About Chesterfield

New director of recruitment and development for Chesterfield FC

4th April 2017

Guy Branston has been appointed as Chesterfield’s new director of recruitment and development.

Commenting on the appointment, director & company secretary Ashley Carson said: “With 18 players out of contract in the summer, it was vital that we brought someone in with the necessary qualities to work with Gary Caldwell on recruitment.

“We interviewed three quality candidates and Guy convinced us that he was the right man for the role. We were very impressed with his knowledge and enthusiasm and I have no doubt that he will prove to be a valuable addition to the management team.

“We have been without a scouting network since Paul Mitchell left the club, leaving Gary with very little information when it came to recruiting players in January. Extensive research will now be carried out by Guy before any players are brought to the club, giving us the best possible chance of having a successful recruitment policy.”

Branston, who has been involved in coaching and recruitment since retiring from playing three years ago, set up an an online database for recruitment. After scouting for Scunthorpe United and Plymouth Argyle, he had three seasons as head of recruitment at Notts County.

Branston is very excited about the challenge he is faced with, saying: “I’ve already started to plan and I have identified some players who I have recommended to Gary.

“We spent a lot of time talking about things that need to change and things that need to be implemented to take the club forward. We have to start working straight away, putting plans in place for the summer.”

The holder of a UEFA A Licence, Branston started his playing career at Leicester City and had spells at various clubs including Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United.

Destination Chesterfield: Chesterfield Football Club B2net stadium match day experience.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Chesterfield apprentice wins AMRC Training Centre ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award

4th April 2017

A Chesterfield apprentice has become the first female apprentice to win the Apprentice of the Year’ award supported by Boeing at the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) Training Centre’s ‘Apprentice of the Year’ awards held at the University of Sheffield (30 March).

Leigh Worsdale (18) from Ashgate, works as an apprentice Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Builder for Foxwood Diesel, based in Whittington in Chesterfield. As well as winning the overall Apprentice of the Year title, Leigh also won the First Year Apprentice of the Year award. As part of her win, Leigh will visit Boeing’s factory in Washington State, outside Seattle, to see first-hand how the global aerospace company designs, tests and builds its 737 aircraft.

The Apprentice of the Year award, which is supported by Boeing, uses nominations from apprentice employers and trainers and is judged by a panel of members of the AMRC Training Centre staff and award sponsors.

Judges were ‘overwhelmingly’ impressed by Leigh’s confidence and spoke about how she continuously seeks ways to improve her workplace and its processes. Leigh has been responsible for introducing a number of incentives at Foxwood Diesel that have helped to improve the business.

Speaking at about her Apprentice of the Year award win, Leigh said: “I was shocked to win as there was such strong competition, but it’s amazing and I am over the moon. It feels great to have my work recognised by people in the industry outside Foxwood Diesel. It was an amazing feeling to hear my name called on night and I can’t believe that I am going to Boeing’s factory in America. I am really interested in aeroplanes so am looking forward to the visit and particularly to the Boeing museum.”

Foxwood Diesel Managing Director, Ken Worsdale said she was ‘enthusiastic, dedicated to the company and well in advance of her training plan.’

Leigh, a former Brookfield Community School student applied for an apprenticeship after her GCSEs because she wanted to gain experience while getting paid. She was inspired by the facilities at the AMRC Training Centre after attending one of the centre’s open days with her school.

Leigh will complete her apprenticeship this summer and hopes to go on and do a Level 4 Apprenticeship. She added: “I love what I do and really enjoy working in the industry. It is very hands on and the engine building aspect means you can get really involved.”

She was awarded an apprenticeship under the Close Brothers SME Apprentice Programme, which contributes to the cost of apprentices to help SMEs recruit and train a new generation of advanced engineers.

Leigh said her highlights from the Training Centre were meeting new people with the same interests and learning about maintenance and the tech support in engineering.

Find out more about apprenticeships in Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business

Banner Elected to Lead the Law Management Section Committee of the Law Society

30th March 2017

Robert Banner, Executive Director of law firm Banner Jones, has been elected as Chairman of the Law Society’s Law Management Section Committee for the fourth year running – making him the longest standing Chairman of the Committee.

The Committee’s function is to provide members with support, advice and expert assistance to enable their firms to progress as efficiently and as profitably as possible in the current legal market place. Its offering is aimed at partners, leaders and practice managers in law firms, and is provided by way of magazines, webinars, e-newsletters, pod casts, conferences and networking opportunities.

Having joined the Section’s Executive Committee in 2010, he took over as Chair from his predecessor, Chris Hart, in 2014. He sits alongside 15 other expert members, including managing partners and nationally known legal consultants – including Vice Chair, Anne Harrison, who is Chairwoman of top 150 law firm Stephensons Solicitors LLP.

In addition to his work with the Law Society, Robert has been an active member of the management team at law firm Banner Jones for more than 25-years, during which time the firm has grown from three partners to 17 directors; and from one office to six offices throughout South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

He said:-

“It is a privilege to have been appointed as Chair of the Law Management Section Committee for the fourth year running, and I very much look forward to sitting alongside my fellow committee members to ensure that our members continue to have access to the very best support and advice to help further their professional development.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Coffee morning for asbestos sufferers proves a success

29th March 2017

Chesterfield based UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) hosted a Coffee Morning for the Derbyshire Asbestos Support Team (DAST) earlier this month in support of victims of mesothelioma and family members bereaved as a result of the asbestos related disease. The event this year proved a great success, not least due to the involvement of art therapist Yana Ng.

DAST host several coffee mornings every year, giving those living with mesothelioma the opportunity to get together and meet others in the same situation. On this occasion, attendees were able to take part in a practical workshop which allowed attendees to express feelings and emotions through art.

Victoria Castelluccio, Marketing Officer at UKATA, said :-

“UKATA is proud to support DAST and the valuable work they do.

“While we regularly support these Coffee Mornings, Yana’s input as an art psychotherapist resulted in a successful workshop and appreciated by all. UKATA continues to campaign on the importance of asbestos awareness training and helping charities like DAST remains important to us. They do so much for the victims of mesothelioma and their families, forced to live with the impact and aftermath of this terrible condition.”

Speakers and medical professionals regularly attend the DAST Coffee Mornings to answer people’s questions in an informal setting and this time it was the turn of art psychotherapist Yana Ng from the University of Derby, who uses her skills to positively impact the mental health of those taking part.

DAST supports anyone diagnosed with an asbestos related disease with their unique support services. The charity helps with benefits uptake, government compensation schemes and advice on making a civil compensation claim. DAST have resources to help those with respiratory diseases manage their condition and live the fullest lives possible and act as a support group by arranging meetings and coffee mornings like the ones held at UKATA.

Victoria added:-

“DAST Coffee Mornings allow UKATA to do what we can for those living with asbestos related illness.

“These events are a reminder of how important our national training campaigns are but we can never lose sight of the people living with the impact of asbestos related illness today.”

Posted in About Chesterfield

Top 50 SMEs in North Derbyshire announced

29th March 2017

BHP Accountants recently released their Top 50 survey of the most profitable SMEs in North Derbyshire, which showcases many of the region’s most successful businesses, that all contribute hugely to the local economy.

Download the Top 50 SMEs in North Derbyshire

The services and manufacturing sectors dominate the table this year, with the largest turnover figures of £272million and £130million respectively, followed by the wholesale sector which has a £118million turnover and the retail sector which has a £101million turnover.

Retail businesses have outperformed other industries this year, with a 13% increase in turnover, a 17% increase in pre-tax profits and a 43% increase in employee numbers. This is very encouraging news for the retail sector, which has demonstrated good growth patterns lately, after years of poor performance.

Overall the manufacturing sector has experienced a 3% fall in turnover, but an 8% growth in pre-tax profits, and 10% growth in employee numbers. With many companies in this sector reporting growth in profits and employee numbers, it’s largely very positive news for manufacturing, and this should enable further investment in the sector.

The services sector also continues to grow steadily, with an 8% growth in annual turnover, although there has been considerable pressure on profits, with a 13% annual decrease. This has therefore resulted in a decline in employment figures of 8%.

This year there have been 15 new entrants from varying sectors in the Top 50 table, the highest is for Pbst Limited, a financial services firm in 13^th place, followed by Cloudbass Limited, which provides solutions to the broadcast market, and came 22^nd in the table.

Dominic Staniforth, Partner at BHP Accountacts said “In general, it’s still a favourable fiscal environment for investment, with both the Capital Allowances and Annual Investment Allowance helping to support growth, and the continued low interest rate economy should help to encourage further growth and stimulate investment.

However, the uncertainty surrounding post Brexit implications for the economy will keep playing on many peoples’ minds, so we will have to wait and see what impact these factors will have on the attitude of business owners throughout 2017.”

” In summary, there will no doubt be both challenges and opportunities ahead for all of the companies in this year’s Top 50, but having worked with and advised many of them during my career, I am confident that these North Derbyshire SMEs will continue to succeed and benefit the local economy greatly. ”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Reaction to triggering of Article 50

29th March 2017

Prime Minister Theresa May is being urged to keep business needs paramount in negotiations for Britain’s exit from the EU following the triggering of Article 50.

Scott Knowles, the Chief Executive of East Midlands Chamber, said:-

“To all intents and purposes, everything that has gone before has been rhetoric – the negotiations begin in earnest today.

“In January, at her first regional Cabinet Meeting when she launched the Industrial Strategy Green Paper, Mrs May gave a strong indication that the needs of business would play a prominent part in Brexit negotiations.

“Today, we are urging her to continue to heed the voice of business throughout the negotiations to ensure the UK not only remains a great place for global investment but also so that British businesses are not disadvantaged either during talks or once Brexit is achieved.”

The Chamber has thrown its weight behind the British Chambers of Commerce’s published Brexit priorities.

Using data collated from surveys around the country, BCC set out a series of wants from business in key areas of concern, offering evidence of the importance of a business perspective for each.

All 52 accredited Chambers around the country contributed to the work using information gathered from their own Quarterly Economic Surveys.

Scott said:-

“This is a very detailed piece of work which clearly sets out the demands of business in seven key areas.

“Business is the creator of wealth and jobs and the driver of regional and national economies and, as such, it should be the loudest voice during exit negotiations.”

The BCC Business Brexit Priorities agenda lists the seven key areas as trade, customs, tax, regulations, labour market, EU funding and the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Best foot forward for walking festival

28th March 2017

Local people and visitors to Chesterfield can get out their walking boots as the Chesterfield Area Walking Festival returns for another successful year.

This year’s festival runs from Saturday 6 to Sunday 14 May with walks taking place each day.

There is a variety of walks to suit all ages and levels of fitness ranging from a family ramble of two to three miles to a trek of 34 miles, all in the beautiful Derbyshire countryside.

Highlights include the George Stephenson walk taking in places of interest connected with the ‘Father of Railways’ who made Chesterfield his home and a Bumblebee Safari to find out more about these endangered insects – and see how many they can find.

Most walks are free and all are led by an experienced walk leader who knows the history, wildlife and the best places to walk.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy said:-

“As a council two of our key priorities are to offer activities to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents and to make Chesterfield a thriving borough.

“The Chesterfield Area Walking Festival does both by giving people of all ages and abilities the chance to take part in the various walks on offer and also attracts people to come and visit the borough and the surrounding areas to admire the wonderful scenery and find out more about the places from the experienced walk leaders.”

For more information on the festival click here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Visiting

New occupier for former BHS Store

27th March 2017

TJ Hughes will open its doors for the first time at Vicar Lane Shopping Centre on 13^thApril, taking over the former BHS unit.

This new addition to the shopping centre will bring 50 management, full and part time jobs to Chesterfield. TJ Hughes is renowned for selling famous brands at discounted prices, specialising in home, fashion, fragrances, cosmetics, technology and electrical goods.

To celebrate the store opening on 13^th April, there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony with a visit from the Mayor of Chesterfield and the Town Crier. There will also be enticing opening offers across all ranges throughout the store on the day along with a raffle where entrants can win an Easter hamper.

Shaun Brown, the Operations Manager at Vicar Lane says, “we are very excited for the arrival of TJ Hughes. It is just what Vicar Lane needed and will be a great new addition to our current tenant mix. We are delighted to be able to offer this new experience for our shoppers and I am sure it shall be very popular and successful”.

To coincide with the new store opening, ad bikes have been booked to distribute leaflets containing information and offers to the surrounding area. Peak FM radio will also be featuring the new TJ Hughes store in the lead up to the new store opening.

Anil Juneja, Managing Director at TJ Hughes says, “We are delighted to be opening our 29^thstore in Chesterfield and our aim is to provide savvy shoppers with top brands at affordable and competitive prices”.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Leisure, Visiting

Perez all geared up for Brands Hatch

27th March 2017

17 year old Chesterfield motor racing ace Seb Perez is in gear for his first race of the season this weekend at Brands Hatch in the Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship.

Out of the three official test sessions at Brands Hatch just over a week ago he got into the top 5 in official testing out of the 16 drivers present, where he showed strong pace and fighting spirit in his first test session of the new 2017 season Ginetta GT4 SuperCup.

With a brand new car and championship ahead of him this season Perez lapped the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch in 47.859 seconds and a top speed of 105.3mph and completing some 71 laps of the 1.2079 mile circuit.

Driving for his old team this season again, JHR Developments Perez continues his relationship with them and has taken a step forward in his motor racing career, he has moved to the more powerful Ginetta G55 race car and the GT4 Supercup Championship.

The new car and championship will be a learning curve for Perez, the car is bigger and more powerful and an even more challenging championship.

For the past two seasons Perez has competed in the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship, Seb’s first full season in a Ginetta G40 race car back in 2015 saw him get top ten finishes at Croft and Snetterton, part of eleven top 15 places for the season. He finished 20th in the final standings.

After 25 rounds of the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship in 2016, Perez finished the championship in 10th place with 339 points, taking his maiden pole position, a fastest race lap and four podiums, a first and three third places.

Perez made the transition from rallying to racing and following in petrol head Father’s motor sport footsteps at the end of 2014 where is raced a Ginetta at Brands Hatch in the final round of the series and part of a support race to the British Touring Car Championship.

He finished 18th and 16th for a first outing in a new car and totally different to driving through forests in a rally car.

Perez comments:-

“My last two seasons with Ginetta, have been fantastic.”

When asked about the new car and championship for 2017, he added:-

“I’ve learnt alot in the Ginetta G40 race car in Ginetta Juniors over the last two seasons and the circuits we have travelled too, so I’m hoping that experience will come in handy when it comes to picking up more podium positions in the new car.

“I’ve got a great team behind me with JHR Developments, and I’m really looking forward to getting back out on track.”

Motor sport is no stranger to Perez Jnr, son of 2014 BTRDA Gold Star Rally Champion Steve Perez, who has competed in the Kick Energy Junior 1000 Rally Championship at the wheel of a Nissan Micra rally car. The series is backed by Father Steve’s Global Brands business based in Chesterfield

The 17 year old is a student at Loughborough College, home of the UK’s Motor Sports Association Academy (MSA) studying Business, Sports Science and Motorsport Engineering.

Whilst Seb has been busy preparing for this weekend on circuit, Father Steve has been busy rallying in Spain in his 1974 Lancia Stratos HF rally car and has seen him finish 3rd on the Oris Rally Classic of Puerto Portals two weeks ago and last weekend finishing 6th on Rally Costa Brava.

Seb starts his attack this weekend at Brands Hatch with 3 races, two on Saturday and one on Sunday that’s live on TV in the 2017 Michelin Ginetta GT4 SuperCup Championship, a 23 round series ran over 8 race weekends and is a support race to the British Touring Car Championship.

The whole race season is televised live on the Sunday on ITV4.

He then races at local circuit Donington Park over the weekend of 15th and 16th April

All eyes with be on Seb in his challenge to become the next Ginetta GT4 Supercup Champion by the end of September 2017.

Editorial and Images by Paul Horton Motorsport Media and Photography

Posted in About Chesterfield

Local student tops British Junior Fencing rankings

27th March 2017

Derbyshire Icon, Matthew Cooper, has moved to the top of the British Junior Fencing rankings after a wonderful performance in the Junior European Fencing Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria this week.

Matthew, a Dentistry student at Sheffield University and former Henry Fanshawe School pupil, fences at Wingerworth and Derbyshire Epee Academy fencing clubs, based around the Chesterfield area.

Matt took up the sport of fencing four and a half years ago when he joined an after school fencing club run by his coach Anthony Klenczar, his performance trajectory has been on the up ever since, in the four and a half years Matt has won national medals at cadet, junior, Under 23 and senior level; he has represented Great Britain at junior and cadet level but finishing 12^th at the Junior European championships this week has topped his short fencing career to date.

Matt says:-

“I took up the sport after having competed at swimming at county level. I was fortunate to find the sport; its not something that is main stream but really should be in my opinion.

“Fencing is a sport young people should try before they get into other main stream sports, it offers unrivalled challenges and opportunities to compete at a high level.”

Coach Anthony Klenczar comments:-

“I am immensely proud of Matt’s achievements, it is the result of hard work over a short space of time; at eighteen years of age the future looks bright for Matt, he has set himself some tough goals for the future which I am sure he will achieve.”

Posted in About Chesterfield

Route for Women’s Tour Stage 4 in Derbyshire announced

24th March 2017

Further details of the Derbyshire stage of this year’s Women’s Tour have been announced.

Organisers finalised the route after driving it as part of a nationwide “recce” of the five-stage race.

Top women cyclists from across the globe are set to take to Derbyshire’s roads on Saturday, 10 June 2017, to battle it out for first place in the penultimate stage of the hotly-contested race.

As the Tour’s toughest stage, it will take in a wide mix of rural and urban areas starting and finishing in Chesterfield and passing through some of the county’s best-known market towns including Belper, Bolsover and Wirksworth.

Today organisers named the locations of some of the stage’s most exciting elements − the Eisberg Sprints and SKODA Queen of the Mountains sections.

Eisberg Sprints will take place in Belper and Staveley, while the SKODA Queen of the Mountains climbs will be in Crich and Middleton Top. Final details are due to be confirmed in May.

Women’s Tour Stage 4 Route – Courtesy of Derbyshire Sport

Derbyshire County Council, cabinet member for highways, transport and infrastructure Councillor Dean Collins said:

“Bringing this prestigious race back to Derbyshire is a great opportunity for us to showcase the county on an international stage.

“The best cyclists from around the world will be competing to win what’s going to be a very tough stage and I’d urge everyone to get involved.

“This year it takes in lots of places it didn’t visit last year, including Bolsover and Staveley, and now we know the exact route families can plan the best place to watch it from. I hope people will come along and enjoy everything it offers − a very exciting event in one of the country’s most spectacular counties.”

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said:

“This is going to be a great weekend for people in Chesterfield and Derbyshire with The Women’s Tour, the RHS Flower Show at Chatsworth House and the Race for Life taking place in Chesterfield on the Sunday.

“There will be lots of places for people to follow the action of The Women’s Tour with the start and finish in Chesterfield town centre and I’m particularly pleased that the route will go through Staveley this year − allowing residents to join in the excitement.

“We are planning cycle and fitness activities and we will be releasing details about them closer to the event.”

Women’s secretary of the Bolsover and District Cycling Club, Jay Stocks, said the whole club was excited to see the race coming to their “patch” and would be out in force to support it.

She said:

“It’s even more accessible because it’s on a Saturday this time, so more people will be able to come and see it.

“We have some cracking hills around here with amazing views and we’ll be riding the route ourselves before the race.”

All of the world’s top 15 teams will take part in the race, which is a part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour. It includes the world’s number one team Boels Dolmans, of defending race champion Lizzie Deignan (formerly Armitstead), ensuring British fans can again look forward to cheering on the world’s best riders.

In addition the British-based Drops and Sheffield-based WNT teams will complete the 17-team field.

Highlights of every stage will be broadcast on ITV4 and available on demand via the ITV Hub.

Mick Bennett, race director for The Women’s Tour said:

“We’re delighted to be returning to Chesterfield and Derbyshire after the success of last year’s stage. With the stage coming on a weekend we’re hoping it will be even bigger and better than ever.”

Find out more about the event here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting