Author: Dom Stevens

Council supports local businesses through business rates relief scheme

13th March 2019

Chesterfield businesses are saving more than £1 million in business rates in a scheme administered by Chesterfield Borough Council.

The Government announced in the budget last October it will provide a business rates retail discount scheme for occupied retail premises with a rateable value of less than £51,000 in each of the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21.

The value of discount should be one third of the bill, and must be applied after mandatory reliefs and other discretionary reliefs have been applied.

The council administers the business rates relief as part of the discretionary rate scheme, offering the relief to around 362 businesses in the borough, saving them a total of around £1,088,520.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “Creating a thriving borough is one of the council’s key priorities, which is why we have contacted all eligible local businesses to make sure they have taken advantage of the business rates reliefs they are entitled to.“

“This is one of a number of measures including the Local Labour clause that we take to support businesses in the borough.”

The council has adopted a Local Labour clause in every major planning application it accepts, which requires developers to provide a strategy that uses materials supplied by local companies. This has meant that local suppliers have benefitted from potentially more than £2.3 million worth of business.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Visiting

Awards recognise those using physical activity to improve lives

12th March 2019

The efforts and achievements of individuals and groups who are using physical activity to help improve the lives of people across Derbyshire have been recognised at the first ‘Towards an Active Derbyshire’ Awards.

The event showcased individuals who have used physical activity to achieve outstanding change in themselves, as well as some incredible tales of what others have done to transform the lives, health and wellbeing of members of their communities.

The awards celebrated all of the amazing work happening in our communities and Active Derbyshire, who organised the event, wanted the opportunity to thank the volunteers, groups and staff who help to make physical activity the norm.

The inaugural Towards an active Derbyshire Awards, organised by Active Derbyshire, were held at the Sports Direct Auditorium in Shirebrook on Wednesday, March 6, and sponsored by Chesterfield College, Derby City Council, the University of Derby, Strategic Leisure, Legacy Leisure, Active Nation, and Derbyshire County Council.

Attended by 200 guests, the event was hosted by Colin Hazelden (right) and included performances from choir CoDA Chromatics, dance group Trinity Warriors, and a spoken word performance from Rhythmical Mike.

The winner of the Change4Life Award was 64-year-old Norman Todd, who joined Livewell, Derby City Council’s free healthy lifestyle service, four years ago. Through physical activity and healthy eating Norman lost ten stone in one year alone, and is now physical active for up to three hours every day.

The This Girl Can Award was presented to Sophie Widdowson from Duckmanton (below) who has lost weight after taking part in multiple sporting sessions and activities and also going on to regional and national success in both tennis and basketball.

Martial arts coach Dave Cartawick, who has been coaching in Chesterfield for more than 25 years, was named Community Coach of the Year. He is passionate about engaging young people in sport and activity and works with local schools, Chesterfield College and community groups to increase participation in sport in general and martial arts in particular, running regular classes to encourage children and teenagers to become more active.

Chesterfield College’s Healthy Lifestyle project was named Project or Innovation of the Year. Funded by Sport England through the Tackling Inactivity in Colleges stream, the project is designed to open out physical activity opportunities to students that have been identified as physically inactive, primarily women and girls, disabled students and students from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Active Derbyshire works in partnership with the local authorities and a wide range of other partners to get people active in Derbyshire.

A full list of winners and runners-up can be found here.

Photography credit: Ian Hodgkinson- PictureIt Media

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

Increase in grant funding for construction apprentices

12th March 2019

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) announced a major boost in funding to help employers take on construction apprentices.

From 1 April, CITB’s attendance grants to employers will increase to £2,500 per year, while achievement grants will rise to £3,500 for companies whose apprentice successfully completes their training.

This is an overall funding increase from £10,250 to £14,500 for each apprentice an employer takes on – an uplift of over 30% on existing rates.

CITB has decided to increase employer funding at a time when construction apprenticeships are falling. This is due to factors such as economic uncertainty caused by Brexit and employers adjusting to new apprenticeship reforms, including the Apprenticeship Levy.

But construction needs many more learners not only starting, but completing their apprenticeships and joining the workforce. CITB’s forecast shows the industry needs to fill some 168,500 new jobs over the next five years, and to grow much more of its own domestic workforce, given likely limits on future access to migrant workers.

Stephen Radley, CITB Director of Strategy and Policy said: “We know that taking on an apprentice is a big investment for employers who have seen the cost of doing this go up significantly in recent years.”

“These grant increases are designed to help employers of all sizes take on apprentices and ensure those learners complete their courses.”

“CITB support isn’t just about money, but we believe that this major rise in grant funding will improve both apprenticeship starts and completions in our sector.”

This announcement follows extensive consultation with employers across Great Britain through discussions, online surveys and feedback from employer events. In the coming weeks, CITB will share further measures to support apprenticeships in construction.

Sarah Garry, Skills Manager of Build UK said: “We welcome the increase in funding for apprenticeships which should make a real difference for all employers, regardless of the size of their business. This is one piece of the puzzle. CITB and industry working together will ensure the apprenticeship process is easy to understand and is accessible for everyone.”

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders said: “The increase in grant funding is good news for employers in the construction industry, particularly small construction firms. It will allow SME businesses to take on even more apprentices, including for specialist courses in order to meet the construction industry’s demand for highly-skilled individuals.”

For more information visit the CITB website.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Development

Local teen chef enters national finals

12th March 2019

The Tickled Trout’s work experience student has progressed to the final of the prestigious FutureChef competition. FutureChef is a programme organised by Springboard where over 12,000 12-16 year olds compete to get a place in the national final in Westminster to represent their region against 11 other finalists.

Leigh Speight, aged 15, is currently a student from Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School and is doing work experience on Saturdays at The Tickled Trout. She has beat off competition from across the region to get to the national final. This will be the second time Leigh has reached the milestone after previously reaching the landmark two-years-ago.

Her mentor and Owner of The Tickled Trout, Chris Mapp, said: “Hopefully we will be second time lucky this year. Leigh cooked an amazing cote de porc with potato rosti, cider jus and a beautiful lemon posset with macerated raspberries and caramelised popcorn, and achieved excellent feedback from the judges, almost faultless from the majority.”

“I am proud to say that Leigh now joins us on Saturdays for work experience to learn more in my kitchen, which is a credit to her as she has fantastic talent and is keen to learn. I hope that she gets the bug and wants to be a chef full time as this would be a great example to the industry and to Springboard’s FutureChef.”

The final is on 19 March, and the pair will soon receive their ‘mystery basket’ to begin putting ideas together for the trip to London. For updates on Leigh’s progress, check out the Tickled Trout’s Facebook page.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Support pledge from Derbyshire’s leaders for armed forces community

12th March 2019

Council leaders across Derbyshire have joined together to pledge their on-going support for the country’s armed forces community.

Derbyshire County Council hosted a signing event last week at their County Hall headquarters in Matlock to sign a new covenant.

Chairman of the council Councillor George Wharmby was joined by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, as well as leaders and representatives from Derbyshire’s borough, district and city councils, local Mayors, charities and other dignitaries.

The military’s regular and reserve services were also represented, headed by Commander Glynn Johns RN, Chief of Staff, Naval Regional Command, Eastern England.

Councillor Wharmby said: “We owe those who protect our nation a great debt of gratitude and must ensure that they have the right support networks available to them when needed.”

“Only by working together can we provide unified support for serving and former armed forces members and their families who live and work in Derbyshire.”

“Re-signing the covenant is our way of showing our unwavering commitment to those who make sacrifices for our wellbeing.”

The new covenant seeks to strengthen the previous agreement – encouraging local organisations to help re-integrate ex-servicemen and women into civilian life, support military families with day-to-day life, as well as inspiring members of the armed forces to help support their local communities.

Derbyshire County Council signed the covenant alongside:

Amber Valley Borough Council
the Army
Bolsover District Council
Chesterfield Borough Council
Derby City Council
Derbyshire Dales District Council
Erewash Borough Council
High Peak Borough Council
NE Derbyshire District Council
Peak District National Park Authority
the Royal Air Force
the Royal Navy
South Derbyshire District Council

Also present at the event were a wide range of community organisations which support servicemen and women including Help for Heroes, Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and the Royal British Legion.

Posted in About Chesterfield

Local students impress judges at Young Enterprise Trade Fair

11th March 2019

Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School took the title of Best Trade Stand at the recent Young Enterprise Trade Fair held at the Pavements Shopping Centre in Chesterfield on Thursday 7 March.

The school was one of six from North Derbyshire taking part in this year’s Young Enterprise competition.

As part of the competition, teams of students from Mount St Mary’s College, Eckington School, Brookfield Community School, St Mary’s Catholic High School, Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School and Lady Manners School descended on The Pavements to showcase a variety of goods which they are selling as part of their Young Enterprise experience. Many of the products have been handcrafted by the students who are all aged between 14 and 17.

Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School’s winning team – Kickers and Clickers – has produced a range of personalised shoes and bags. The judges, which included the Mayor of Chesterfield, Cllr Stuart Brittain and his wife the Mayoress Anne Brittain, and local business people Laura Jo Owen, owner of Adorn Jewellers and Andy Ingman of Ingmans, commended the team for their well thought out business strategy.

The Trade Fair is co-ordinated by the North Derbyshire branch of the education charity Young Enterprise which aims to equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise.

Each of the teams have set up a company and are operating them for a year. As well as coming up with a product to sell, they must produce a business plan, market their products and services and also file accounts – which includes paying VAT and tax on their profits!

Hazel James, Chair of the Young Enterprise’s North Derbyshire Area Board, explained: “The scheme is designed to give students an insight into business and to inspire them to ‘learn by doing’. All participants are expected to operate in a professional manner as they would in the workplace.”

“The teams have been encouraged to be innovative and creative in the products they have developed and the ways in which they market their products to Chesterfield’s shoppers. We are all very excited to see what they have done so far and how they put their new skills into practice.”

Laura Jo Owen said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for these students to get some valuable hands-on experience in business and the retail sector. It was brilliant to meet the teams and find out more out more about them.”

Keep up-to-date with the teams’ young Enterprise journey on Facebook at ‘Young Enterprise – North Derbyshire Area Board’.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Local residents invited to sign up for the Great British Spring Clean

11th March 2019

Chesterfield residents are invited to take part in this year’s Great British Spring Clean, organised by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy and supported by Chesterfield Borough Council.

The campaign, which runs from 22 March to 23 April and will see up to 500,000 people taking action to clean up streets, parks and beaches across the country.

The council is organising five events in Chesterfield:

Loundsley Green Conservation and Improvement Group litter pick, Friday 22 March, 11am to 12.30pm – meet at Loundsley Green Community Centre, Cuttholme Road
Racecourse Rubbish Rangers community litter pick, Wednesday 27 March, 11am to 1.30pm – meet at bus stop, Racecourse Road/Mountcastle Walk
Middlecroft community litter pick, Tuesday 9 April, 11am to 12.30pm – meet at Edensor Court car park
Holme Hall Unite community litter pick, Thursday 11 April, 11am to 12.30pm – meet at Home Hall Community Hub, Mercaston Close
Grangewood community litter pick, Wednesday 17 April, 11am to 12.30pm – meet at Burns Close Community Room.

Councillor Helen Bagley, Chesterfield Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Homes and Customers, said: “Improving the quality of life for local people is one of our key priorities, which is why we are supporting people in organising these litter picks to keep their neighbourhoods clean and tidy.”

“I’d encourage anyone to sign up and take part.”

To sign up for one of the events, call (01246) 345147 or email: tpenquiries@chesterfield.gov.uk. To find out more about the Great British Spring Clean visit: www.keepbritaintidy.org.

Posted in About Chesterfield

Derbyshire highlights why it is the Uk’s Capital for Innovation at MIPIM

11th March 2019

Derby and Derbyshire are certainly living up to the title of UK Capital for Innovation with recent announcements taking centre stage at MIPIM this week.

The largest-ever delegation from Derby and Derbyshire is promoting the county and city at MIPIM 2019 – the annual global real estate exhibition held in Cannes, France which will be attended by 25,000 delegates.

In Chesterfield the transformation of the town centre has taken another significant step forward as plans for a new enterprise centre have been given the go ahead. The Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre will help meet demand for office space to house start up and growing small business and support the council’s existing innovation centres at Dunston and Tapton Park.

Derby City Council has approved Pattonair to develop a 9.7acre site with 80,000sqft warehouse and 15,000sqft office building, located at Infinity Park Aerospace Campus.

The iHub innovation centre on Infinity Park in Derby is now at 100% capacity. The 45,000 sq ft. facility has attracted some of the biggest names in the automotive, rail and aerospace supply chain industries. Tenants include Airbus, Altran, and advanced aviation company VRCO.

Nuclear AMRC Midlands, a new research and innovation centre to support manufacturers across the region, has opened for business in the iHub at Infinity Park, Derby. The new centre is a major expansion of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult and is a collaboration between the Nuclear AMRC, Derby City Council and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Rolls-Royce plc has been awarded a £235m contract to support the Royal Navy’s submarines in a move that will safeguard 500 jobs.

A combination of public and private sector officials are part of the first joint city and county delegation to attend MIPIM, playing a full role in the Midlands UK Pavilion supported by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Posted in Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development

Pop up cinema comes to Chesterfield

8th March 2019

New company Bluebird North Events is bringing pop up cinema to Chesterfield and North Derbyshire. It will be launching with a screening of Kung Fu Panda at St Thomas’ Centre in Brampton on Saturday 23^rd March 2019.

The company was set up by Chesterfield residents Brogan O’Callaghan and Adam Chapman after finding a lack of similar events in the area. Plans for future events include films such as Moana, Little Shop of Horrors, Mean Girls, Hairspray, The Polar Express and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Brogan stated: “We want to create events for local residents and believe this is something new and exciting for Chesterfield. We love Chesterfield as a town and want to show off what it is has to offer and to bring some additional evening entertainment to the area.”

She added: “Our events are pop up screenings but with added extras to make it a real day out. Cinema is such a great way to have a shared experience as a group, as you all laugh, cry and experience the emotions of the film together. This sense of community is what we’re trying to capture at our events, and we hope that the attendees will feel the same way.”

At the Kung Fu Panda event there will be a bar with a range of drinks for adults and children, as well as face painting and food stalls where you can buy popcorn, nachos, brownies and more. The event opens at 5pm, with the film starting at 7pm. Tickets are £8 for adults, £6.50 for children and £25 for a family ticket.

Adam Chapman said: “Our Kung Fu Panda screening is an evening of family entertainment in a popular Chesterfield location. Our first event is aimed at families, however we have a range of events being planned for the young, old and young at heart. Most of our events will be cinema screenings however we do want to expand into other areas such as live comedy and popular TV events.”

“The next screening we are planning is a special 50^thanniversary screening of Kes. Tickets will be on sale in the next couple of weeks, watch this space!”

For more information click here, visit www.bluebirdnorthevents.co.uk or visit their Facebook, Twitter or Eventbrite pages.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Leisure, Visiting

Apprentice and boss swap roles for National Apprenticeship Week

8th March 2019

Learning Unlimited’s very own apprentice, Josh Bown, has accepted his next big challenge and today steps temporarily into the role of Operations Manager as part of the activities around National Apprenticeship Week (4-8 March).

While the 17-year-old business administration apprentice will learn what it’s like to manage the team, Operations Manager Leah Shortt will be getting a reminder of what it’s like to be in a less senior role.

Josh will be taking on daily tasks in Leah’s calendar including taking a lead role in the weekly departmental meeting, joining a high level strategic meeting with senior managers and planning a marketing campaign. Meanwhile, Leah, who has worked with the national provider of apprenticeships for five years, will be seeing what it is like to be in Josh’s shoes.

As part of the job swap, Leah will be picking up Josh’s duties; talking to potential customers, answering enquiries and uploading content to the Learning Unlimited website, among other things.

Learning Unlimited, which is part of the Chesterfield College group, provides apprenticeships and learning programmes to more than 3,000 apprentices nationally and has over 30 apprentices within its own organisation.

Leah said: “This will be a learning opportunity for the both of us. Josh has become a really valuable part of the team since he joined us but this will give me the chance to find out more about the daily challenges he faces as an apprentice within our organisation.”

“As a leading provider of apprenticeships, we want to lead by example. We have a strong reputation for developing talent through apprenticeships and many members of our team have joined as apprentices and progressed up the career ladder. This is an important exercise to see just how well we support our own apprentices and will demonstrate what we’re doing right and areas where we may be able to support our apprentices even further.”

Josh said: “I’m looking forward to the challenge of switching roles. This is a great opportunity for me to learn more about how decisions are made and help me develop new skills. It’s always good to learn new things and I’ll also be able to use it as part of my learning towards my business administration qualification.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business

Nominate your top shops, traders and events in Chesterfield now!

7th March 2019

The search is on to find the top shops, traders and events in the borough of Chesterfield.

This year, the Chesterfield Retail Awards welcomes a brand new category to recognise the plethora of festivals, events and markets that take place every year in the town centre.

Local station, Spire Radio is sponsoring the new Best Town Centre Event category as well as giving the winner a free promotional and advertising package, which is worth up to £500.

Now in its sixth year, the Chesterfield Retail Awards, which is organised by Destination Chesterfield, has gone from strength–to–strength; mirroring the town’s retail sector. A new owner has been announced for Vicar Lane Shopping Centre, work has been completed on the conversion of the former Co-op to a Premier Inn on Elder Way, existing businesses have expanded and new businesses have opened.

Commenting on this year’s awards, Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield said: “The many events taking place in Chesterfield each year are an important part of the town, helping to attract thousands of visitors every year and creating a vibrant shopping and leisure destination.”

I am delighted that Spire Radio, along with so many other sponsors, have thrown their support behind the 2019 Chesterfield Retail Awards.”

Shoppers are now invited to vote for their favourite retailers, market stall holders and events in Chesterfield. Everyone who nominates in this year’s awards will also have the chance to win two tickets to the black-tie Chesterfield Retail Awards at Casa Hotel on Wednesday 19 June 2019 where the winners across all categories will be announced.

People can nominate across 12 categories in the awards and a panel of professionals will select the winners.

Hair and Beauty Business of the Year
Fashion and Footwear Retailer of the Year
Best New Store 2018/2019
Home and Gifts Retailer of the Year
Food and Drink Retailer of the Year
Leisure Retailer of the Year (Sports, Hobbies, Crafts or Outdoor)
Market Trader of the Year
Independent Retailer of the Year
National/ Multiple Retailer of the Year
Market Hall Business of the Year
Excellence in Customer Service
Best Town Centre Event 2018/2019

For a second year, the work of apprentice retail workers and employers of apprentices will once again be commended in the Apprentice of the Year and Apprentice Employer of the Year categories.

Peter added: “The awards ceremony has grown more popular year–on–year thanks to the growing retail scene. New businesses are opening and existing retailers expanding their operations. We’re bucking the national downward trend for retail here in Chesterfield and the awards recognises the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the town’s retail scene.”

In addition to Spire Radio, the 2019 Chesterfield Retail Awards are supported by Apprentice Town (led by Chesterfield Borough Council), Chesterfield Borough Council, East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire), eBusiness Works, In the Works PR, Jumble Creative Design, JP Fire Safety, Learning Unlimited, Temple Safety and University of Derby.

You can vote online at www.chesterfield.co.uk/retailawards from Thursday 7 March until midnight on 31st March.

Information about the various sponsorship packages are available at www.chesterfield.co.uk/retailawards or contact Tara Underhill ,Senior Destination Chesterfield Coordinator, by emailing Tara.underhill@chesterfield.co.uk or calling 01246 207207.

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