Author: Dom Stevens

Ryan Duckett named Derbyshire Chief Executive

Interim Chief Executive Ryan Duckett will officially take over as Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Cricket Club from 1 January 2019.

He replaces Simon Storey, who leaves to take up the role of CEO at Kent County Cricket Club.

Duckett, who moves from his position as Commercial Director, has worked alongside Storey for the past six years and has overseen record growth in cricket and non-cricket revenue.

The Club has established itself as a 365-day-a-year venue at the heart of the Derby community, hosting major events including concerts for over 15,000 people, as well as the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup and an annual Fireworks Night & Fun Fair event.

Duckett has overseen the major development in commercial activity, with consistent growth across ticketing, hospitality and events, as well as securing key sponsorship deals contributing to a record commercial turnover in 2017.

Chairman Ian Morgan said: “The Supervisory Board considered very carefully the appointment of a new Chief Executive and having listened closely to Ryan’s vision on the development of the Club, we recognised that he is an exceptional candidate and decided not to look externally.”

“Ryan, who has over 21 years of experience in professional sport, is the right person for the role and his skills and ability are recognised and well respected by Members, sponsors, partners and stakeholders, as well as our players and staff. ”

“We had no hesitation in offering him the position and we are confident that he will lead our Club forward both on and off-the-field by building on our strengths and addressing our weaknesses.”

Duckett added: “It’s a pleasure to take on this role at a great Club like Derbyshire which is built around a rich history, strong infrastructure and a desire to keep developing.”

“I look forward to working with our experienced Supervisory Board, as well as our Members, supporters and partners as we take the Club forward in what is an exciting time for the sport.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Leisure

Craft beer shop opens in Chesterfield

With its official opening day on Wednesday 19th December, Chesterfield Craft aims to become the biggest source of craft beer and ales in Chesterfield town centre.

Stocking beers from local brewers such as Thornbridge, Buxton and Abbeydale, national craft brewers such as Magic Rock, Cloudwater and Loka Polly and from overseas brewers such as To-Ol, Lervig and Basqueland Brewing Project, Chesterfield Craft looks to provide a real alternative for the people of Chesterfield.

Open until 6pm Monday to Saturday, customers can call in after work to pick up a craft beer or two to enjoy in the evening. Located at 12a Saltergate, in between Lime Living and the Spire Frier, it is within a few steps of the Holywell Cross (Donut) car park, and the Cavendish Street bus stops.

The new shop will offer take-out sales only, allowing customers to buy beers and ales to be enjoyed at home. There will also be a home delivery service for customers who cannot make it to the shop, with same day delivery available for orders completed before 4pm.

Richard Young, Owner and Director of Chesterfield Craft, said: “If there’s a brewery whose beers you’d like to see us stock, just let us know and we’ll see what we can do. If you are a local brewery, please get in touch if you’d like to see your products in our shop – we’d love to have you!”

Chesterfield Craft is open now! To find out more visit www.chesterfieldcraft.co.uk.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Christmas, Development, Leisure, Visiting

Spireites kit donated to Chesterfield Ladies

Chesterfield Ladies teams will be proudly wearing the Chesterfield FC kit following a generous donation from the club.

After receiving the kit, Keith Jackson, Chairman of Chesterfield Ladies, said: “I would like to thank Ashley Carson for helping Chesterfield Ladies in this way.”

“This is a fantastic gesture which is very much appreciated by everyone associated with Chesterfield Ladies and it will be a great honour for all of our teams to wear the Spireites kit.”

Chesterfield Associate Director Alison Richardson, who attended the kit handover, added: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to support the Chesterfield Ladies teams in this way and look forward to the continued close links with the club.”

Chesterfield Ladies FC is a Charter Standard Club, affiliated to the Derbyshire FA, that provides football for women and girls in Chesterfield and the surrounding areas of north-east Derbyshire.

Established for over 25 years, they have teams competing in the Sheffield & Hallamshire Girls County League and Women’s County League.

Chesterfield Ladies players are pictured wearing the Spireites kit with management staff, officials and Chesterfield FC associate director Alison Richardson. Photo credit: Tina Jenner

Posted in About Chesterfield

River Rother to be reclaimed from industrial blight

Thanks to a National Lottery grant of more than £450,000, two centuries worth of industrialisation are to be reversed around the River Rother in Derbyshire.

The grant will allow the follow changes to be made;

  • a 700m straightened stretch of the Rother will have meanders reintroduced recreating its natural appearance
  • some 170 volunteers will be recruited and trained to restore natural habitats. This will include planting trees, laying hedgerows, clearing litter and removing invasive vegetation. This will be in partnership with Moss Valley Wildlife Trust.
  • an ambitious citizen science education programme has been devised, involving 60 events and targeting more than 3,000 people. Activities will include BioBlitz days where groups undertake a ‘record everything’ census in a specific location, nature-themed treasure hunts and river visits for 600 children from 10 local schools
  • public access to the restored river and streams will also be greatly improved with waymark signs and interpretation boards

Rachel Walker, Project Manager at the Don Catchment Rivers Trust, said: “Not only does this funding mean we can restore a section of the River Rother to its natural course, but we can celebrate the natural, community and industrial heritage of the area. We can’t wait to get started, and neither can all of our project partners.”

Jonathan Platt, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund East Midlands, said: “This project will restore the natural environment while giving people the chance to learn about the important industrial heritage of the area.  Whole communities will get the opportunity to be involved in a variety of ways and this is all thanks to the generosity of National Lottery players.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Visiting

Deadline looms for Enterprising Women nominations

The annual quest to find the region’s most successful and inspirational businesswomen will end soon after Christmas.

The final deadline for nominations for the 2019 East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) Enterprising Women Awards is Friday 4 January.

Winners will be announced at a glittering, ‘little black dress’ dinner on 8 March –International Women’s Day.

Eileen Richards, Founder of ER Recruitment, a member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and one of the Co-Chairs of Enterprising Women, said: “If any enterprising women have time over the Christmas break – between balancing work and family through the holidays – then it would be an ideal time to nominate themselves or someone else for an award.”

“Enterprising Women is all about finding and recognising women who make a serious contribution to the regional economy, often successfully balancing work, keeping home and motherhood but not always being acknowledged for what they achieve.”

There are seven awards to be won this year: Business Woman of the Year, Social Commitment, Apprentice of the Year, Female Employee of the Year, Female Entrepreneur of the Year, Team of the Year and Small Business of the Year.

Co-Chair Jean Mountain, a Past President at East Midlands Chamber, said: “By highlighting their contribution and telling their stories, hopefully we can inspire other women to pursue their business dream, which is why I would urge as many people as possible to send in nominations for the 2019 awards.”

Chamber membership is a requirement for nominees, however anyone can nominate. For more information click here. For an application pack email ew@emc-dnl.co.uk or call the Chamber’s events team on 0333 320 0333 and select ‘option 2’ when prompted.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Manufacturing

Proposals to change the way libraries are run to be considered

Innovative proposals to change the way Derbyshire libraries are run are due to be considered at a meeting on Thursday 20 December 2018.

The county council unveiled its proposed Derbyshire Public Library Service Strategy ‘Libraries for Derbyshire’ in April and outlined its commitment to keeping libraries open as it launched a 12-week consultation to gather residents’ views.

More than 7,000 people had their say during the far-reaching consultation which asked for views on proposed changes including transferring 20 libraries out of a total of 45 to community management. A number of changes have been made to the draft proposals to reflect views given during the consultation.

Other proposals included in the draft report included a reduction in weekly opening hours across the library service, a reduction in the materials fund (books, eBooks, eMagazines, eAudio, online resources including newspapers), considering the future implementation of Smart libraries, transferring the mobile library service to community management and stopping the DVD hire service.

As well as an online and paper copy questionnaire, 49 drop-in sessions were held at libraries so people could talk about the plans face-to-face with staff, and 21 in-depth focus groups were held in all areas where the local library was proposed to be a community managed library (CML), as well as a focus group about the mobile service. More people took part in the consultation than any single consultation held by the county council before.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis also held a public question and answer session at Chesterfield Library where people could quiz him directly about the plans. All the views were taken in to consideration before the report, which will be considered by the council’s Cabinet on Thursday, was drafted.

Those changes, which are now incorporated in to the report to be considered, include:

  • Supporting groups running community managed libraries (CMLs) with five years of grant funding, rather than four
  • Making £50,000 available to pay for independent support for CMLs
  • Seeking help from Locality (a national network supporting community organisations) to support CMLs
  • Giving more support and assistance in the financial processes of running a CML for the first two years
  • Managing the transition to a CML, with council staff support for the first two years
  • Helping with recruiting and training volunteers, and developing eLearning packages
  • Ensuring the council includes support for CMLs in any new staffing structure
  • Trialling the Smart library idea before any implementation
  • Keeping the existing DVD stock and loaning them free of charge until March 2021.

Councillor Lewis, who is also the Cabinet Member for Strategic Leadership, Culture and Tourism, said: “Since we launched the consultation in to the proposed changes I’ve made it very clear that the council is committed to the library service and no libraries will close on my watch.”

“The response to the consultation was excellent and we received thousands of responses with some interesting views and ideas. We listened to what people had to say and have changed a number of elements of the report to reflect what people told us.”

“We believe these proposals are the best way forward to secure the future of our libraries.”

“A lack of support for the proposals could lead to consultations on further reductions to opening hours and the materials fund, other than those outlined in the report. This is something people made clear they did not want.”

If the proposals are agreed at Thursday’s meeting, a drive to recruit interested groups to run one or more CML will be launched in the new year. More information on the Derbyshire Public Library Strategy ‘Libraries for Derbyshire’ is available.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

Spireites appoint new Chief Executive

Graham Bean been named as Chesterfield’s new Chief Executive. He will take up the role with immediate effect.

Club owner Dave Allen is delighted that Graham has accepted the role. He said: “Graham has a wealth of experience in the running of football clubs and is no stranger to Chesterfield, having been involved with the investigation of former chairman Darren Brown in 2000.”

Graham said: “I am delighted to be joining Chesterfield FC in such an important role. I am looking forward to the challenge of helping the club progress and working for the good of all, including the supporters. This is a good club and hopefully together we can move it forward.”

“I believe that I have some unique credentials because not only have I worked in senior roles within professional clubs and understand the workings of a club, but I have also had a spell as national chairman of the Football Supporters Association.”

“During that time I was involved in supporter-led campaigns and so I can fully understand and resonate with the frustrations that supporters of the club are currently experiencing. Indeed, I owe my time in the supporter representation world to my progression in the game and so will always look to embrace the views of supporters.”

“I do intend to look to improve the communication between the fans and the club but directors, staff and supporters can also be assured that I will use my best endeavours to improve all aspects of club life.”

“As many supporters will know, I have had a number of dealings with Chesterfield FC over the years and take pride in the fact that my investigation into the Darren Brown era, whilst working at the FA, contributed towards the saving of the club and subsequent takeover by the supporters. It is somewhat ironic that I now find myself back here.”

“This is an exciting opportunity and I am grateful to the owner and directors for giving me the chance to serve the club.”

Tommy Lee testimonial

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Leisure, Visiting

Enjoy ‘Chatswoof’ in 2019 as dogs take a starring role at Chatsworth

Chatsworth is celebrating all things canine throughout 2019 with four-legged friends taking a leading role in the exhibition and the wider estate set to become even more dog-friendly when it opens for the new season (Saturday 23 March 2019).

The Dog: A Celebration at Chatsworth exhibition will feature everything from working dogs, woven dogs, dogs on canvas and dogs on camera, to puppets and popular culture.

Borne out of an idea from the Duchess of Devonshire – who trains her own dogs for obedience and field trials – this exhibition explores the rich history of the dog in art, as well as the Cavendish family’s enduring love for dogs throughout the generations.

In the house, paintings, drawings, sculpture, letters, photographs and contemporary art will be brought together to provide a comprehensive reflection of mankind’s relationship with its faithful friend throughout history.

Alex Hodby, Curator of Exhibitions and Engagement, Chatsworth, said: “We will be delving deep into the Devonshire Collection to share stories, and capture the idiosyncratic, faithful, endearing and playful character of man’s best friend. The original idea for the exhibition was conceived by the Duchess of Devonshire, who combines a love of dogs with a great interest in collecting modern and contemporary works of art and commissioning portraits of family dogs.”

Specially selected loans from public and private collections will be shown alongside the Devonshire Collection and range in date from ancient objects to the present day. With Chatsworth’s historic interiors as its backdrop, The Dog will weave throughout the house, sharing tales and revealing stories of royalty and the aristocracy and how dog breeds have developed.

Chatsworth is also looking at range of ideas to become as dog friendly as possible. Dogs on leads can already explore the 105-acre garden and 1000-acre park and are also welcome in shops and Carriage House restaurant in the Stables.

Chatsworth even has its own dog mascot, Henry, a Goldendoodle born in the summer who has amassed thousands of fans on his Instagram account following his daily adventures on the estate.

Throughout 2019, Chatsworth is inviting everyone to join in the celebration using the hashtag #Chatswoof.

Follow the adventures of Henry, the Chatsworth Goldendoodle here: www.instagram.com/chatswoof

Rocket 6-1, 1987 Nicola Hicks © David Vintiner

Posted in About Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

New Chief Executive Officer appointed by D2N2 LEP

A new Chief Executive Officer has been appointed by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Sajeeda Rose, who has been Interim CEO at the D2N2 LEP since September (2018), becomes CEO with immediate effect, following a robust recruitment process.

As the LEP’s CEO, Sajeeda leads a small team supporting the D2N2 Board – a private sector-led Partnership of business, local authorities, higher and further education providers, and community and voluntary organisations – in promoting an economic growth plan for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; using resources of more than £500million in funding, derived from the UK Government and European Union.

Sajeeda joined the D2N2 LEP in November 2017, as Senior Manager for Growth Deals and Capital Programmes, and acted as Interim Deputy CEO before taking on the Interim CEO role in September 2018.

Prior to joining D2N2, Sajeeda was Chief Operating Officer for the Northamptonshire LEP, where she was responsible for strategy development and delivery of all investment programmes by that LEP. She also worked for the former East Midlands Development Agency, supporting the delivery of sub-regional investment programmes.

Sajeeda has a BA (Hons) degree in Politics & Economic History from the University of Leicester. She is married with two children.

Elizabeth Fagan, Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “I am confident that in Sajeeda we have found a CEO who will continue to lead D2N2 in delivering economic growth for all our communities, using the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP); currently in the final stages of being updated to meet the area’s changing needs up to 2030.

“Sajeeda is taking on the role at a time when the D2N2 LEP has much to do; including the launch of its new SEP, developing a Local Industrial Strategy, delivering current and planned programmes, as well as consultation on and establishing new governance rules for the LEP’s Board Members and staff to make our operations even more publicly accountable. I’m confident that Sajeeda’s leadership will help deliver results for all our stakeholders.”

Sajeeda Rose, CEO for the D2N2 LEP, added: “I am delighted to be appointed as the D2N2 LEP’s new CEO, and to have the opportunity to build on the great work of its Board and staff to date.”

“The LEP has a lot to do in future. We have a new strategic plan to launch to take our economy into the next decade, a Local Industrial Strategy to develop to complement the work being done nationally, increasing access to skills and training, and ensuring we continue to attract private investment to Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. I look forward to the challenge.”

Further information about the work of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership can be found on its website at www.d2n2lep.org/Home

D2N2

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development

Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa wins 5 wedding accolades including England’s Top Wedding Venue

Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa swept the board at the WeddingDates Awards picking up 5 accolades, winning the coveted title of England’s Top Wedding Venue.

The venue has also been announced as winner of East Midlands Top Rated Wedding Venue, winner of Derbyshire’s Top Rated Wedding Venue and winner of Country House Wedding Venue of the Year.

The final award was given to Nicola Williams, Wedding Coordinator at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, for East Midlands Wedding Coordinator of the year.

In a year of notable achievements, Ringwood Hall Hotel has been awarded 4 Star Status by the AA,  Conference Venue of the Year at the Chesterfield Food and Drink awards, a Gold Award in the East Midlands in Bloom awards,  a 5 Bubble award for the Garden Secret Spa by the Good Spa Guide and a Bronze Green Tourism award.

Ringwood Hall has seen a transformation over the past two years since new owners purchased the property in 2016 and further plans are already in place to continue the investment into the Grade II listed building.

Rona Davies, General Manager at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, said “I could not be more thrilled to have received these wedding awards. The whole team work so hard to ensure that every wedding is perfect for our couples.”

“These awards are based on customer feedback and therefore really do hold a special place for us. Winning the Country House Wedding Venue of the Year award, among the others, is just fabulous as the UK is home to so many beautiful properties. We truly feel honoured to be given such recognition.”

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

Local female entrepreneur chosen as science Community Leader

Local entrepreneur Ann Fomukong-Boden has been chosen by the British Science Association (BSA) to become one of its new Community Leaders.

Ann is a STEM Ambassador, Electronic Engineer and Director of Chesterfield-based Kakou Technologies. Ann is one of twelve individuals from across the UK chosen to take part in the programme. The aim of the Community Leaders programme is to harness the passion and ideas of the individuals, enabling them to deliver sustained public science engagement throughout the year.

Since 1994, the BSA has organised British Science Week, an annual grass-roots celebration of science and engineering that runs over 10 days every March.

For the past three years Ann has organised Science Week events in collaboration with Brampton Brewery, Chesterfield Museum and Art Gallery, Monkey Park Community Cafe, Chesterfield Borough Council, Derbyshire County Council and Pavements Shopping Centre.

Ann said: “I’m very proud to be chosen by the BSA as one of their first Community Leaders. Many people find it hard to engage with or relate to the sciences; it is still seen by many as a difficult subject that is not useful later in life. However, we all use and rely on the sciences every day, for example, using our mobile phones, cooking, applying make-up or going to the pub.”

“Working with local organisations, I’m hoping to build a network which can share and promote each other’s STEM related activities and events.”

In the New Year, Kakou will start offering a mixture of creative arts and technology-based workshops designed for people looking to learn or discover new skills. The first workshop will be a Raspberry Pi session for total beginners (parents, teachers and hobbyists) held at Chesterfield Library in January 2019. More information can be found here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Manufacturing