About Chesterfield

Plans for Northern Gateway regeneration in development

Chesterfield Borough Council is seeking the views of interested parties to bring forward the development of the Northern Gateway regeneration scheme.

The council has appointed Chesterfield-based architects WCEC Group to come up with designs of how Elder Way could be developed to make it a more attractive environment for residents, shoppers and visitors.

WCEC is holding meetings with groups including taxi drivers, bus companies and businesses on Elder Way to find out what types of landscape improvements they would like to see in the development of Knifesmithgate, Elder Way and parts of Saltergate outside the former Co-op department store.

No decisions have yet been made on what will be included in the area.

Following the consultation meetings WCEC will produce a proposed design of how the area could be redesigned. The plans will form the basis of a public consultation with residents that will be held in late March.

The landscape improvement works will be partly funded by a £5.83 million grant from the Sheffield City Region Investment Fund.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said:-

“The Northern Gateway scheme is key to regenerating the northern side of the town centre and is set to create around 500 jobs for local people.

“We are keen to hear the views of groups who work day-to-day in the area to see what improvements will benefit them before gaining the views of residents.

“We are really pleased to be working with a Chesterfield company on this scheme as they have extensive local knowledge and are in the best position to help bring the vision for the site to reality.”

Andy Dabbs, Design Director of WCEC, commented:-

“We are delighted to have been appointed on such an important project in a town that is also our home!

“The importance of this regeneration project cannot be underestimated and we are looking forward to working closely with the council and their stakeholders in delivering what we will be a landmark development for Chesterfield.”

The Northern Gateway scheme will see the development of the former Co-op department store and a new enterprise centre on the site of the current Holywell Cross (Donut) car park to help more local businesses to grow, complementing the existing innovation centres at Dunston and Tapton Park.

The first stage of work has been carried out on the refurbishment of the Saltergate multi-storey car park with further work expected to take place later in the year.

Northern Gateway Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Bottle & Thyme to expand workforce following ‘overwhelming response’ from customers

The owners of one of Chesterfield’s newest bar and restaurants, Bottle & Thyme, are looking to expand their workforce just one month after opening due to the ‘overwhelming response’ it has received from customers across the area.

A joint venture between entrepreneurs Stephen Milner and engaged couple Gavin Grainger and Hannah Milner, the venue offers a relaxed café bar environment serving locally-sourced beverages and rustic style food during the day, and a sophisticated bar boasting live music and botanical-infused cocktails and craft beers by night.

With strong legal support from the business legal services department of law firm Banner Jones, the ambitious team took over the lease on the Knifesmithgate site in September of last year, before officially opening the doors to the public less than three months later on December 17.

Now, just weeks later, the venue is set to further bolster its 10-strong team of baristas, bar staff and chefs in response to high demand from customers throughout the day and into the evening.

Gavin Grainger, Co-owner and Director, said:-

“We have been absolutely blown away by the support we have received to date from our customers, as well as everyone who has helped us get Bottle & Thyme to where it is today – particularly Ian Osborn of Banner Jones who has been a huge help throughout.

“We are now looking to recruit a number of new members of staff and are focused on building the right team to ensure that we continue to further our reputation for excellent service delivered in a laid back, trendy environment. Training, as a result, will of course be a key ingredient.”

Despite demand from customers exceeding expectation to date Gavin, Stephen and Hannah all say they remain committed to continuing to work with other Derbyshire-based businesses to meet their supply needs wherever possible – including Arden Coffee in Clay Cross, Owen Taylor and Sons Butchers in Leabrooks, Brampton’s JMJ pottery and fellow town centre-based business Chocolate by Design.

Taking over the former Barclays Bank space, which had previously sat empty for a significant period of time, the business offers a range of gluten free food and drinks – with head chef Tom Barnett responsible for delivering a unique menu offering predominantly free-from options.

And despite setting their sights on expansion and growth in the future, Gavin says the priority is to ‘solidify’ the brand’s existing offering first and foremost.

Gavin said:-

“Over the coming months our absolute priority is ensuring that this venue is getting it right, and that includes constantly listening and responding to feedback with regards the menu, the service, the live music, the drink options and the atmosphere.

“What we don’t want is to be become victims of our own success; having to compromise on our vision for the venue, or our ambitions to source everything locally where possible and make everything from scratch because we have tried to expand too quickly.

“That said, when the time is right I have no doubt we’ll have just as much fun launching venue number two as we have getting the original Bottle & Thyme up and running.”

Ian Osborn, Solictor at Banner Jones who are working with Bottle & Thyme, said:-

“It is fantastic to see such a unique and vibrant brand such as Bottle & Thyme come to Chesterfield and it was immensely rewarding to work closely with the company in negotiating a suitable lease from the landlord with concessions that have allowed the new venture to prosper.

“Chesterfield has seen significant regeneration over the last few years with exciting opportunities for new businesses cropping up all of the time.  It was terrific to be involved with the development of Bottle of Thyme from the outset and I wish Gavin, Stephen and Hannah all the very best for the future as the brand grows.”

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Car parts distributor boosts growth with new headquarters purchase

Family run business SDL Minorfern – an independent distributor of car and van replacement parts – has marked further expansion with the purchase of a head office and warehousing centre at Clay Cross, Chesterfield.

Yorkshire Bank funded the private sale of the premises which comprises over 40,000 sq. ft. and includes parking for 60 vehicles and a large dedicated unloading area for articulated lorries and containerised freight.

hlw Keeble Hawson’s commercial property team led by partner, Alaric Birch, acted for SDL Minorfern and Yorkshire Bank – arranging and managing the bank finance and overseeing the sale processes.

Founded in 1978, SDL Minorfern, which employs 260 people, operates nine branches across Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire.

Holland House, which also includes a retail branch, is three times bigger than its previous headquarters which were also located at Clay Cross.

Nick Holland, Managing Director at SDL Minofern, said:-

“The purchase of our new headquarters marks a formative milestone in the development of the company – and is instrumental in our growth targets and increasing efficiency.

“hlw Keeble Hawson was recommended to us as the ‘go to practice’ for a commercial conveyance of this size and the service from Alaric and his team was impeccable. Both they and Yorkshire Bank worked effectively to ensure a smooth and timely completion.”

Alaric Birch, added:-

“This major development – which entailed SDL Minorfern bringing two separate warehousing operations and management, accounts and procurement teams under one roof – paves the way for continued success for the business, which has established itself as a leading player in its field.”

Steve Wicks, Relationship Manager at Yorkshire Bank, said:-

“SDL Minorfern is a family business, in a highly competitive market, that recognises the value of first-class customer service. Yorkshire Bank is pleased to support the firm’s latest expansion.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Completed Staveley Hall restoration project set to regenerate the town

Staveley Town Council is delighted to announce that the refurbished Staveley Hall is now open.

The £4.8 million refurbishment on the Grade II listed hall was funded, in the main, by European Regional Development funding, Heritage Lottery funding and directly by Staveley Town Council.

The first floor of the historic building, now contains 9 first class office units fitted with high speed broadband, whilst the ground floor facility is set to be used for meetings, weddings and other organised events.  To facilitate larger events there is also the option of using the external air hall, a £150,000 inflatable marquee that seats up to 90 people.

The first phase of the project saw the refurbished stables block open in 2014 and the mix of 11 office units and workshops are now fully occupied.

Chris Ludlow, Leader of Staveley Town Council, stated:-

“I am delighted that Staveley Town Council has successfully delivered this restoration project for the people of Staveley and the surrounding region. Community use will be high on our agenda and this is another building block in the regeneration of the town.”

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

Bolsover Hill Race to help push Macmillan Cancer Centre toward the finish line

Runners, walkers and cyclists raised £5,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support by taking part in the last years first ever Bolsover Hill Race – this year they are hoping to raise even more.

The race, set up to raise funds for the NGS Macmillan Unit at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, involves a series of 1 mile races where people can walk, run or cycle up a one mile course starting at Villas Road and finishing at Castle Street. There are prizes for the fastest male and female, and for the best fancy dress – with a special children’s race for those who want to walk up the Hill.

Great Bear Distribition returns as headline sponsor for the running race and Chesterfield Cycling Centre for the cycle time trial.

Mark Dixey, organiser of the event said:-

“The community all pulled together and did us proud last year. This was the first race and we raised £5,000 which was a great success. The goal for this years event is to beat that and all the proceeds will be put towards the NGS Macmillan Unit at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.”

The next Bolsover Hill Race which will be held on 21 May and costs £10.

Rob Turner, Fundraising Manager for Macmillan in Sheffield and Chesterfield, said:-

“It was great to see everyone out in force supporting the event last year.

“We hope this years event will be bigger and that the people of North Derbyshire get behind this new, annual community event. Whether you want to take it less seriously and do it in fancy dress with the family or to be the fastest up the Hill on foot or by bike – we hope as many people as possible register now and join what will be a very fun day.”

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Visiting

Perez steps up a gear in Ginetta Supercup for 2017

Chesterfield’s 17 year old race ace Seb Perez,  has taken a step forward in his drive to become one of the Country’s best racing drivers, he will compete in the Ginetta GT4 Supercup Championship for 2017.

Over the past few months Perez has tested a number of options to find the right car and race series for him, during this he has tested Renault Clio and Formula 4, but his choice has stuck with the Ginetta G55 race car in the Supercup.

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.

He continues his relationship with JHR Developments in 2017 as a team member. JHR and Seb worked very well together last season in the Juniors, helping each other that saw the team take 2nd in the Team Championship.

Last season JHR Developments concentrated on Ginetta Juniors and British Formula 4 Championship, Perez hopes he can start winning for the team straight away.

Perez said:-

“I’m looking forward to getting back with JHR, they had tremendous success with Tom Ingram who won the championship in 2013, let’s hope we can do the same.”

Tom Ingram’s racing career took off big style after winning the championship and now races in the British Touring Car Championship.

Steve Hunter, JHR team boss, added:-

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Seb and he’s been working on data engineering with Ginetta Juniors, so we have more than just a racing relationship.”

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.

Motorsport is no stranger to Perez Jnr, he is son of 2014 BTRDA Gold Star Rally Champion and Chesterfield businessman Steve Perez, Chairman of Chesterfield based drinks brand development business Global Brands Ltd and owner of Amigos Tequila Flavoured Beer and Kick Energy Drink Brands.

Seb has competed in many motorsports including rallying, at the wheel of a Nissan Micra rally car in the Kick Energy Junior 1000 Rally Championship. Recently, during his break from circuit racing, Seb has been rallying in a Mk2 Ford Escort and two weeks ago saw him rallying at Brands Hatch in the Ford Escort Mk2 rally car of the late Roger Clark, the Cossack sponsored Ford Escort RS1800 was the  winner of the 1976 Lombard RAC Rally.

Changing from forest tracks and rallying to circuit racing has been a learning curve for him but he has made it.

The Ginetta GT4 Supercup Championship is a 23 round series ran over 8 race weekends and is a support race to the British Touring Car Championship and races are live on ITV4 on the Sunday race day.

The action starts at Brand Hatch in 1st and 2nd April, followed by the local round at Donington Park on 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.

Photography/Editorial: Paul Horton

Posted in About Chesterfield

Refurbishments complete at the Pavements Shopping Centre

Enhancement works have been completed at The Pavements Shopping Centre, owned by the Belfast Office Properties Group in conjunction with Chesterfield Borough Council.

This included work to marble floors, walls and columns, improving these characteristic features and bringing them to a modern standard.  Furthermore, a modern lighting system was fitted throughout the centre, with brand new automatic doors installed at all entrances.  In addition, a high profile exterior signage scheme has been put in place.

The scheme is anchored by Tesco, Boots, WH Smith and currently welcomes approximately almost 3.5 million visitors per annum, which is expected to increase significantly with the new investment.

Paul Devlin of Belfast Office Properties, commented on the news:-

“We are very pleased with these enhancements to Chesterfield’s leading shopping destination.  The significant investment strengthens our existing offer and will help to attract new retailers whilst offering a greatly improved environment for our shoppers.  We are currently in advanced discussions with leading retailers interested in joining the scheme later in the year.”

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

“With its central location off the market place, the Pavements Shopping Centre is a key place for residents and visitors to the town to browse and shop.”

“We are committed to revitalise our town centres and the improvements to the centre is a key commitment to this. We look forward to welcoming customers old and new to the centre.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development

£3million to benefit rural areas covered by D2N2

Micro businesses, companies producing food products and cycle networks in the rural areas covered by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership will receive a £3million investment boost.

Rural businesses wanting support to improve demand for their agricultural and horticultural products, or to create more jobs, or companies or organisations intent on improving countryside cycle networks for tourism or recreational use, can apply for funding from today (Thursday January 26).

Money for the three programmes is being made available via the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) portion of D2N2’s current EU funding. The D2N2 LEP is the private-sector led partnership of businesses, local authorities, skills and training providers, and community and voluntary services which promotes economic growth across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

The details of the three new programmes which project organisers can bid for funding from – via the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) website – are:

Food Processing: £501,253 is being made available to support the growth of food and drink processing businesses.

Priority will be given to projects which:

  • Create new, higher skilled jobs.
  • Develop strong supply chains within the D2N2 area.
  • Support businesses’ growth via export and accessing new international markets, or increase the volume of products exported.
  • Bring in new techniques or processes which increase production and productivity.

Project bidders must apply for at least £50,000 in grant aid. The maximum grant is £501,253.

The programme will be open for applications for 18 months, while funding is available.

Business Development: £1.6million is being made available to invest in rural micro and small business ventures, including farming businesses diversification into non-farming activities (for example, land used for tourism or leisure-based attractions).

Priority will be given to projects which:

  • Develop high growth businesses linked to D2N2’s eight key commercial sectors: transport equipment manufacturing, life sciences, food and drink manufacturing, construction, transport and logistics, the visitor economy, creative and digital industries, and low carbon goods and services.
  • Create new jobs within the business applying for funding.
  • Develop new higher skilled jobs within the applicant business.
  • Demonstrate business innovation, boosting productivity by introducing or developing new technologies or processes within the business applying.

Project bidders must apply for at least £35,000 in grant aid. The maximum grant is £170,000.

The programme will be open for applications for 18 months, while funding is available.

Rural Tourism Infrastructure: £928,247 will be used to develop rural tourism infrastructure, particularly recreational cycling, in D2N2’s rural areas.

Project bidders can apply for capital funding to build schemes which connect rural attractions, encouraging more recreational cycling and greater numbers of visitors to come to those areas.

Priority will be given to projects which:

  • Enable new or existing attractions to improve their offer to visitors, encouraging longer stays and increased tourism spending in the rural D2N2 LEP area.
  • Extend the tourism season beyond the usual May to October period.
  • Improve access links to and between visitor attractions, including through development of multi-user paths.
  • Support cycling’s development, building on recent successes such as the 2015 and 2016 ‘Tour of Britain’ cycling events.
  • Create new skilled jobs in applicant businesses.
  • Develop visitor accommodation where there is a demand for additional accommodation, as detailed in the D2N2 LEP area’s Destination Management Plan or LEP Tourism Strategy.

Project bidders must apply for at least £50,000 in grant aid. The maximum grant is £170,000.

The programme will be open for applications for 12 months, while funding is available.

The D2N2 LEP will be holding a free ‘Rural Means Business Conference’, to give potential applicants more information on available funding through the three EAFRD programmes. It will be held from 10am to 3pm on Wednesday February 15 at the Bramley Building, Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst Campus, Southwell (NG25 0QF). It will include information on grants available to help rural enterprises through both EAFRD and the LEADER European funding programme.

Peter Richardson, Chair of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, said:-

“It’s estimated around a third of jobs in the D2N2 LEP’s area are based in rural areas, but employers there tend to have less access to the benefits of infrastructure and business development opportunities seen in urban areas.

“Targeted funding via the D2N2 LEP, such as the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development grants being made available from today, help level the playing field; growing jobs and businesses which people living in rural areas rely on.”

D2N2

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Derbyshire’s £23m LED street light upgrade continues to roll out

Work to switch to new-style street lights across Derbyshire is continuing to roll out across the county. More than 68,000 lights countywide will eventually have their current lights exchanged for LED fittings. Derbyshire County Council will also be replacing more than 22,000 of the older lamp posts at the same time.

This latest round of work in North East Derbyshire and Chesterfield is set to start at the end of the month.

The work, which starts on Monday 30 January 2017, is part of the borough councils £23m ‘Invest to Save’ programme. It will be carried out between 7am and 6pm and last for around two months.

The current orange sodium lights will have their bulbs, light fittings and shades replaced with new LED fittings.

Following consultation on the plans to change to LED lights, 90% of respondents said they were in favour of the plan.

Councillor Dean Collins, Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said:-

“We have had to change the way we maintain street lights because of huge Government cuts. Previously we would have changed all the lights in one area every three or four years before they started to go out in large numbers but reduced budgets mean we only have a small team of electricians and we can no longer afford to do this.

“The good news is that we are now in a position to progress with our LED replacement programme. It will take around three years to roll it out across the county but because these new lights are cheaper to maintain and more energy efficient they will help us reduce our carbon footprint and help us save around £1.2m.”

Councillor Collins added:-

“I understand concerns about street lights not working properly and thank residents for bearing with us while this replacement work progresses. It is a new way of doing things but I’d like to reassure people it will pay off in the future.

Perfect Location - Spire at Night

Posted in About Chesterfield

University to offer space and support to local businesses

The University of Derby Chesterfield Campus are looking for pre-start or start-up businesses to fill the incubation units at their new Innovation Centre.

With funding and support from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and the European Regional Development Fund, the Innovation Centre hopes to provide local business a space to incubate new business ideas, increase their speed of growth and de-risk the process of developing new products.

Professor Kathryn Mitchell, Vice-Chancellor of the University, discussed the potential impact of the Campus and Innovation Centre on the town at the opening of the Campus in October 2016, commenting:-

“We hope to make a big difference to Chesterfield in the future.”

Investing in making an impact in the future of the town alongside the future of the students the Innovation Centre will provide a space for local business to work. The Centre can incubate up to six new enterprises at any one time, providing space for two or three members of staff. By offering stepped rental charges they hope many young new business will take advantage of this opportunity.

The Centre will also offer tailored business support supplying advice and guidance, funding, knowledge transfer, facilities and talent to facilitate accelerated growth. The facilities are aimed at supporting new businesses, particularly within Health and Engineering, to develop and innovate in order to be sustainable and ultimately grow.

Facilities will include:

• Large multi-material UV Cure 3D printing machine
• FDM 3D printing machines
• Multi-axis CNC wire cut machine
• Articulated arm scanning and reverse engineering software
• Bench top scanning electron microscope
• Sputter coating machine

Based within the same building is the FabLab, a workshop area providing access to equipment and expertise in design prototyping, materials analysis and testing.

St Helena's Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Work underway on major commercial development at Markham Vale

Work is now underway on a major commercial development at prime business and distribution park Markham Vale, after planning permission was granted just before Christmas.

This phase will see the formation of 13 highly adaptable units ranging from 1,200 – 3050 sq. ft.; providing modern warehouse space benefitting from a high-quality specification, designed to address a chronic shortage of supply in the market set against strong levels of demand.

The units will be available to buy, presenting a unique opportunity in the market for businesses to own a building on Derbyshire’s flagship business park.

Property developer Priority Space, in a joint venture with Hunt Group, have appointed Scunthorpe based construction firm Britcon as main contractor; with units expected to be ready for occupation from July this year.

Property consultancy Commercial Property Partners LLP (CCP) has been instructed to market the new development alongside Fernie Greaves.

Lee Buchanan, Development Manager at Priority Space, said:-

“The start of construction is a great milestone for the scheme – especially so soon after planning was granted.

“It is a significant speculative development in response to strong levels of demand in the area which reinforces our confidence in the potential of the Markham Vale site and the strength of the local economy.”

Stuart Waite, Partner at CPP, comments:-

“We are delighted to have been appointed agents for this high-quality, flagship Derbyshire Business Park. Delivery of this scheme addresses a real shortage in the market of high quality starter units, especially ones available to buy, and indeed we are already speaking to a number of interested parties.”

Markham Vale is a key employment site in the region with occupiers including Gould Alloys, Inspirepac, Meter Provida and Great Bear already committed to large scale warehousing and distribution facilities on the 200 acre park.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development

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