Author: Tara Underhill

Specialists join Sheffield City Region Growth Hub

6th June 2016

Sheffield City Region (SCR) Growth Hub has appointed eight business growth specialists with more than 200 years of combined experience from sectors – ranging from creative industries and healthcare technologies to aerospace and rail.

The new service, which has core funding of £4.82m, is designed to be a single point of contact for all businesses across nine local authority areas – including Chesterfield – to access specialist support in key areas, whether that is from one of the eight specialists or from a partner organisation.

The partners include successful companies, consultancies, universities, chambers of commerce and local authorities, and national provision such as Innovate UK and UK Trade and Investment.

Head of the SCR Growth Hub, David Grimes, said: “It’s great to have these eight excellent business people ready and in place to help businesses far and wide to develop and expand. The eight business growth specialists all have different sectoral experience and can go in and help businesses from the word go.

“Everything is coming together for the Growth Hub and we can now start getting some results from businesses. I have great confidence that the people in place are going to be a huge part of that and they can impart their wisdom that they’ve accumulated over the years across the region.”

The Growth Hub offers support across the nine local authorities of Barnsley, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Doncaster, North East Derbyshire, Rotherham and Sheffield.

The team of eight, appointed because of their backgrounds in a variety of different industries, have knowledge in areas including business planning, culture change, start-up support, leadership and management, and product innovation.

One of the business growth specialists, Antony Davies, has almost 20 years’ experience in business support, and has been managing director, director and co-owner of a successful innovation and enterprise support consultancy business. He has worked as far afield as Russia and Japan and has business experience in both retail and logistics.

Antony said: “It’s great to be given this chance to help businesses small and large to grow and expand. As individuals we all have differing strengths, but together we make a specialist team that is designed to be able to help any business across the region whether that be a brand new start-up or an established company.”

The Sheffield City Region Growth Hub aims to simplify all regional and national support that is available to businesses. It can offer support and advice in innovation, start-up, exporting, skills training, access to finance and growth demand. The Growth Hub can be contacted via telephone or email.

The Growth Hub can be contacted on 03330 00 00 39, emailing growthhub@sheffieldcityregion.org.uk or visiting www.scrgrowthhub.co.uk.

Image shows six of the business growth specialists with head of Sheffield City Region Growth Hub David Grimes (front and centre). From left to right; Andy Sorsby, Tim Binns, David Grimes (Head of Sheffield City Region Growth Hub), Jim Goodare, Jim Scott, Jo Flanagan and Antony Davies. Not pictured in the photograph are Marcus Pearson and Robin Watson.

Posted in Business

National Trailboat Festival a huge success

6th June 2016

The IWA National Trailboat Festival 2016 has been hailed a terrific success after it returned to Chesterfield for the first time in over ten years.

Hosted at Staveley Town Basin over the spring bank holiday weekend, the event featured lots of family entertainment from boat trips to fire eaters, as well as the official opening of the new Staveley Town Lock.

A major project, the new lock was completed just in time for the event by volunteers from Chesterfield Canal Trust, along with support from volunteers from the Waterway Recovery Group.

Cllr Anne Western, Leader of Derbyshire County Council, attended the festival on the Saturday to cut the ribbon aboard John Varley II – Chesterfield Canal Trust’s brand new tripboat, which was featured alongside a score of small boats brought in on trailers to use the new slipway at the basin.

Rod Auton, Publicity Officer at Chesterfield Canal Trust said:-

“The boats made a wonderful, colourful spectacle when moored along the canal. They created great interest from the many walkers and cyclists using the towpath, as did Chesterfield Canal Trust’s 87 year-old ex-working boat Python, which was sponsored by Brook Garden Centre.

“Members of the public could also take a cruise on one of the trust’s five trip boats which were in operation. They went through the new lock, which had only been flooded two days earlier, and then up the canal past the moored boats and under three bridges.

“On the Saturday night, there was a parade of illuminated boats. All the trailboats and the trust’s trip boats were decked out in lights; many playing music. They cruised up and down the canal to the delight of large crowds; many of whom said that it was the best thing about the whole event.

“On the Monday, the festival itself was over, but the boats went in a flotilla all the way up the canal to Tapton in Chesterfield and back. Several actually reached the River Rother at St Helena’s, where the canal starts. This created great excitement amongst towpath users who usually only catch a glimpse of an occasional canoe or tripboat. It was a fitting finale to an unforgettable weekend, because it demonstrated what could happen when the canal is fully restored.

“The Chesterfield Canal Trust is very grateful to the Inland Waterways Association for allowing it to run this year’s National Trailboat Festival.”

Other highlights of the event included Learn to Drive a Digger run by volunteers from the Waterway Recovery Group, Urban Gypsies belly dancers, fire eating from Captain Jackdaw and the Rumbucket, vintage cars, the Armed Forces Bikers, Birds of Prey, canoeing, a face painter, and the chance to stroke a tarantula or cuddle a skunk.

There were also dozens of stalls of every type, plus food and drink including a bar run by Brampton Brewery featuring their specially brewed festival ale called Brindley Bitter.

(Landscape image: Cllr Western cuts the ribbon (photo © John Lower)

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Popular classic car and bike show returns to Renishaw Hall

6th June 2016

Enthusiasts from all over the region are set to visit Renishaw Hall this week to enjoy hundreds of classic cars and bikes at the popular Eckington Classic Car and Bike Show.

Organised each year by the Rotary Club of Chesterfield, the event will once again support Chesterfield’s Ashgate Hospicecare, Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.

Main organiser, Stuart Bradley of Stuart Bradley Ltd Jewellers, said: “Renishaw Hall is the perfect venue for this charitable event which we have run successfully for several years and raised over £50,000 for the designated charities.”

There will be a variety of stalls and amusements, plus refreshments and bar will also be available. Admission is £5 a vehicle.

The Eckington Classic Car and Bike Show takes place at Renishaw Hall, Eckington, near Chesterfield (S21 3WB), on Wednesday 8 June 2016, from 3.00pm until 8.00pm. For more information please contact main organiser Stuart Bradley on 01246 222777.

The date has also been released for this summer’s annual charity Ashover Classic Car and Bike Show which will be held once again at Rectory Fields, Ashover on Sunday 24 July from 10.00am.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Queen’s Award for Chesterfield & District Athletics Club

3rd June 2016

Chesterfield & District Athletics Club has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service; the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK – and equivalent to an MBE.

The voluntary group from North East Derbyshire has worked in the community since 1978 to offer athletics coaching and competition, winning a Derbyshire Sports Award in 2008 as Club of the Year (pictured below).

Now based at Tupton Hall School, the club has twice-weekly sessions when its volunteer coaches offer instruction in all the athletics disciplines to around 70 young athletes per night. It also offers all-year round competition in track and field, cross-country and sportshall athletics.

Chairman Jon Baker and Membership Secretary Kerry Baker attended a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace where they met the Queen and other winners of this year’s award.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work in their communities. The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and winners are announced each year on June 2 – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.

Chesterfield AC will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Mr William Tucker, later this summer.

Club Secretary Frank Gorman said: “We are thrilled to have been selected to receive this award, which recognises the fantastic work that all our volunteers are currently doing, and all the work done by previous volunteers to support the Club since it started in 1978.”

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Committee Chair, former broadcast journalist Sir Martyn Lewis said: “I warmly congratulate all of the inspirational voluntary groups who have been rewarded for their community work with a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The judging panel for this year’s awards were struck by the quality and breadth of all the successful groups.

“The thousands of volunteers who give up spare time to help others in their community and to help solve problems demonstrate the very best of democracy in action.”

Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, said: “I would like to congratulate all groups who received this year’s Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, in recognition of their fantastic achievements. The huge amount of work and commitment these organisations put into their local communities is surpassed only by the passion and motivation of the individuals who volunteer. I hope these groups continue to inspire others to get involved and make a positive impact so that we can continue to build a more compassionate society.”

Image from Derbyshire Sports Awards 2008 (Chesterfield & District Athletics Club wins Club of the Year 2008.)

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure

Employers – book your place at Derbyshire Skills Festival

1st June 2016

Employers, colleges, training providers and voluntary organisations are being encouraged to book their place at this year’s Derbyshire Skills Festival.

Organised by Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council, the event is aimed at students aged 15 to 19, including those in Year 11 who are considering their options after school.

This year the event will be held in Chesterfield at Queen’s Park Sports Centre on Thursday 15 September 2016 from 3.30pm to 8pm. It will include sessions for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) will also be invited.

Derbyshire County Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Children’s Services Councillor Damien Greenhalgh said:

“Last year, more than 11,000 people came along to Derbyshire Skills Festival over a fantastic three days.

“It is the biggest and best careers event in Derbyshire so it’s a great place for employers, education and training providers and voluntary organisations to speak to young people thinking about their future.”

The festival is an opportunity for young people leaving school or college or looking for a job with training to talk to the experts and get all the information and guidance they need under one roof. Visitors to the event will also be able to take part in have-a-go sessions to test their skills and give them an idea what different careers might be like.

Organisations interested in having a stand at one or more of the venues should contact Elaine Yates for more details, tel: 01629 536545 or email: skills.festival@derbyshire.gov.uk.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Hundreds of Derbyshire workers get active

1st June 2016

Hundreds of workers across Derbyshire played a part in this year’s Workplace Health Week, which provided inspiration and opportunities for employees to become more active at work.

The initiative, which is now in its second year, is run by Workplace Challenge in collaboration with Derbyshire Sport and other County Sports Partnerships across England.

Despite a government target that all adults should exercise for 150 minutes each week, nationally 40 per cent of us do not exercise enough and time is listed as the biggest barrier to physical activity.

This was the driver behind a week-long schedule of activities, support, tips and advice for local businesses, focusing on flexible working and active lunch breaks to bring physical activity into and around the working day.

Chesterfield Borough Council and The Post Office were among the organisations in Chesterfield which got involved in Workplace Health Week, and the highlight of the week was the Midday Mile, which saw workers ditch their desks to run, walk, jog or cycle one mile at 12noon on Thursday 26 May.

Workers from the Post Office No1 Future Walk team in Chesterfield also took part in lunchtime activities such as table tennis and rounders.

Participants have been logging their activity on the Derbyshire Workplace Challenge website; an online activity log challenge which allows colleagues to track how much sport and activity they are doing, and work together to earn activity points and work their way up an online leaderboard.

Now organisers are urging businesses to deliver their promise and continue giving their employees the encouragement and opportunity to keep active.

Rachael Dyer, Sport Development Officer and lead for the Workplace Challenge at Derbyshire Sport, said: “It’s been fantastic to see organisations from across Derbyshire get involved with Workplace Health Week 2016. It’s hugely encouraging to see so many employers take up the challenge and the important thing now is to keep up the momentum.

“Not enough people in Derbyshire achieve the target of 150 minutes of exercise each week and we want local businesses to help their employees do this.

“Giving workers the flexibility to bring physical activity into and around the workplace, including during their lunch break, will reap rewards not just for the wellbeing of employees, but for the business too by reducing absence.”

For more details, including information about how your business can get involved with Workplace Challenge and seek to introduce physical activity into and around the working day, search online for Derbyshire Workplace Challenge.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure

Defending champion Lisa Brennauer returns to Aviva Women’s Tour

1st June 2016

Defending champion Lisa Brennauer will return to the Aviva Women’s Tour leading the CANYON//SRAM Racing team and donning the number one placard, in the race that starts on Wednesday 15 June and arrives in Chesterfield at the end of stage 3 on Friday 17th June.

Brennauer won a stage and the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey on her way to the overall Aviva Yellow Jersey in last year’s edition of the race.

The multiple World Champion has ridden in both editions of the Aviva Women’s Tour to date, and recently finished on the podium of the Energiewacht Tour in Holland, winning the Points Classification.

Speaking about her return to the Aviva Women’s Tour, Lisa Brennauer said; “I’m looking forward to coming back to the UK for the Aviva Women’s Tour. It’s been thrilling racing in front of big crowds and an amazing atmosphere last year. When I think back of all the fans along the course, at the finish and the award ceremonies I`m still having goose bumps. The Aviva Women’s Tour quickly made her way to one of the biggest events in women`s cycling.”

Joining her in the CANYON/SRAM provisional line-up will be Northamptonshire’s Hannah Barnes, winner of the final stage in 2015 and both the Best British and Best Young Rider jerseys.

Commenting on the race, Hannah Barnes said; “I always love coming back home to race. You get a buzz being on roads you know and having friends and family there watching. I’m particularly excited about the final stage. Starting and finishing so close to home and on roads I know is special.”

Italian National Champion Elena Cecchini will also return, having finished 10th overall in the first edition of the race in 2014, with former Omloop Het Nieuwsblad winner Tiffany Cromwell the fourth rider in the squad.

Completing the line up will be multiple Belarussian champion Alena Amialiuski and Italian Barbara Guarischi, who finished second on the stage to Kettering in 2015, and won the Prudential RideLondon and Sparkassen Giro events in 2015.

Commenting on the provisional roster, Aviva Women’s Tour Race Director Mick Bennett said, “We look forward to welcoming Lisa Brennauer and her team back to the Aviva Women’s Tour in 2016 as a part of what is going to be a fantastic line-up for this year’s race.

“With Lisa, Hannah Barnes and the other riders in the squad, the CANYON//SRAM team have a very strong line-up for the Aviva Women’s Tour who we are sure will take the race to the other teams.”

The Aviva Women’s Tour stage 3 finishes in Chesterfield town centre on Friday 17th June. There will also be a host of activities during the day from fun fair rides to a workplace cycle challenge.

Fans can look forward to highlights of each stage of the race on ITV4 each evening, with repeats the following daytime and all programme’s available on demand via the ITV Player.

Images:
Landscape: Lisa Brennauer in the Aviva Yellow Jersey at the 2015 Aviva Women’s Tour (c) The Tour
Portrait: Hannah Barnes winning the final stage of the 2015 Aviva Women’s Tour (c) The Tour

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Seb Perez ready for Oulton Park

31st May 2016

Chesterfield’s young racing driver, Seb Perez is set to travel to Oulton Park this weekend in the next round of the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship.

The 16-year-old will be looking for a bit more luck after his last two outings at Donington Park and Thruxton have ended in a mixture of success and misfortune.

Race one at Donington saw Perez finish 11th, after changing weather conditions including a sleet storm and various position changes. He clocked up his fastest lap on the first and second sectors of the circuit, dropping to second during the third timed section of the track, only to find after the race his fastest lap had been disallowed.

Second race of the weekend saw him line up 11th on the grid, but unfortunately after a good start he retired with a damaged car after being shunted off the track.

After a battle to get the car ready for race three, his team worked wonders and saw him on the last row of the grid. Making up six places he finished in 16th position.

Despite the car sustaining 2 bent valves and brake problems at Donington, Seb’s team ensured it was running well for Thruxton.

The qualifying session saw Seb outrun every other driver on the circuit. Lap 3 was his fastest lap at 1:31.899s with a speed of 92.29mph to take his maiden pole position in the championship by one thousandth of a second.

Race one saw Perez in pole and in charge of the pack of the other 19 cars behind him. Black flagged for jumping the start and a drive through penalty saw him drop to 19th position, however he progressed through the field gaining a best race speed of up to 106.8mph and finishing 18th – still a success but a potential podium place could have been on the cards.

Race two saw Perez start from row 9 on the grid. After a good start on the first lap gaining essential places, disaster struck shortly afterwards and an incident saw Max Bird’s Ginetta retiring along with Perez.

After a month’s break with plenty of testing and some tweaks to the car he hopes that this will be a turning point in the season for him. Last season Seb finished 15th in both races at Oulton Park and hopes to improve on that this year.

He said: “I am really looking forward to Oulton Park this weekend, I enjoy racing on it and there will be a lot of local support there for me.

“The last two rounds at Donington and Thruxton hadn’t gone entirely to plan, but that’s racing for you; it’s always a learning curve and my team, JHR Developments has worked well on the car during the last 2 rounds to sort out the problems. We had a good test session at Croft just over a week ago and the car is performing great.”

Perez has still a long way to go to the end of the season at the beginning of October. Seb’s performance and all the action is broadcast live on the Sundays on ITV 4.

Editorial by Paul Horton. Landscape image: Jakob Ebrey Photography, Portrait image: Paul Horton Photography.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Visiting

£80k boost to help young people get active

31st May 2016

Young people across Derbyshire will have the chance to try a range of sports and activities thanks to an £80,000 boost which has been awarded to sports clubs and providers.

A total of 76 projects have been awarded a share of the funding which will see new sessions run in a huge variety of sports and activities, with everything from aerobics, boxercise, tennis, cricket and netball, to climbing, American football, dance and martial arts on offer.

The funding has come from Sport England’s Lottery-funded London 2012 legacy project Sportivate, which in Derbyshire is co-ordinated locally by Derbyshire Sport.

The programme aims to give more young people aged 11 to 25 the chance to discover a sport that they love, offering those who do not currently take part in sport and physical activity between six and eight weeks of free or subsidised coaching.

Once the course has finished, those involved will also be supported to continue playing sport.

Projects will take place across the county, including in Amber Valley, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derby, the Derbyshire Dales, Erewash, High Peak, North East Derbyshire and South Derbyshire.

Funding will be used to pay for new equipment, coaching, facility hire and training.

Lewis Adams, Sport Development Officer with responsibility for Sportivate at Derbyshire Sport, said: “Since its launch six years ago more than 10,000 young people across Derbyshire have taken part in sporting activities funded through Sportivate.

“This latest round of funding will allow lots more new and exciting activities to be kick-started and continue to help sports clubs and organisations to recruit new participants and get more young people active.”

To find out what Sportivate sessions are available in your area please contact Lewis Adams, Sport Development Officer at Derbyshire Sport by emailing lewis.adams@derbyshire.gov.uk.

The application process for a further round of Sportivate funding is due to open in August. Applications will be particularly welcomed from projects with a specific focus on inactive young people, women and girls, disabled young people, those aged between 19 and 25, and young people who are not currently in education, employment or training.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure

£1.3m of funding for transport equipment innovation

31st May 2016

Companies involved in road, rail and aerospace equipment manufacture will soon be able to apply for research and innovation help from a £1.3m fund, financed via the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

The ‘Catalysing Growth through Research for Transport Equipment Manufacturing’ project will be delivered by the University of Derby and Loughborough University.

It will cost £2.7m in total – £1.3m of that coming via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) portion of D2N2’s allocation of €251m in European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), and the remainder from the two universities.

D2N2 is the private sector-led partnership of business, local authorities, skills and training providers, and community and social enterprises which promotes economic growth and jobs creation across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

The three year Catalysing Growth project is due to begin shortly (summer 2016).

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the transport equipment manufacturing sector can access intensive research and innovation support from the University of Derby and Loughborough University.

Help will be given to main manufacturers and supply chain firms providing them with materials, services and technical support. This will boost their competitiveness, providing more efficient manufacturing processes and products, to strengthen companies’ turnover and create jobs.

The universities will help businesses identify areas where they could work with other SMEs or research institutes.

Loughborough University will supply grants to assist SMEs to get specialist support in the UK and in Europe. The University of Derby will provide direct research and development consultancy help; to address technical and design issues, prototyping and tooling equipment upgrades.

This will develop knowledge in the transport equipment manufacturing sector, by providing it with additional intensive support.

The announcement follows the recent news that another three-year project – ‘Enabling Innovation’ – to be delivered by D2N2 LEP area universities Derby, Nottingham and Nottingham Trent, will also help more than 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with research and innovation. This project will cost £20.3m in total, £10.1m of that again coming via D2N2’s ERDF allocation and the remainder from the universities delivering the project.

The D2N2 Growth Hub will be supporting both projects, in helping those delivering them engage with SMEs. The Growth Hub supports new and established SMEs with help in business strategy and growth, marketing, networking and accessing funding for expansion; using its regional and national business networks to enable businesses to find the right help.

The Growth Hub can be contacted about the two projects on 0333 006 9178 or by email to info@d2n2growthhub.co.uk.

Peter Richardson, Chairman of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “These two projects will help hundreds of SMEs gain the expert help they need, to innovate and grow their businesses. This will create jobs in our key economic sectors, including transport equipment manufacturing, food and drink, and creative and digital.

“The LEP has an over-arching target of helping create 55,000 additional private sector jobs over ten years and grow the number of businesses, and these projects are a significant boost towards that; making use of the excellent academic and industry know-how in our area.”

Professor Paul Stewart – Research Chair in Energy and Environment, and Programme Lead for both projects at the University of Derby – added: “The ‘Enabling Innovation’ and ‘Transport Equipment Manufacturing’ projects bring together a key collaboration of East Midlands’ universities; whose over-arching objective is to deliver enhanced levels of innovation, competitiveness and profitability for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the entire D2N2 area.

“The D2N2 area is a key focus for road, rail and air original equipment manufacturers and SME supply chains. We are looking forward to developing this project with our delivery partner Loughborough University, and contributing to SME development and growth in this vital sector for the regional and UK economy.”

Posted in Business

Working Towards an Active Derbyshire

27th May 2016

Derbyshire Sport has made tackling inactivity the number one priority in its new draft strategy for 2016 to 2021, Towards an Active Derbyshire.

The ambition is to engage 50,000 more people in physical activity and sport over the next five years as a response to a decline across the county in those getting regularly active.

The strategy acts as a call to action for partners and communities across Derbyshire to help address big inequalities in participation from one area to another.

It also sets out women, young people and those from lower socio economic groups as clear priorities.

“There is a need to work differently, understanding the attitudes, fears and barriers that stop people becoming more active and engaged in sport,” said Hayley, Lever, Director of Derbyshire Sport.

“We want organisations and people across Derbyshire to support and encourage less active people on a journey to happier and healthier lives.”

“There is a growing recognition nationally, that, for many people, activity and sport simply isn’t on their radar. Even for those who are engaged, many factors get in the way and people need information, support, encouragement and help to motivate and nudge them to change their lifestyles.”

The draft strategy, open for public consultation until June 20, calls for a commitment to change at every level and across sectors, including health, transport, business and planning, as well as sport and recreation.

It supports Sport England’s new strategy released last week – Towards an Active Nation 2016-2021 – which outlines that future investment will target seven key areas: tackling inactivity, children and young people, taking sport and activity to the mass market, supporting sport’s core markets, local delivery and creating welcoming sports facilities.

As part of its fresh approach, Derbyshire Sport has also adopted a new constitution and board, which features openly-recruited skills-based members.

New board chair Kathryn Mitchell added: “I’m delighted to join the new Derbyshire Sport board as Chair at this time of exciting change in the landscape of activity and sport.

“We welcome the opportunity to support the Sport England vision, working with our partners locally to create positive and sustainable changes for those living, working and visiting Derbyshire.”

The draft strategy, Towards an Active Derbyshire, can be viewed and downloaded by visiting the Derbyshire Sport website and searching for Derbyshire Physical Activity and Sport Strategy 2016-2021.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure