“Together we can all help bring about lasting change and prosperity to the town”

Destination Chesterfield Chair, Peter Swallow is calling on everyone associated with Chesterfield to ‘talk up the town’ and collaborate further to ensure the local economy continues to thrive in the future.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, we ALL need to talk up the town.

There is more than £2 billion of investment in progress and on the way across our borough to help ensure that we all have a bright future ahead of us. The lasting and far reaching change we are striving for in Chesterfield cannot be done by one organisation alone; it must be a collaborative effort.

We all have a role and responsibility to tell people about the many great reasons they should live, work, invest and stay here.

Chesterfield’s geographical position within the UK is hard to beat. We are centrally located with excellent road and rail links and a number of major airports within a 90 minute drive.

Furthermore, the benefits of our proximity to the Peak District National Park should not  be underestimated. Chesterfield is the gateway to this wonderful landscape, and it attracts millions of visitors each year – with around half of them staying overnight and many of them passing through the town to get to the Peak District.

Herein lies our challenge. By talking up the town to friends, relatives, colleagues and suppliers from outside the area, we can attract more people to visit and stay overnight in Chesterfield rather than just passing through, the result being more revenue for the town as a whole.

Increasing the visitor economy of the town by 20% is one of the key targets in the Chesterfield Growth Strategy which has been launched by Chesterfield Borough Council.

By increasing the visitor economy, we will also help create jobs for local people and opportunities for existing and new businesses.

We must all shout about what the town has to offer to holiday makers visiting the Peak District.

Living and working in the town on a daily basis, we can often become complacent about what it has to offer visitors to the area.

We have a variety of places to stay, including the award-winning Casa Hotel, as well as great road, rail and bus links into the Peak District. You can even cycle from the town into the Peak District.

Beyond our world famous Crooked Spire Church and the Brampton Mile, we have two theatres, Chesterfield FC, historic market, restaurants, bars, cafes, boutique shops, live music venues, Queen’s Park – which is host to many wonderful events like the cricket and concerts in summer… I could go on, the list of reasons to visit and stay in Chesterfield are endless.

Having a thriving local economy is key to developing conversations with national investors and ensuring Chesterfield continues to grow and develop. If we want to see the town thrive in an increasingly competitive market, we need to do more collectively. We must champion Chesterfield outside the area in order to help us bring investment into the borough and create highly skilled jobs.

Together we can all help bring about lasting change and prosperity to the town which will benefit local people now and future generations.