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Planning application for revitalising the former Chesterfield Hotel site

Chesterfield Borough Council is working with the owners of the Chesterfield Hotel to explore opportunities for the future use of the site.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “Chesterfield Hotel is a landmark building and a venue that holds very happy memories for many of us. Sadly, the costs to refurbish and bring the building back into productive use have proven beyond the means of the many investors and developers that have had a look at it.”

“I can therefore confirm that Whittam Cox Architects has recently applied for outline planning permission, on behalf of Chesterfield Borough Council and Prestige Hotels (Midlands) Limited, to build offices on the site.”

“This is a first step of many that the council plans to make with our partners to re-vitalise the Chesterfield station area, which is one of our long-term regeneration priorities”.

Whittam Cox Architects are acting as agents for Chesterfield Borough Council and the owners of the Chesterfield Hotel, Prestige Hotels (Midlands) Limited.

The owners of the Chesterfield Hotel were successful in obtaining planning permission to demolish the current structure in December 2019.

Councillor Tricia Gilby continued: “The council is currently in the process of finalising the HS2 Chesterfield Station Masterplan, which will be available later this year for public scrutiny and comment.”

Click here to learn more about the Northern Gateway development and what it means for Chesterfield town centre

Click here to learn more about HS2 in Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Local arts festival helps school children to commemorate VE Day anniversary

Friday 8th May 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) day and to celebrate this historic event, North Wingfield Parish Council have worked with Chesterfield Champions, Dronfield Arts Festival to produce commemorative mugs for students at North Wingfield Primary and Nursery School.

Every child at the school will receive a mug as a way to help connect them to the past and as a memento for the future. As well as supporting the history curriculum, it will help the children to understand the importance of remembering significant events from history and to gain an appreciation of what life was like 75 years ago.

As the war in Europe ended and the guns fell silent, millions of people took to the streets to celebrate peace and remember the enormous courage and sacrifice of those who were lost. This year’s local celebrations will be the perfect opportunity to get the children involved in a whole range of events designed to commemorate and celebrate Britain’s finest hour and the arrival of peace in Europe.

The Parish Council sourced the mugs from Dronfield Arts Festival, who are working alongside Dronfield Town Council to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day in Dronfield and District, as part of the national celebrations organised by SSAFA.

The Festival will be delivering a programme of 1940s themed events in Dronfield throughout the bank holiday weekend from Friday 8th May until Sunday 10th May 2020. A donation will be made to SSAFA the Armed Forces charity from proceeds made during the weekend.

If you would like to find out more about how to support and celebrate this historic event, Dronfield Arts Festival have a range of official VE Day merchandise that can be personalised to mark this momentous occasion and which you can purchase online at https://www.dronfieldartsfestival.co.uk/

If you would like to get involved, you can find out how you can be part of the official national VE Day celebrations at https://www.veday75.org/

VE Day Mugs

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Handelsbanken bolsters local team to meet growing demand

Handelsbanken Chesterfield has appointed a new Individual Banking Manager in response to increasing demand for its local relationship banking services.

Kate Sangwin joins the Chesterfield team after over 10 years of banking experience, the last 18 months of which have been with Handelsbanken in Derby. She will be involved in developing existing customer relationships as well as welcoming new customers to Handelsbanken’s bespoke approach to local banking.

A strong focus on long-term relationships and high levels of personal service has seen the Bank rated top for customer satisfaction 11 years running in an independent survey of British banks’ personal and business customers*. Branches are responsible for making all day-to-day banking decisions based solely on their customers’ requirements, free from product and lending targets or bonus incentives.

Kate commented  “What initially attracted me to Handelsbanken was its pure focus on serving the customer. As experienced local bankers we have the power to make all the decisions that matter to our customers, swiftly and sensibly here in the branch. The bank provides customers with an extremely high level of service, and products structured to meet their individual needs.”

The branch, established in 2012 and located at Spire Walk Business Park, has developed a reputation for traditional banking, financial strength and high standards within the local business and professional services community.

Phil Walker, Branch Manager, added:   “I am very pleased to welcome Kate to our team. Her appointment means that we can continue to meet the growing needs of both existing and new customers in and around the town, whilst maintaining the high levels of service for which we are renowned. Kate lives in the town and knows the area well, so is excited by the opportunity to work for Handelsbanken in Chesterfield.”

Originally from Sweden, Handelsbanken now has approximately 750 branches in 19 countries and has been named the joint top-scoring commercial bank in Global Finance’s ranking of the World’s Safest Banks 2019**. In the UK, where it has established its wholly-owned UK subsidiary, the Bank supports customers in over 200 communities across the country.

HANDELSBANKEN BOLSTERS LOCAL TEAM TO MEET GROWING DEMAND

Posted in Business, Home

Liza Bakes to open new bakery and store

Chesterfield Champion, Liza Bakes has recently relocated to Clay Cross, occupying the space of the old Orwins Butchery Shop on Main Street.   The bakery and retail store officially opens this weekend (Saturday 1st February)

Phyllis Bown and her team have been producing cakes in Derbyshire since 2014 for a range of clients from local businesses and farm shops to the general public requiring special celebration cakes.

The new bakery will produce a range of cakes, tray bakes, drip cakes, cupcakes and handmade biscuits, utilising as many locally sourced ingredients possible. It will of course also be the new home of your favourite signature baked goods, including the infamous and “Great Taste Award Winning” gluten free orange polenta cake, fruit & ale cake, chocolate beer cake, Victoria sandwich and carrot cake to name a few.  The expansion allows development of the business,including a room for gluten free products for the ever growing gluten free market.

Phyllis Bown, Owner of Liza Bakes said “This ideal Clay Cross location will provide more room for the team to flex their uniquely creative take on fresh baked goods as they continue to push the boundaries of baking.”

The new location will also be the home to a cake shop.  The glass fronted  shop, has been painstakingly remodeled as a Victorian cake shop and named affectionately Harriet’s Couture after Phyllis’ Grandmother, who not only taught Phyllis to bake, but who also inspired her to develop her own range of signature bakes.  Harriet’s Couture will be selling Liza Bakes Cakes alongside an extensive range of their decorated wedding and celebration cakes.

The official opening of the bakery and retail store takes place on Saturday 1st February 2020 from 9.45 am – 3.00 pm, with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10am to officially open the bakery.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Very high-speed rail comes to Chesterfield

Talgo UK and Chesterfield Borough Council today (28th January) took another step forward towards bringing advanced rail skills and technology to the town.

Talgo is a leading specialized rolling stock engineering company mainly focused on designing, manufacturing and servicing technologically differentiated, fast, lightweight trains, with a presence in 44 countries.

Talgo UK recently established a Head Office in Chesterfield, and confirmed ambitions to develop an ‘Innovation Centre’, co-located with Barrow Hill Roundhouse.

The company has ambitions for the UK that include not only Chesterfield, but also a major manufacturing plant at Longannet, in Scotland. The two sites will work together to ensure that the expertise and knowledge needed to build and export ‘state of the art’ trains will be embedded in the UK.

Talgo UK has a philosophy of ‘true manufacturing’. Instead of assembling kits from overseas, the company intends to reinvigorate the UK supply-chain, and source from it wherever possible.  This approach upskills workers, protects jobs, and keeps more money in the local and national economies of the UK.

Now those ambitions are becoming a reality, with an anticipated ‘framework agreement’ between Chesterfield Borough Council and Talgo UK, and the delivery of a very-high-speed rail vehicle to the site, for training and education purposes.

Perhaps more Tangible to the casual observer, is the delivery of one of Talgo’s 250kph coaches, which comes with Talgo’s world-beating and unique ‘Rodal’ technology installed. The coach was today gifted to Chesterfield Borough Council.

Talgo is bringing its technology to the UK, as part of a programme to explain new technologies, to transfer knowledge to the UK and to boost UK domestic capacity for Research and Development. Chesterfield will play a key part in the process, coordinating efforts across the UK.

Carlos de Palacio, President of Talgo, said: “I am delighted to deliver a high-speed present from Spain today. This is part of Talgo’s plan to generate better understanding of Talgo’s technologies that are being used around the world, but which have so far eluded the UK.”

He added “I hope that it is not long before we see the next generation of Talgo’s products built in the UK, with technical knowledge and innovation being provided by a team headquartered in Chesterfield, and drawing on the knowledge and expertise of the whole UK’”

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “I am extremely pleased that Talgo remains committed to Chesterfield and shares our ambitions to maximise the opportunities presented by unprecedented growth in the rail sector and transformational infrastructure projects, including HS2.

I am delighted to announce that in February Chesterfield Borough Council expects to enter into a framework agreement with Talgo UK.

The agreement will recognise the recent establishment of Talgo UK’s Headquarters here at Barrow Hill and will set out the milestones for the delivery of an Innovation Centre from where Talgo will develop its ‘all Britain Strategy”.

Talgo’s proposals for the Innovation Centre follow a major piece of collaborative work, involving key partners including Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society, Chesterfield College, The University of Derby, Newcastle University’s NewRail and Midlands Rail Forum.

The partnership has commissioning Focus Consultants and Maber Architects to progress a feasibility and RIBA stage 2 design study, bringing closer the ambition of DRIIVe (Derbyshire Rail Industry Innovation Vehicle).  DRIIVe encompasses a modern rail innovation and training centre that will deliver over 3400sqm of floorspace, 190 jobs and a complete pathway of rail provision from level 2 through to level 7 for 1800 learners over 10 years.

Talgo Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Home

Jessica’s delight at Redbrik promotion

Leading estate agency, Redbrik, has promoted its very own Jessica Risorto to a senior management role.

Jessica will now serve as Area Manager for Redbrik’s Chesterfield Sales office, in what will be her fifth year with the award-winning estate agent, which was established in 2013.

Having risen through the ranks at Redbrik, Jessica is viewed by company directors as ‘perfectly placed’ to lead the Chesterfield Sales Office, having developed a thorough understanding of local homeowners and the challenges they face.

The 29-year-old, who has held every role at Redbrik from Viewings Representative to Property Consultant, commented: “I’m delighted at the progression in my role here at Redbrik and have loved every minute so far.

“Redbrik is a fantastic company to work for and offers so many opportunities for personal development. I am really excited to grasp this opportunity with both hands and look forward to helping Redbrik continue to achieve its objectives and exceed the expectations of our customers in 2020 and beyond.

“I have a real passion for providing exceptional customer service, a passion I know we all share here at Redbrik. To me, that means offering knowledge and personal experiences to our customers to help them make good choices in regard to property and solve any problems they may face.

“Working in many roles in my five years here at Redbrik has given me opportunity to contribute significantly to the team and the wider community, something which I am keen to continue. It’s such an exciting time for the company and for Chesterfield, I can’t wait to further my work in the town and am so excited about its ongoing growth and development in the region”

Mark Ross, Managing Director at Redbrik, said: “This promotion is fully deserved for Jessica – she’s well-equipped to take on the role and I can’t wait to see her thrive in it.

“In addition to our commitment to providing exemplary customer service, we also pride ourselves on being a fantastic company to work for – we really strive to develop our staff.

“With five valuable years of experience at Redbrik under her belt, Jessica understands homeowner needs and brings a lot to the table. She is also very engaged with the local community so in this new role, at the heart of Redbrik, she will further strengthen our relationship with the people of Chesterfield, as their agent in property.

“We are already excited about the opportunities for real growth in 2020, and for Redbrik to become more of an integral part of homeowners’ lives. We have always prided ourselves on our innovation and the ability to solve our customers’ problems, and we plan on doing so this year through the launch of new services to the property sector.”

Redbrik, which recently celebrated its seventh year in business, was ranked as the number one estate agent in the Yorkshire and Humberside region by the 2019 Best Estate Agent Guide.

Mark Ross, Redbrik Estate Agents

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Home

Former RBS Commercial Director joins Bridge Help

Bridge Help has announced the appointment of respected former RBS Commercial Director Darren Marshall as Head of Risk and Underwriting at the firm.

Darren (right) has been enticed out of early retirement to join the rapidly growing Chesterfield-based bridging finance company which provides short term loans for commercial property.

He joins Bridge Help as a non executive director and brings a wealth of high level experience in the banking sector to the company.

His 38-year career with the RBS Group has given him a proven track record in business development which he now brings to the team at Bridge Help. His appointment will assist in driving forward the firm’s ambitions to lend £100 million per year both direct to individuals and through a broker network.

Prior to his early retirement in 2018, Darren covered South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire in his RBS role, building an extensive knowledge base of the local marketplace. After choosing to leave the finance sector through early retirement he and his partner moved from near Rotherham to the North Yorkshire coast from where he will continue to be based.

Darren explained: “Since choosing to retire I have received a number of job offers but the one with Bridge Help genuinely excited me for a number of reasons, but primarily because of the firm’s agility.  Working with Bridge Help also enables me to work remotely which suits my new lifestyle.”

Central to Bridge Help’s agility is video conferencing technology which is enabling it to deal face-to-face with clients, brokers and solicitors in order to speed up the application process.

Bridge Help’s Chief Executive Chris Sellars (below) welcomed Darren onboard, saying: “In my previous role as a solicitor in North Derbyshire, I had the privilege of working alongside Darren on a number of my clients’ deals and have long respected his professionalism and approach. It is a considerable coup for Bridge Help that we have been able to entice Darren out of retirement to join the team. His appointment represents an exciting stage in Bridge Help’s development in the marketplace.”

His appointment follows the decision of Chris Sellars earlier this year to fully commit himself to the business and leave a successful 30-year legal career to focus on the bridging finance firm.

Darren added: “I have known Chris a long time and the chance to work with him was too good to miss.”

For further information about Bridge Help visit www.bridgehelp.co.uk.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Home, Made in Chesterfield

Chesterfield museum celebrates inspirational local women

Chesterfield Museum is celebrating the lives of local women who have made a significant contribution to their communities and the country overall.

The extraordinary women exhibition runs to 28 March, and features the lives of many inspirational women, including political campaigners such as Emma Miller and Barbara Castle, and the story of suffragette Winifred Jones.

Visitors can also learn about Florence Robinson, who ensured that Robinsons had some of the best working conditions and work social facilities in Derbyshire. The exhibition also explores the story of Violet Markham, social welfare, educational reformer and political pioneer, who became the first female Mayor of Chesterfield.

The exhibition also includes the story of the ladies’ football tournament – which took place during the First World War – possibly the first of its kind to be played anywhere in Britain.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member town centres and visitor economy, said: “It is important that we continue to remember the stories of our local heroes and we’re encouraging as many of you as possible to come down and learn about the lives of these local women who have helped shape our  communities in to the way we know them today.”

“We hope that anyone visiting this exhibition regardless of their age, gender or background will be inspired by the achievements of these extraordinary women.”

The exhibition is open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10am to 4pm. The museum is free to enter, however donations are welcomed.

Click here to see more events in Chesterfield

Click here for our Half Term in Chesterfield Guide

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Chesterfield going for gold after being named as Britain in Bloom finalist

Chesterfield has been named as a finalist in the RHS’s nationwide gardening competition, Britain in Bloom.

Following the success at the East Midland’s in Bloom awards over the past four years, Chesterfield Borough Council and local residents will now put their horticultural skills to the test as they prepare to battle it out on a national level in the small city category of Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) competition.

Britain in Bloom is the UK’s longest running gardening competition. It provides a regional and nationwide platform for community groups to brighten up their town or city. Finalists are put forward to the national final based on their progress regionally and will be scored by a team of RHS national judges in summer this year.

Councillor Jill Mannion-Brunt, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “Britain in Bloom is such a great campaign and we are delighted to have been selected as finalists this year. It shows just how well we have done on a regional level in the last few years.”

“As a council we are committed to improving the local environment and projects such as this really do help. It’s also great to see that the bloom projects and competitions in Chesterfield bring a variety of people together throughout the year, so being selected as a finalist is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together once again and show Chesterfield at its best.”

Judges will visit some the borough’s parks and green spaces on Friday 7 August, including main sponsor, Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, before the winners are announced later in the year.

More information on Britain in Bloom can be found here.

Click here to find out more about the RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 2020

Chesterfield in Bloom

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Success for young Financial Services Apprentice in Chesterfield

Apprentice Ethan Noakes has been offered a permanent position and opportunity to progress at Chesterfield company Mortgage 1st after successfully completing his apprenticeship scheme.

Ethan left school in 2017 and was keen to get straight into the workplace instead of continuing in further education. He secured a position at Mortgage 1st in Chesterfield on their apprenticeship scheme, studying Level 2 Financial Services Customer Adviser through a local training provider.

Ethan worked within the Mortgage Processing Department and with the support of his line manager Carly and all his colleagues, he began to learn the role and expectations of a Mortgage Administrator.

After 18 months, he successfully completed his apprenticeship and was offered a permanent position at Mortgage 1st. Not only had he passed the course work and exams, he had also impressed the management team with his professionalism, commitment and hard work.

Ethan has now been given an opportunity to progress further within the company and has begun training to become a General Insurance Adviser at Mortgage 1st. This has involved moving upstairs to the broker floor to join Louise and her team of advisers, as well as meeting with insurers such as Legal & General & Aviva to begin learning about their products and services.

Ethan said: “I have really enjoyed my time within the processing department and am excited to begin the training for my new role. I hope to continue learning, growing in knowledge and confidence, and keep progressing further and further. I know with the support that Mortgage 1st continuously offer that this is more than achievable. Everything being well, my dream goal is to be a Mortgage and Protection Advisor.”

Mortgage 1st continues to offer both work experience and apprenticeship opportunities to ambitious and driven young people in and around Chesterfield. For further details please contact the company to register your interest with HR Director Lisa Stones.

Ethan and his Mortgage 1st colleagues took part in the 2019 Redbrilk Chesterfield Half Marathon

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Home

Chesterfield’s new housing strategy approved

Chesterfield Borough Council has approved a new four-year Housing Strategy which outlines the council’s priorities to enhance the borough’s housing offer and meet the needs of residents.

The new strategy highlights the council’s housing ambitions from 2019 to 2023 and is set out under three key objectives:

  • Delivery – ensuring that increased new housing provision meets the needs of current and future residents of Chesterfield to provide a home for every stage of life
  • Quality– the council will utilise internal and external resources to ensure that as many homes as possible are of decent quality
  • People – ensuring that the needs of all groups to access and sustain housing appropriate for their needs in Chesterfield, particularly those that are vulnerable.

Councillor Chris Ludlow (right), Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “This strategy is really important as it sets out the framework for the council to meet the housing challenges in the borough.

“It will play a key role in helping us to deliver the council’s vision of ‘putting our communities first’ and help us achieve our priorities of making Chesterfield a thriving borough and improving the quality of life for local people.”

Residents and stakeholders were invited to consult on the housing strategy during September and October 2019. The consultation programme included an online survey for members of the public to complete and a session with tenant representatives.

Councillor Ludlow added: “For us, it was important to make sure that this new strategy takes into account people’s views and addresses the challenges currently being experienced by residents and stakeholders here in Chesterfield. By consulting with the public we’ve been able to make sure that the strategy focuses on the most relevant issues which will allow us to make the greatest impact over the next four years.”

The full Housing Strategy is available to view at www.chesterfield.gov.uk/housing-strategy

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home