The town centre comes to life at this time of year

Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield‘s latest blogs looks forward to the great events happening this Summer in Chesterfield.

We’re half way through the year and the weather is warming up, which can only mean one thing – the events season is upon us and Chesterfield is certainly getting into the swing of it !!

The town centre fully comes to life at this time of year, with events drawing in visitors who are keen to experience something a little different. This is where being a market town gives us one of many advantages as Chesterfield the ready-made outside space in the market to host festivals and events.

I am delighted to see that event organisers are making the most of this space. In May we welcomed Chesterfield Street Food and Grooves Festival for a second year running and the brand new Vegan Knights Festival and of course the ever popular Artisan Market.

Events like these play a big role in encouraging footfall into the town centre, giving visitors the opportunity to see for themselves our great retail and food and drink offering. Often, people can run down the town, claiming in one breath that it is full of empty shops yet, in the same sentence, admit to never shopping in Chesterfield.

The town is most definitely not full of empty shops. In fact, Chesterfield is renowned nationally for having fewer vacant shops than the majority of towns and cities.

We owe our vibrant town centre in part to the plethora of independent businesses who are located there; long established retailers as well as new  shops, stores and market stalls opening regularly.

The wealth of independent retailers has never been more apparent that in the shortlist for year’s Chesterfield Retail Awards. We had a record year for nominations with more than half of the 30 finalists being shortlisted for the first time in the awards.  The strong shortlist not only mirrors the year-on-year success of these popular awards but also the town’s high-quality and varied retail scene.

It’s very encouraging to see so many people taking the time to nominate their favourites in both the Chesterfield Retail Awards.  We have seen a similar picture in nominations for the Food and Drink businesses. Having such a varied shortlist only adds to the excitement of the awards and makes for a very special awards evening.

If you can’t make the Retail or Food or Drink Awards, don’t worry; there’s a whole plethora of things happening in and around Chesterfield this year which showcase the town’s vibrant retail and food and drink scene.

These events are not only an opportunity to have a great time, but also a way to shop local and invest in the economy. We can all play our part in helping make Chesterfield the place to live, work and invest.

Destination Chesterfield has an up-to-date list of events on its website at www.chesterfield.co.uk. You won’t be disappointed!