Secondly Chesterfield Borough Council has announced that it is to start searching for a development partner for one of the Town centres’ major regeneration projects. The “Northern Gateway” scheme. The proposed redevelopment of the Donut roundabout area, aims to extend the Town centre shopping offer by creating a newly constructed retail area, with the aim of attracting new brands/names to the Town, thereby improving the quality of the shopping experience. This development will support the existing retail offer and improved highway arrangements will link the town with the Railway Station and the Chesterfield Waterside development. It is hoped that the development could be completed by 2015.

Investment Confidence in Chesterfield

This month I thought I would up date you on the key development sites in the town following the latest Chesterfield Champions event, Inspired Investment at the B2Net Stadium.  There was positive news on a number of the projects.

Markham Vale has been announced as part of the proposed Enterprise Zone for the Sheffield City Region which it is hoped that it will be confirmed by Government later in the year. This will give incentives to businesses to start up and relocate to Chesterfield and will focus on the towns traditional strengths of manufacturing.

Positive progress continues to be made with the proposals for the Chesterfield Waterside scheme. The project, recently rated at Number 50 in Regeneration and renewal magazines table of the UK’s largest developments, now has Architects in place preparing detailed proposals for individual commercial buildings to be constructed around the newly constructed canal basin, located on the former Trebor Bassett site. In addition, detailed layouts are also being prepared for the housing element of the scheme, to be located on the former Arnold Laver timber yard, accessed from Brimington road, and it is hoped that this element of the scheme will shortly be the subject of a detailed planning application.

Other projects discussed at the event were the proposed Northern Gateway development.

For the latest news on the key developments in Chesterfield, don’t forget to visit http://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.