Tickets are now available for a public event where residents will get the chance to question Derbyshire County Council’s Leader about proposed changes to the Derbyshire library service.

Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis will answer questions submitted before and during the event being held at Chesterfield Library on Saturday 21 July 2018 between 2pm and 3.30pm.

Tickets are free but must be booked in advance, with people being able to apply for two tickets each.

The event is part of a 12-week consultation that Derbyshire County Council are holding for Derbyshire residents to have their say on proposed changes which include transferring 20 libraries out of a total of 45, and the mobile library service, to community management.

Other proposals include a reduction in weekly opening hours across the library service, a reduction in the materials fund (books, audio books, eBooks, eMagazines, eAudio, online resources like Newsbank and newspapers), considering the future implementation of Smart libraries and stopping the DVD hire loan service.

Derbyshire County Council are proposing the changes to achieve savings of £1.6m from the library service budget by 2021 and to ensure its library service reflects changes to the way people access information and books using new technology.

Councillor Lewis said:

“I have already met some Derbyshire residents at drop-in sessions to hear their thoughts on our proposals and this will be a good opportunity for me to answer people’s questions and hopefully allay any anxieties.

“These proposals are about securing the future of Derbyshire libraries and I’ve been clear that no libraries will close on my watch.

“I’d encourage anyone with an interest to come along to the public question and answer session and listen to what we have to say. Anyone can submit a question beforehand, even if they are unable to attend the event.”

People can submit questions in advance by email libraryquestions@derbyshire.gov.uk and there will also be an opportunity to ask questions on the day.

Paper copies of the consultation questionnaire will also be available at the event for people to fill in if they are unable to do this online.

The public question and answer session is just one event being held as part of the consultation.

Drop-in sessions have now been held at county libraries and focus groups are being set up in all 20 areas which have a library proposed for community management, with places still available. More details of how to register for a focus group are on the `libraries for Derbyshire’ web pages.

A separate focus group, concentrating on just the mobile library service, is being held at County Hall on Wednesday 11 July at 6pm.

If there is a lack of support for the proposals, the library service would need to review all aspects of the current service it provides, which could potentially lead to further significant reductions being made to opening hours, staffing, the materials fund and mobile library service. This could result in some libraries being open for less than one day a week with few or no new books or resources added to stock. However, if any further reduction proposals of this sort were to be put forward later on, these would then be subject to further consultation before any decision was made.

The consultation runs until Monday 30 July 2018.

A planning application has been submitted seeking permission to create a 3G multi-use artificial sports pitch on part of the former Queen’s Park Sports Centre site in Chesterfield.

The plan by Chesterfield Borough Council would see the rest of the area landscaped to form an extension to the existing grade two star listed park. It follows a public consultation held in late 2016 which supported an all-weather pitch being the preferred use of the site.

Councillor Chris Ludlow, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said:-

“Queen’s Park is Chesterfield’s key park so a lot of time and effort has gone in to ensuring that the plans being submitted fit in sympathetically to the historic park setting and are true to the ethos of this area being used for health and wellbeing activities.

“By having a 3G multi-use artificial sports pitch we can meet a need identified by Sport England for more of these pitches in the borough, as well as contribute to the council’s priority of promoting health and wellbeing.

“Chesterfield has some of the worst health statistics in the country across a range of indicators, including child obesity, low levels of physical activity, poor diets and excessive alcohol use. By offering facilities like this in a town centre location we can provide more opportunities for people to lead healthier lives.”

The all-weather artificial pitch would be built to standards approved by the Football Association and be suitable for seven-a-side games or be split in half to be used for two five-a-side games.

The pitch would be sited to make the fencing and lighting less visible from within Queen’s Park and nearby properties. The floodlights would be designed to reduce light emissions, with the fencing and lighting in dark colours to blend in with the park environment.

The remaining area would be landscaped with trees, shrubs, bedding plants and grass so it is closer to the original park design by William Barron that was in place before the old Queen’s Park Sports Centre was built in 1968.

The landscaping will also involve:

• Walls, railings and a new pedestrian entrance to the park being installed where the site joins Boythorpe Road. These will match existing walls and railings further along the road. The new entrance will prevent users from having to walk through the car park to visit the park.
• The existing listed entrance gate near the Queen’s Park South car park, which has the crest of the borough of Chesterfield on it, will be restored and then moved to the new pedestrian entrance point

Following a public consultation period, which will also include consultation with statutory bodies including Historic England, the planning application is expected to be considered by Chesterfield Borough Council’s planning committee in a few months’ time.

Councillor Ludlow added:-

“If the plans are approved then we will be consulting with local sports groups and bodies to encourage as much use of the pitch as possible so that we can bring the maximum health benefits to the community as possible.”

Chesterfield’s Amigos Team Parker racing ace Seb Perez showed how it was done when he travelled to Oulton Park in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB Championship over the 9th – 10th June.

The 18 year old took an impressive victory in race one in the Pro Am title at Oulton Park, his third win of the season was complemented by yet another podium spot in race two, taking third place after an intense battle for the lead, meaning he leaves the Cheshire circuit just seven points shy of the championship lead.

Last month Perez made a double win too at the legendry Monza GP Circuit in Italy and headed to Oulton Park with one thing on his mind “to win”

In his free practice sessions Perez struggled to find an ideal set up for the  Amigos Team Parker Porsche 911 GT3 race car and qualified 11th, fourth fastest ProAm driver on the grid for race one on Saturday afternoon.

After a fantastic start he put pressure on the three Pro AM drivers ahead of him dropping into third place in the opening stages of the 18 lap race.

Perez was in a prime position waiting for the two leading contenders to make a mistake on the undulating and notoriously narrow track, it wasn’t long before they got tangled up and Perez took the move into number one slot.

There he would remain to take win number three in his maiden Carrera Cup GB season.

Sunday afternoons race two saw blistering temperatures with a track temperature of around 28 degrees, this was a challenge for Perez and the other Porsche drivers and there 485hp super racers.

Perez remained cool knowing that there was another possibility of a podium starting from sixth on the grid, once the lights went to green he charged down the pack and stayed close behind team mate Nottinghamshire’s George Gamble but couldn’t hold off a charging Jamie Orton who made his move on lap 11.

Worse was to come when Perez out-braked himself at the bottom hairpin, spinning in the process.

The closing laps saw him give a fiery comeback crossing the line in third and safeguarding another podium in the process to ensure another well deserved third position in Pro AM.

After the race Perez said,

“It’s been a tough weekend all round to be honest but I’m really pleased that I made the most of it, no matter what was thrown at me.

“I had a difficult race one and I didn’t have the initial pace that Id hoped for but worked hard to keep that race lead once I’d got hold of it and that can be just as hard as trying to make inroads on your position. It was certainly well earned. As for race two, I was disappointed with my error, so it was important to salvage something from that. It’s such a narrow circuit so overtaking is very hard here and third was as good as I could hope for in the circumstances. Its been a great weekend overall and we are in a really strong position in the championship which is encouraging at this stage of the season”.

Perez leaves Oulton Park in third place ProAm and third place Rookie driver

Amigos Team Parker Racing retains its second place in the Entrant Championship as the series enjoys a six-week break before it returns at the end of July (28-29) to Snetterton for rounds nine and ten where all the action will be live on ITV4.

Editorial and Images by Paul Horton Motorsport Media and Photography

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

The event, which is organised by Derbyshire County Council, is aimed at students aged 13 to 19, including those in year 11 who are considering their options after school.

Derbyshire Skills Festival is the largest careers event for young people in Derbyshire and this year it is being held at the Proact Stadium on Wednesday 26 September 2018 – the event will run from 3.30pm to 8pm.There will also be sessions for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and young people who are not in education, employment or training will also be invited.

Councillor Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Young People at Derbyshire County Council, said:-

“We’re getting ready for what’s promising to be another fantastic Derbyshire Skills Festival this year and now is the time for providers to book their space.

“Each year the festival attracts more than 11,000 visitors making it a great place for employers, education and training providers and voluntary organisations to showcase what they can offer to young people thinking about their future career.”

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. As well as workshops to help them with job applications and employment skills.

On Saturday July 7^th, thousands of Markovitz Sparkle Night walkers, wearing bright pink t-shirts and flashing bunny ears, will take to the streets of Chesterfield to raise money for their local hospice, Ashgate Hospicecare which is based in Old Brampton, Chesterfield, but looks after patients and their families all across North Derbyshire.

Walkers will start to arrive at the Proact Stadium from 7:30pm, where Jake Quickenden will be performing later that evening. They will then begin walking from the Proact Stadium at 10pm, and the 10 kilometre route will take walkers along the A61 bypass, part of which will be closed to make way for the walkers and the entertainment strip, and will wind all the way down to Hasland, before circling back towards the town centre and finishing back at the Proact Stadium.

Linda and Theresa have been walking Ashgate Hospicecare’s night walks for 7 years in memory of Linda’s son, David, who died at the Hospice at the age of 24.

Linda said:-

“It’s one day a year when we can do something in David’s memory and do something for the Hospice. We always get David’s photo printed on our t-shirts. Even though everybody is doing the walk for their loved ones, it’s a fun walk, not a sad walk. We have a laugh. Everybody’s in good spirits and we always speak to people we’ve never met before. It’s lovely.

“David was diagnosed with a condition called neurofibromatosis at birth. This caused him to have a brain tumour at the age of 24. He was having migraines and this went on for a couple of weeks. We went to see a doctor and was referred to Sheffield for an operation, but when they went in to operate, they realised that they couldn’t do anything as the tumour was on his brain stem. He died more or less a week after that operation which was such a shock; we didn’t even know that David’s condition was terminal. Sheffield transferred him to Ashgate after his operation. He woke up, but he had brain damage so his speech was slurred and he needed help with feeding.

“When David arrived at Ashgate, they were still looking at what they could do to get him home. The plan was to get him up on his feet playing snooker as there used to be a snooker table in here. He had his own room at the Hospice, it was a big room and all his family and all his friends could come and be with him as much as they liked. Having the time and space for us all to be with David at the end was so important and it’ll stay with us all forever.

“When he died, it was very peaceful and the nurses made sure of that. The day before he died, he seemed to perk up. He was joking and trying to laugh. We’d got the telly on and he was trying to dance to the telly in his bed which gave his brothers, Michael and Paul, the chance to enjoy those final days with David. That night they gave Paul a pop up bed so that he could stay next to him overnight. David was very close to his whole family and, as the years have gone by, being able to spend that quality time with him at the end has been really comforting for all of us. After he died, the Hospice offered counselling to his whole family, which was really helpful.

“For somebody like me who’s grieving, doing the Sparkle Night Walk really helps me; having the whole community coming together and doing something positive. You feel like everybody who is walking at Sparkle is in the same boat. There’s always somebody you know who has had cancer or another awful disease. Even if you’ve not experienced bereavement yourself, there are always people you know who might need Ashgate.

“It seems a long time, 11 years, since David died, but it’s not for me. I’ll never get over it. It feels sometimes like people think you should get over it, but he’s my son so he’ll always be with me. Remembering David at the Sparkle Night Walk is special for us in so many ways, and so we’ll continue to walk it and continue to support the Hospice as long as it’s going.”

Whether you’re an individual, a group of friends or a local business team, you can help to bring hospice care to local people by joining our 10km Markovitz Sparkle Night Walk on Saturday 7^th July 2018.

Chesterfield Champion Addooco is delighted to announce its latest recruit, Elliot Firth, who will be taking on a business development role in the organisation. The role has been created to supplement the sustained growth and development of the company.

Elliot’s main role will be the promotion of the Addooco Clear Skies Platform to new and existing partners.  Addooco’s cloud is called Clear Skies and it is built on an array of self-owned infrastructure by in-house engineers.  The primary data centre is Telehouse North which is UK based and one of the most heavily connected data centres in the World.  Clear Skies is built with resilience in mind and incorporates multiple layers of redundant equipment with automated failover.  Data security is at its forefront, with many layers of physical data centre security in place and cyber security measures applied. Unless specified otherwise, data is guaranteed to remain on UK shores.

Elliot has a strong track record in similar roles and brings great skills and experience to the team. He will help to create awareness of the Addooco brand and Make IT Happen for its partners.

Elliot said:-

“I am delighted to have been given this great opportunity to join Addooco. Addooco have been extremely successful since opening 10 years ago and I am excited to help the business grow further and continue to be successful for many years to come.”

Big-hearted Chesterfield traders raised their voices in support of a new campaign to raise awareness of cancer symptoms and screening.

‘Be Cancer Safe’ is a community approach to improving cancer survival in South Yorkshire, Bassetlaw and North Derbyshire.

Hannah Sharpe, Chesterfield’s ‘Be Cancer Safe’ Project Worker, explains:-

“The aim of the ‘Be Cancer Safe’ campaign is to get as many people as possible talking about signs, symptoms and screening.  Experts say that one in two of us will have cancer during our lifetime, but the good news is that the earlier a cancer is diagnosed the higher the likelihood of successful treatment and survival.

“Our job is to spread this message to as many people as possible, particularly in areas and amongst population groups where take-up of screening is low.”

Mick Watson of The Crown and Cushion and Kurt Russell from Crawshaws Butchers, on a recent busy market day, swapped their usual sales banter for messages of support for the campaign.  Shouts of “Be safe, don’t be sorry,” and “Don’t be a chancer when it comes to cancer,” rang out across the market place, encouraging shoppers to visit Hannah’s stall where she gave away information cards describing symptoms of the five most common cancers.

Mick said:-

“Me and Kurt usually compete for attention when we’re trading, being loud comes naturally to us. We were pleased to help; these messages affect so many people. I’ve taken leaflets for the pub to help my customers too.”

Launched in April, the campaign has already provided information about early cancer symptoms to hundreds of people across North Derbyshire, with over 400 pledging to pass those messages on to friends and family.

North Derbyshire’s ‘Be Cancer Safe’ team is based at Derbyshire Voluntary Action’s offices in Chesterfield.  They are looking for opportunities to visit businesses, community groups and organisations across the area to offer information sessions.