Have your say in 2016

Happy New Year to all readers! Well it’s the New Year but certainly not a new start for Chesterfield. Many of the Town’s developments are underway and will be making significant progression in 2016, so we have so much to look forward to and we have hit the ground running.

We go into 2016 with a confident buzz about the town Big changes are afoot, not only for Chesterfield but for Sheffield City Region which the town is a part of.

Devolution is the hot topic on everyone’s mind and from my own perspective it would greatly benefit Chesterfield and the region because it will give the Town a seat at a more influential ‘local’ table, not to mention more control over our own financial affairs.

It could also help bring potential funding to the area further boosting our ambitious plans for growth and development in the area over the next 10 years. Ultimately, devolution will allow us to have more money and decision-making powers as well as greater control over skills and transport improvement and job creation as well as increase the number of new businesses.

Local control of our ambitions and plans is very important, rather being made in London, where they are now. London is a very different economy to ours – just think of house prices, salaries and transport, and therefore needs to be treated differently. .

I would urge all local residents and businesses to take part in the consultation. Chesterfield’s position within Sheffield City Region means we do a lot of business with neighbouring towns and cities and it is important that we have control of the direction of our future which will affect young people and the jobs that are available to them when they leave school.

2016 will see the opening of the new University of Derby Campus in Chesterfield, bringing more opportunity to young people in an around the town, specifically in nursing, Business, Computing, Law, and Engineering. The latter, I feel, is s exciting for Chesterfield as it is a field the town has developed a specialism. This is rightly so when you consider that one of the godfathers of engineering and inventor of The Rocket, George Stephenson, made Chesterfield his home.

The coincidence that Chesterfield is involved in a 21^st Century ‘rocket’ can’t be overlooked. Bloodhound is the British-built car that will be attempting the world land speed record in October 2016 and Chesterfield-based industrial weighing specialists Weightron Bilanciai Ltd has supplied the weighing systems that have been used throughout the build of the project.

So, when you see Bloodhound – or more likely the trail of vapour it will leave in its wake travelling at 1000mp - on the flats of South Africa later this year, be proud in the knowledge it carries a little bit of Chesterfield and is helping spread our town’s reputation for quality engineering and manufacturing all over the world.

With all that and more, what a great year we have ahead of us! I hope you will join me in celebrating and recognising our achievements on 16th March at Celebrate Chesterfield

Creative Chesterfield

News that part of Paul Cummins’ iconic poppy sculpture could return to its spiritual home of Chesterfield is an opportunity to further put the town on the map if our bid is successful.

As the inspiration for this magnificent sculpture came from Chesterfield library and commemorates the many men who lost their lives in the First World War, it seems only fitting that it returns to its spiritual home if only for a brief time.

As well as showcasing our wonderful town to visitors, the sculpture will also highlight the wealth of artistic talent that has originated and also remains here. Although now living outside the area, Mr Cummins was a Hasland resident and studied at the College. He is not the only artist to receive national acclaim. Ashley Thomas, whose wonderful At Home range is sold in Debenhams’ stores nationally originally hails from the town, as does award winning ceramicist Clare Gage who continues to live here and sell her designs at Libby’s on Chatsworth Road.

The businesses involved in Chesterfield’s digital and creative community are making an important and significant contribution to the local economy and many of the fledgling start-ups in this sector can now be found at Chesterfield College’s fantastic West Studios off Sheffield Road.  Melanie Jackson, the artist responsible for the wonderful Growth sculpture on Horns Bridge is one of the many talented artists, designers and producers based there.

Often when people think of careers in the digital and creative industry they think of logo design or computer games, however this sector permeates virtually every industry, not least manufacturing. Just look at the fantastic Franke Sissons sculpture at Chesterfield Coach Station, which we unveiled during Made in Chesterfield Week last year, for proof if it were needed.

I am delighted Made in Chesterfield, which is being organised once again by Destination Chesterfield and Derbyshire Education Business Partnerships returns in November. 

Last year, during the course of a single week we reached out to more than 400 young people and raised awareness of careers in the manufacturing sector. This year, thanks to the involvement of the digital and creative sector and an entire month devoted to Made activities, we can showcase a greater breadth of careers and, importantly, show that they can follow their creative dreams and make a career out of them, here in Chesterfield. 

Charity begins at Chesterfield

At a recent Chesterfield Champions breakfast I was heartened to hear the news that a MacMillan Cancer Centre is to be built at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

This is a real feather in the cap for the area as it brings together the cancer care and treatment that is currently provided in different locations across the hospital site. There, unfortunately, can be few people in Chesterfield whose lives have not been blighted by this horrible disease, either their own or those of family members or friends. Every year, 1,500 people in North and North East Derbyshire are told that they have cancer.

Costing £8.9 million the new centre is relying on £2.5m of charitable donations to make it a reality. I have no doubt the MacMillan Cancer Centre will open in 2016 as planned as the generosity of Cestrefeldians is renowned. You simply have to look at other charitable causes in the area, large and small – Ashgate Hospicecare, Kids ‘n’ Cancer and Chesterfield Fundraising Group for Cancer Research UK to name but a few, who all tirelessly fundraise and make a big difference to our community.

Fundraising isn’t easy. It involves lots of time, energy and determination, often relying on the goodwill of volunteers, which is very much the case for the Chesterfield Fundraising Group for Cancer Research UK, which is entirely run and managed by volunteers. It recently received Fundraiser of the Year award at the Derbyshire Times Pride Awards, which just goes to show that the old adage ‘charity begins at home’ really does apply in Chesterfield.

It is heartening to see the business community supporting charities, either through the fundraising efforts of their own staff or from the company as a whole. Most recently Franke Sissons hosted a fundraising dinner dance which raised £1250 for local cancer charities Nenna Kind and Ashgate Hospicecare.

It is this goodwill and camaraderie between both residents and businesses that makes Chesterfield such a friendly town, something visitors often remark on when they visit. We have a real’ in it together’ attitude that has enables us to weather storms and emerge stronger for it and the fact we have £1 billion of development happening in the Borough over the next 10 years is testament to this.

New Market for Chesterfield and Retail Awards Host Announced

The weather has finally turned warmer and the lighter nights are here. Chesterfield is beginning to blossom once again and in more ways than one.

While the floral displays in and round the town have come to life so too has tourism. There’s nothing like warm weather and sunshine to put us in the holiday mood. This is a great opportunity for Chesterfield to capitalise on its proximity to the Peak District as well as spectacular visitor attractions like Chatsworth House, Hardwick Hall and Bolsover Castle.

However, it’s important Chesterfield doesn’t become a place that people pass through in order to reach their tourist destinations. The town, in its own right, has so much to offer tourists not least the crooked spire, museum, Queen’s Park and one of the UK’s top five hotels – Casa.

Chesterfield Visitor Information Centre is doing a great job welcoming visitors to the town. So much so that it is a finalist in the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence2015.  Soon the town will have yet another reason for people to visit us - a monthly artisan market which will take place on the last Sunday of every month.

The market will give people, both locals and those from outside the area, more reason to visit Chesterfield on Sunday. The increased footfall will benefit other retailers in the town. The popularity of online shopping and out of town shopping centres means it is more important than ever to support our town centre retailers. And the level of support for Chesterfield’s retailers is incredibly pleasing, if the nominations for the 2015 Chesterfield Retail Awards are anything to go by.

You nominated in your droves, giving us an incredibly strong field of contenders for the 15 awards. The awards have now become a fixture in Chesterfield’s calendar. I’m delighted that Peak FM breakfast show presenters James Summers and BeckyMeasures have agreed to host the awards at the Winding Wheel on Wednesday 24June. I am sure their big personalities will make the 2015 awards an event to remember and one I am personally looking forward to, very much like summer.

£1 billion of investment for Chesterfield over the next 10 years

£1 billion of investment for Chesterfield over the next 10 years

We regularly hear about new investment in Chesterfield; whether this is Markham Vale, Peak Resorts, Chesterfield Waterside or by one of our expanding local  businesses. But recently, at the Celebrate Chesterfield event it was calculated that the total amount of money being invested in the town over the next 10 years is actually £1 billion. There was an audible intake of breath in the room, when that level of investment was announced, proving once again that Chesterfield is punching well and truly above its weight.

This investment will bring lots of homes, leisure facilities, restaurants and businesses, etc to Chesterfield which,  importantly, will create jobs, 1000s of them in fact. With jobs comes more spending power in our local economy- Everyone in our town will benefit. The future for Chesterfield is very exciting, however we must not lose sight of what we have now. It is important to support the businesses that are already within the town and help them continue to thrive so they will be around to reap the benefits of the £1 billion of future investment.

The annual Chesterfield Retail Awards organised by Destination Chesterfield, are a great example of how we strive to celebrate and support businesses in Chesterfield. I am delighted to see that so many people have got behind the awards once again and nominated their favourite retailers. We’ll be announcing the winners of the Chesterfield Retail Awards in June.

However, it is my view that every one of Chesterfield’s retailers should be commended.   By way of example we heard at the Celebrate event that plans for the former Co-op building are in the pipeline and I, like everyone else, look forward to seeing an important  building brought back into use.

Whether or not you nominated a business for the Retail Awards my plea to you, to keep Chesterfield thriving now, is for you to Shop Local. Independent retailers in the town centre, along Chatsworth Road and Whittington Moor have everything you could ever need. You name it - fruit and vegetables from the market, gifts, clothing, furniture, jewellery, we really do have it all. Our town’s mix of retailers – independents alongside high street chains, are what sets us apart from other high streets. We have variety that others are lacking and this is the reason why people travel from the Peak District, Buxton, Dronfield, South Sheffield and even Leicestershire to shop here. But let’s make sure we support our independent retailers. Chesterfield can enjoy its modern awakening now, not in ten years’ time.

We continue to make great things in Chesterfield

I read recently that the Bristol-based children’s suitcase maker Trunki has reported a pre-tax loss of £1.5m for 2013 following competition from Chinese rivals. This is really sad news but the story couldn’t be more different in our town.

The manufacturing sector here is thriving and companies believe there to be little or no threat from China for two key reasons – poor quality, unreliable output and increased domestic demand for goods amongst the Chinese population.

Chesterfield’s Enterprise Zone at Markham Vale plays an important role in helping Sheffield City Region (SCR) achieve its vision of developing a Modern Manufacturing and Technology Growth Area.

As well as attracting manufacturing and engineering companies to invest here and create jobs, it is equally important to ensure there is a ready workforce. Events like Made in Chesterfield (10 – 14 November) help secure the future of the sector and get more youngsters turned onto a career in manufacturing, raising awareness of the employment opportunities within it as well as the number of varied and exciting roles.

And this is exactly what we have achieved with the Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards. Chesterfield College students take an active and hands on role at the awards evening. After the success of last year’s awards evening at the College – all superbly catered and served by the students, it came as no surprise that tickets for the 2014 awards sold out weeks before the event – and we increased numbers by 50%.

Like the Food and Drink Awards, Made in Chesterfield brings together employers and students. Companies have embraced the week, delivering hands on activities and site visits for so many youngsters.

I am confident that Made in Chesterfield will change many perceptions about the manufacturing sector, particularly the view that it’s dirty and grimy. Just walk into MSE Hiller’s workshop and your opinion will change instantly.

Embodying Made in Chesterfield is the new sculpture at the Coach Station. The sculpture is the work of Fanke Sissons’ apprentices and students from Parkside School. It is truly magnificent. Look closely and you will see that it encapsulates what young people feel is representative of Chesterfield today; Nature, Manufacturing, and Community.


I encourage you to visit the coach station and view this work of art. Not only will it enhanced yet another major gateway to the town, but it represents a true partnership between education and the manufacturing and engineering sectors – one which I hope will continue to provide employment opportunities for many generations to come.

Community key to future town success

Many visitors to Chesterfield tell us that one of the key attributes of the town is its friendliness and sense of community, and the community spirit certainly came to the fore recently to ensure our very first Retail Awards are a success.

To our shock, delight and amazement more than 1,000 nominations have been received for nearly 250 retailers. This is a phenomenal result and I am delighted to say that the Destination Chesterfield team and I have had to put in many extra hours sorting through the nominations and shortlisting retailers for the awards.

What is abundantly clear from the Retail Awards nomination process is that there are very many loved shops and their owners and managers are as equally passionate about providing a superb retail experience. With passion like this, it is no wonder that Chesterfield’s town centre continues to thrive where others are failing.

We should not underestimate Chesterfield’s retail offering. For a small town we are punching above our weight and leading the way for not only towns but cities who are keen to learn from us and replicate our success.

One of our key strengths, I believe, is that we never rest on our laurels. We are constantly innovating and working out ways we can further improve and attract even more people to our fabulous town. 

Statistics may show that online retail is the future but we firmly believe it can operate alongside, and strengthen, our high street offering and bring Chesterfield to the attention of people even further afield. I know already that some retailers in town have customers in Canada, the Netherlands and Scotland thanks to their online presence.

Online retail is the focus of the first phase of business support which is being offered through our Incubation Street campaign. Thanks to funding from the Portas Pilot Town Team Funding and our own Chesterfield Champions we’re providing a helping hand to independent retailers to get online this year and spread the Chesterfield message even further.

The response to the Retail Awards and the regular courses we run to help businesses, delivers a level of practical, community and financial support that I have not encountered anywhere else. It this that really does prove that, together, we do make a positive difference to our town.

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.

Improving our gateways

"It would be remiss of me not to mention the fabulous weather we have had this summer, give or take a few thunder storms. Luckily, they seemed to miss the Chesterfield Festival of Cricket at Queen's Park. The good weather and the cricket pulled many visitors to our town and, it seemed, the train was a popular choice of transport.

Each day of the week-long festival we witnessed a steady stream of cricket fans make their way from the station, up Corporation Street and through the heart of the Town to Queens Park. And soon the station will offer an equally appealing welcome as the town centre, as it is earmarked in the Borough Council's £500,000 Gateway Enhancement Scheme .

The improvements will happen at the Hornsbridge roundabout, which you can currently have a say on your prefered scheme and the Railway Station Link – which includes Crow Lane from the railway station past the Chesterfield Hotel and across the public footbridge, which links to Corporation Street and the town centre.

The train station is vital to our local economy. The excellent direct rail links Chesterfield has with major towns and cities is just one of the many reasons why companies and people choose to locate here. Testament to this is the fact that property developers and estate agents in the town are reporting a boom in sales. Miller Homes East Midlands has described Chesterfield as being "at the top of the wish list for many couples, families and individuals looking to buy."
It's an excellent good news story for the town. Things are very much starting to look up for both the local and national economy. We have never stopped investing in our town - the £4 million redevelopment of the market hall being a prime example - and this shows by the fact people want to come here to live, work and visit. So many towns have fallen victim to the recession and report ghost town high streets. Not us. We are booming.

To quote my colleague, Councillor John Burrows, Vice Chair of Destination Chesterfield: "We could have chosen to bunker down and ride out the recession, but we didn't. We chose to be proactive and forge ahead with our marketing plans and this shows in the recent employment, tourism and retail figures."

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.

Local businesses invited to Celebrate Chesterfield

Celebrate Chesterfield Event November 2011 at the Casa Hotel

 

Two and a half years ago we launched Destination Chesterfield to over 100 businesses who attended the opening event at the former B2net Stadium. Since then the project, which aims to raise the profile of Chesterfield, and raise awareness of the Business and investment opportunities available in the town, has I believe been a great success.

As a result of this progress, Destination Chesterfield has secured further funding from the European Regional Development Fund to continue the project through to December 2015; this is great news for Chesterfield and for those of us who do business in the town.

We would like to celebrate the achievements of the project, and the Town’s businesses to date, and to launch to our plans for the next 3 years. So if you run a local business, we’d like to invite you to attend the Celebrate Chesterfield event on the 28^th March at the Proact Stadium starting at 08.00.

Celebrate Chesterfield will be an ideal opportunity for you to meet some of the key people who are working to achieve our goal of making the town a “contemporary destination”, to network with other Chesterfield businesses, and be the first to hear our exciting plans for moving the project forward in 2013 and beyond.

Places are limited so please confirm you attendance by visiting and booking online at www.chesterfield.co.uk/celebrate no later than Friday 22^nd March

I very much hope you can join us for what I’m sure will be yet another successful and well attended event and continue to support Destination Chesterfield in promoting this great town.

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.

Destination Chesterfield a speciality

As Chair of Destination Chesterfield, I believe that it is important that the project and the board adapts to the needs and requirements of Chesterfield and its businesses and that we secure the funding to take the project beyond our initial two year delivery plan as the regeneration of our town continues.

Therefore, I am happy to confirm that we have secured further resources from the European Regional Development Fund and the Destination Chesterfield Board have agreed to a new 3 year plan that will take Destination Chesterfield and its activity through to December 2015. We will be working with the Chesterfield Champions and the wider businesses community to develop a new 3 year plan and I will have news about how you can become involved in a future blog.

To support this process I am pleased to welcome several new faces to the Destination Chesterfield board that will represent our priority sectors, Manufacturing, Professional Services and Retail, Leisure and Tourism. 

James Brand, Sales Director at United Cast Bars will take the lead for the manufacturing sector. James has worked at United Cast Bar since 2004, and has helped the company grow to become the world leader in continuous cast iron bar production. Operating on a global scale, the facility in Chesterfield produces the broadest range of products of anyone in their sector. 

Steve Smith, Relationship Director at Natwest Bank joins to represent the professional service sector and brings expertise on the funding available to businesses who plan to relocate or grow in Chesterfield.

Vittorio Risorto, Owner of Calabria Restaurant on Glumangate, will represent the retail, leisure and tourism industry and we also welcome James Mitchenson, Editor of the Derbyshire Times bringing further marketing and public relations expertise to the board.

Each of these directors will take a lead in their sector, engaging with local businesses and developing initiatives that support these businesses to grow but also create a stronger network of businesses.

Chesterfield’s Northern Gateway project developer decided

It is great news for the Town that Chesterfield Borough Council has selected Wilson Bowden Developments as its preferred partner for the proposed Northern Gateway project. The estimated £50m scheme will transform the Donut roundabout area, one of the main gateways of Chesterfield town centre, into a high quality shopping and leisure area.

The Council shortlisted two bidders to prepare detailed proposals – Wilson Bowden and Muse Developments. Both companies submitted their final tenders to the Council in April and the final decision was made by the Council’s Cabinet on the 8^th May.

The plans, which will go forward for a full public consultation, include a major foodstore, retail outlets and restaurants, a cinema, 80 bed hotel, 85 homes, offices, and 700-800 replacement car parking spaces, plus an outdoor performance area.

Destination Chesterfield will be holding a special Meet the Developers Breakfast, an event which is exclusive to Chesterfield Champions, on the 14^th June. This will be a first chance to see the plans and to ask the developers questions about their ambitions for the project.

Following this event, there will be an public ‘meet the development team’ event which will take place will take place in Unit 9 The Pavements Shopping Centre (formerly Thomsons travel agents) on Thurs 14^th June - 12pm – 4pm , Friday 15^th June – 10am – 4pm and Saturday 16^th June – 10am – 4pm.

This is a chance to have ‘your say’ in respect of the development in the early stages of the design process- please make sure you take this opportunity.

Details about this and other regeneration schemes in Chesterfield can be found at www.chesterfield.co.uk and we post the latest news to our facebook page at www.facebook.com/chesterfielduk and twitter at www.twitter.com/chesterfielduk

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

A toast to Chesterfield and a prosperous New Year

Destination Chesterfield, for those of you who don’t know, is a public, private partnership led by an independent board of directors that is raising the awareness of Chesterfield as a place to do business. Member companies of Destination Chesterfield are known as Chesterfield Champions. The scheme has receives grant support via the European Union, and Chesterfield Council

The first year of the project has rapid growth in the number of Chesterfield Champions, from a standing start late in 2010, over 95 businesses of all sizes from all sectors have joined to support the promotion of Chesterfield. Many have said that joining the scheme has created new business opportunities for them, and new contacts have been created

The idea of the project is to discuss and debate what we can do in Chesterfield, to improve the prospects for future business, both from existing Companies, and inward investors. As a result of the views expressed by champions, our projects this year have included ideas for improving the gateways to the town, with new road signage, an updated tourist information centre, new canopies for the markets etc- these suggestions are in the course of being implemented, and you will shortly see physical changes occurring about the Town. Destination Chesterfield has run two major marketing campaigns to drive footfall to our town centre and have been working with the regional media to raise the profile of the town as well as holding regular business networking events for the Chesterfield Champions.   We are working closely with Chesterfield Borough Council’s Economic team, Sheffield City Region, D2N2 and the Derbyshire Economic Partnership to develop the most effective way to promote Chesterfield for inward investment and will launch a major campaign in 2012.

It has been a great year for Chesterfield, we have recently had announcements about the refurbishment of the market hall, the new investment from Debenhams, who are to open a new store in 2012, Toys R Us,  have just opened,  and the planning of the proposed Northern Gateway retail  development is underway. The progress which is being made in the Town was recently recognised at the prestigious Regeneration and Renewal National awards run by Regeneration and Renewal Magazine, where the project for the regeneration of the A61 corridor, which includes Chesterfield Waterside, the new Football ground, Tesco, and Casa Hotel, was awarded Highly commended status, finishing second only to the Olympic Park, a major achievement. There was also the great success of the football club last season and their announcement that Elton John will play here at the B2 Net; we have also been successful in getting Chesterfield selected for the route of the Olympic torch next summer.

Chesterfield is prospering and I urge you all to be confident and celebrate the town and if we continue to all work together to raise the profile of Chesterfield we will all prosper.

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.