Business

Council supports local businesses through business rates relief scheme

13th March 2019

Chesterfield businesses are saving more than £1 million in business rates in a scheme administered by Chesterfield Borough Council.

The Government announced in the budget last October it will provide a business rates retail discount scheme for occupied retail premises with a rateable value of less than £51,000 in each of the financial years 2019/20 and 2020/21.

The value of discount should be one third of the bill, and must be applied after mandatory reliefs and other discretionary reliefs have been applied.

The council administers the business rates relief as part of the discretionary rate scheme, offering the relief to around 362 businesses in the borough, saving them a total of around £1,088,520.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “Creating a thriving borough is one of the council’s key priorities, which is why we have contacted all eligible local businesses to make sure they have taken advantage of the business rates reliefs they are entitled to.“

“This is one of a number of measures including the Local Labour clause that we take to support businesses in the borough.”

The council has adopted a Local Labour clause in every major planning application it accepts, which requires developers to provide a strategy that uses materials supplied by local companies. This has meant that local suppliers have benefitted from potentially more than £2.3 million worth of business.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Development, Visiting

Increase in grant funding for construction apprentices

12th March 2019

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) announced a major boost in funding to help employers take on construction apprentices.

From 1 April, CITB’s attendance grants to employers will increase to £2,500 per year, while achievement grants will rise to £3,500 for companies whose apprentice successfully completes their training.

This is an overall funding increase from £10,250 to £14,500 for each apprentice an employer takes on – an uplift of over 30% on existing rates.

CITB has decided to increase employer funding at a time when construction apprenticeships are falling. This is due to factors such as economic uncertainty caused by Brexit and employers adjusting to new apprenticeship reforms, including the Apprenticeship Levy.

But construction needs many more learners not only starting, but completing their apprenticeships and joining the workforce. CITB’s forecast shows the industry needs to fill some 168,500 new jobs over the next five years, and to grow much more of its own domestic workforce, given likely limits on future access to migrant workers.

Stephen Radley, CITB Director of Strategy and Policy said: “We know that taking on an apprentice is a big investment for employers who have seen the cost of doing this go up significantly in recent years.”

“These grant increases are designed to help employers of all sizes take on apprentices and ensure those learners complete their courses.”

“CITB support isn’t just about money, but we believe that this major rise in grant funding will improve both apprenticeship starts and completions in our sector.”

This announcement follows extensive consultation with employers across Great Britain through discussions, online surveys and feedback from employer events. In the coming weeks, CITB will share further measures to support apprenticeships in construction.

Sarah Garry, Skills Manager of Build UK said: “We welcome the increase in funding for apprenticeships which should make a real difference for all employers, regardless of the size of their business. This is one piece of the puzzle. CITB and industry working together will ensure the apprenticeship process is easy to understand and is accessible for everyone.”

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders said: “The increase in grant funding is good news for employers in the construction industry, particularly small construction firms. It will allow SME businesses to take on even more apprentices, including for specialist courses in order to meet the construction industry’s demand for highly-skilled individuals.”

For more information visit the CITB website.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Development

Local teen chef enters national finals

12th March 2019

The Tickled Trout’s work experience student has progressed to the final of the prestigious FutureChef competition. FutureChef is a programme organised by Springboard where over 12,000 12-16 year olds compete to get a place in the national final in Westminster to represent their region against 11 other finalists.

Leigh Speight, aged 15, is currently a student from Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School and is doing work experience on Saturdays at The Tickled Trout. She has beat off competition from across the region to get to the national final. This will be the second time Leigh has reached the milestone after previously reaching the landmark two-years-ago.

Her mentor and Owner of The Tickled Trout, Chris Mapp, said: “Hopefully we will be second time lucky this year. Leigh cooked an amazing cote de porc with potato rosti, cider jus and a beautiful lemon posset with macerated raspberries and caramelised popcorn, and achieved excellent feedback from the judges, almost faultless from the majority.”

“I am proud to say that Leigh now joins us on Saturdays for work experience to learn more in my kitchen, which is a credit to her as she has fantastic talent and is keen to learn. I hope that she gets the bug and wants to be a chef full time as this would be a great example to the industry and to Springboard’s FutureChef.”

The final is on 19 March, and the pair will soon receive their ‘mystery basket’ to begin putting ideas together for the trip to London. For updates on Leigh’s progress, check out the Tickled Trout’s Facebook page.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Local students impress judges at Young Enterprise Trade Fair

11th March 2019

Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School took the title of Best Trade Stand at the recent Young Enterprise Trade Fair held at the Pavements Shopping Centre in Chesterfield on Thursday 7 March.

The school was one of six from North Derbyshire taking part in this year’s Young Enterprise competition.

As part of the competition, teams of students from Mount St Mary’s College, Eckington School, Brookfield Community School, St Mary’s Catholic High School, Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School and Lady Manners School descended on The Pavements to showcase a variety of goods which they are selling as part of their Young Enterprise experience. Many of the products have been handcrafted by the students who are all aged between 14 and 17.

Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School’s winning team – Kickers and Clickers – has produced a range of personalised shoes and bags. The judges, which included the Mayor of Chesterfield, Cllr Stuart Brittain and his wife the Mayoress Anne Brittain, and local business people Laura Jo Owen, owner of Adorn Jewellers and Andy Ingman of Ingmans, commended the team for their well thought out business strategy.

The Trade Fair is co-ordinated by the North Derbyshire branch of the education charity Young Enterprise which aims to equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise.

Each of the teams have set up a company and are operating them for a year. As well as coming up with a product to sell, they must produce a business plan, market their products and services and also file accounts – which includes paying VAT and tax on their profits!

Hazel James, Chair of the Young Enterprise’s North Derbyshire Area Board, explained: “The scheme is designed to give students an insight into business and to inspire them to ‘learn by doing’. All participants are expected to operate in a professional manner as they would in the workplace.”

“The teams have been encouraged to be innovative and creative in the products they have developed and the ways in which they market their products to Chesterfield’s shoppers. We are all very excited to see what they have done so far and how they put their new skills into practice.”

Laura Jo Owen said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for these students to get some valuable hands-on experience in business and the retail sector. It was brilliant to meet the teams and find out more out more about them.”

Keep up-to-date with the teams’ young Enterprise journey on Facebook at ‘Young Enterprise – North Derbyshire Area Board’.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business

Derbyshire highlights why it is the Uk’s Capital for Innovation at MIPIM

11th March 2019

Derby and Derbyshire are certainly living up to the title of UK Capital for Innovation with recent announcements taking centre stage at MIPIM this week.

The largest-ever delegation from Derby and Derbyshire is promoting the county and city at MIPIM 2019 – the annual global real estate exhibition held in Cannes, France which will be attended by 25,000 delegates.

In Chesterfield the transformation of the town centre has taken another significant step forward as plans for a new enterprise centre have been given the go ahead. The Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre will help meet demand for office space to house start up and growing small business and support the council’s existing innovation centres at Dunston and Tapton Park.

Derby City Council has approved Pattonair to develop a 9.7acre site with 80,000sqft warehouse and 15,000sqft office building, located at Infinity Park Aerospace Campus.

The iHub innovation centre on Infinity Park in Derby is now at 100% capacity. The 45,000 sq ft. facility has attracted some of the biggest names in the automotive, rail and aerospace supply chain industries. Tenants include Airbus, Altran, and advanced aviation company VRCO.

Nuclear AMRC Midlands, a new research and innovation centre to support manufacturers across the region, has opened for business in the iHub at Infinity Park, Derby. The new centre is a major expansion of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, part of the UK’s High Value Manufacturing Catapult and is a collaboration between the Nuclear AMRC, Derby City Council and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Rolls-Royce plc has been awarded a £235m contract to support the Royal Navy’s submarines in a move that will safeguard 500 jobs.

A combination of public and private sector officials are part of the first joint city and county delegation to attend MIPIM, playing a full role in the Midlands UK Pavilion supported by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership.

Posted in Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development

Pop up cinema comes to Chesterfield

8th March 2019

New company Bluebird North Events is bringing pop up cinema to Chesterfield and North Derbyshire. It will be launching with a screening of Kung Fu Panda at St Thomas’ Centre in Brampton on Saturday 23^rd March 2019.

The company was set up by Chesterfield residents Brogan O’Callaghan and Adam Chapman after finding a lack of similar events in the area. Plans for future events include films such as Moana, Little Shop of Horrors, Mean Girls, Hairspray, The Polar Express and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Brogan stated: “We want to create events for local residents and believe this is something new and exciting for Chesterfield. We love Chesterfield as a town and want to show off what it is has to offer and to bring some additional evening entertainment to the area.”

She added: “Our events are pop up screenings but with added extras to make it a real day out. Cinema is such a great way to have a shared experience as a group, as you all laugh, cry and experience the emotions of the film together. This sense of community is what we’re trying to capture at our events, and we hope that the attendees will feel the same way.”

At the Kung Fu Panda event there will be a bar with a range of drinks for adults and children, as well as face painting and food stalls where you can buy popcorn, nachos, brownies and more. The event opens at 5pm, with the film starting at 7pm. Tickets are £8 for adults, £6.50 for children and £25 for a family ticket.

Adam Chapman said: “Our Kung Fu Panda screening is an evening of family entertainment in a popular Chesterfield location. Our first event is aimed at families, however we have a range of events being planned for the young, old and young at heart. Most of our events will be cinema screenings however we do want to expand into other areas such as live comedy and popular TV events.”

“The next screening we are planning is a special 50^thanniversary screening of Kes. Tickets will be on sale in the next couple of weeks, watch this space!”

For more information click here, visit www.bluebirdnorthevents.co.uk or visit their Facebook, Twitter or Eventbrite pages.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Leisure, Visiting

Apprentice and boss swap roles for National Apprenticeship Week

8th March 2019

Learning Unlimited’s very own apprentice, Josh Bown, has accepted his next big challenge and today steps temporarily into the role of Operations Manager as part of the activities around National Apprenticeship Week (4-8 March).

While the 17-year-old business administration apprentice will learn what it’s like to manage the team, Operations Manager Leah Shortt will be getting a reminder of what it’s like to be in a less senior role.

Josh will be taking on daily tasks in Leah’s calendar including taking a lead role in the weekly departmental meeting, joining a high level strategic meeting with senior managers and planning a marketing campaign. Meanwhile, Leah, who has worked with the national provider of apprenticeships for five years, will be seeing what it is like to be in Josh’s shoes.

As part of the job swap, Leah will be picking up Josh’s duties; talking to potential customers, answering enquiries and uploading content to the Learning Unlimited website, among other things.

Learning Unlimited, which is part of the Chesterfield College group, provides apprenticeships and learning programmes to more than 3,000 apprentices nationally and has over 30 apprentices within its own organisation.

Leah said: “This will be a learning opportunity for the both of us. Josh has become a really valuable part of the team since he joined us but this will give me the chance to find out more about the daily challenges he faces as an apprentice within our organisation.”

“As a leading provider of apprenticeships, we want to lead by example. We have a strong reputation for developing talent through apprenticeships and many members of our team have joined as apprentices and progressed up the career ladder. This is an important exercise to see just how well we support our own apprentices and will demonstrate what we’re doing right and areas where we may be able to support our apprentices even further.”

Josh said: “I’m looking forward to the challenge of switching roles. This is a great opportunity for me to learn more about how decisions are made and help me develop new skills. It’s always good to learn new things and I’ll also be able to use it as part of my learning towards my business administration qualification.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business

Nominate your top shops, traders and events in Chesterfield now!

7th March 2019

The search is on to find the top shops, traders and events in the borough of Chesterfield.

This year, the Chesterfield Retail Awards welcomes a brand new category to recognise the plethora of festivals, events and markets that take place every year in the town centre.

Local station, Spire Radio is sponsoring the new Best Town Centre Event category as well as giving the winner a free promotional and advertising package, which is worth up to £500.

Now in its sixth year, the Chesterfield Retail Awards, which is organised by Destination Chesterfield, has gone from strength–to–strength; mirroring the town’s retail sector. A new owner has been announced for Vicar Lane Shopping Centre, work has been completed on the conversion of the former Co-op to a Premier Inn on Elder Way, existing businesses have expanded and new businesses have opened.

Commenting on this year’s awards, Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield said: “The many events taking place in Chesterfield each year are an important part of the town, helping to attract thousands of visitors every year and creating a vibrant shopping and leisure destination.”

I am delighted that Spire Radio, along with so many other sponsors, have thrown their support behind the 2019 Chesterfield Retail Awards.”

Shoppers are now invited to vote for their favourite retailers, market stall holders and events in Chesterfield. Everyone who nominates in this year’s awards will also have the chance to win two tickets to the black-tie Chesterfield Retail Awards at Casa Hotel on Wednesday 19 June 2019 where the winners across all categories will be announced.

People can nominate across 12 categories in the awards and a panel of professionals will select the winners.

Hair and Beauty Business of the Year
Fashion and Footwear Retailer of the Year
Best New Store 2018/2019
Home and Gifts Retailer of the Year
Food and Drink Retailer of the Year
Leisure Retailer of the Year (Sports, Hobbies, Crafts or Outdoor)
Market Trader of the Year
Independent Retailer of the Year
National/ Multiple Retailer of the Year
Market Hall Business of the Year
Excellence in Customer Service
Best Town Centre Event 2018/2019

For a second year, the work of apprentice retail workers and employers of apprentices will once again be commended in the Apprentice of the Year and Apprentice Employer of the Year categories.

Peter added: “The awards ceremony has grown more popular year–on–year thanks to the growing retail scene. New businesses are opening and existing retailers expanding their operations. We’re bucking the national downward trend for retail here in Chesterfield and the awards recognises the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in the town’s retail scene.”

In addition to Spire Radio, the 2019 Chesterfield Retail Awards are supported by Apprentice Town (led by Chesterfield Borough Council), Chesterfield Borough Council, East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire), eBusiness Works, In the Works PR, Jumble Creative Design, JP Fire Safety, Learning Unlimited, Temple Safety and University of Derby.

You can vote online at www.chesterfield.co.uk/retailawards from Thursday 7 March until midnight on 31st March.

Information about the various sponsorship packages are available at www.chesterfield.co.uk/retailawards or contact Tara Underhill ,Senior Destination Chesterfield Coordinator, by emailing Tara.underhill@chesterfield.co.uk or calling 01246 207207.

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

Local estate agents hires second apprentice

6th March 2019

Chesterfield Champion Lime Living Estate Agents has strengthened its Chesterfield team through the recruitment of a new apprentice.

Charly Kemp (pictured with Director, Jamie Wajs) will be studying for an NVQ Level 2 in Business and Administration and is the second apprentice to join the team.

Jamie commented: “We have found the apprenticeship route to be successful in the past and we look forward to supporting Charly in her development within our business”.

Having been established for over 10 years in Chesterfield, Lime Living Estate Agents, based on Saltergate, has continued to grow from initially offering residential lettings to now providing sales, land, auction and commercial services. They aim to offer a fresh and straight forward approach to all property matters for customers and their requirements.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Destination Chesterfield

Heathcotes Group becomes Apprenticeship Ambassador

6th March 2019

Chesterfield-based care provider, Heathcotes Group, is helping to increase local apprenticeship participation after joining the town’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Network.

Apprenticeship Ambassadors are businesses and organisations which sign up to actively promote and celebrate apprenticeships in Chesterfield and their benefits in strengthening the workforce. Chesterfield is the first town in the UK to declare itself an ‘Apprentice Town’, demonstrating a commitment to growing the careers of young people alongside the economy. Chesterfield Borough Council is at the forefront of the Apprentice Town initiative which, with support from Ambassadors, is raising awareness of apprenticeships and advocating cooperative working across the education, business and learning community.

Heathcotes’ first engagement as an Ambassador was a headline speech at the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference, held at the Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, where Managing Director Brendan Kelly spoke about the importance of embedding apprenticeship and skills initiatives into workforce development strategies to facilitate business growth. Heathcotes Group specialises in person-centred residential care for adults with learning disabilities, mental health needs and associated challenging behaviours. The company has been developing local employment through an award-winning apprenticeship programme involving sector-based work academies established in partnership with Chesterfield College.

Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, Cllr Tricia Gilby, who opened proceedings at the conference, said: “One of the council’s priorities is to ensure that local people benefit from the economic growth that we are seeing in Chesterfield, which is why, with our partners, we established Chesterfield as an Apprentice Town. It has been wonderful to hear Brendan highlight the importance of developing the skills of your workforce and to learn about the value Apprenticeships have brought to a growing organisation like the Heathcotes Group. We are delighted that the Heathcotes Group has chosen to join the Town’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Network to help raise awareness of the benefits of Apprenticeships in our community.”

Brendan Kelly said: “Heathcotes are uniquely placed to advocate Chesterfield apprenticeships as an Apprenticeship Ambassador. Our work-based learning formula has achieved almost 600 apprenticeship starts over the past five years, including staff at our Chesterfield head office and numerous support workers at our services throughout this region. It has been been a fundamental part of Heathcotes’ sustained growth in a sector which is currently facing a number of challenges. I believe that apprenticeships are enormously important to grow the local economy and we are keen to help establish Chesterfield as a town where young people, parents and businesses think apprenticeship first.”

“Heathcotes are fully committed to supporting the Apprentice Town partnership to develop Chesterfield as a leading apprenticeship destination. We enjoyed being part of the Chesterfield & North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference and we are looking forward to leading and participating in various other events in 2019.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Destination Chesterfield

Chesterfield to be showcased at ‘Europe’s premier real estate event’

6th March 2019

Chesterfield will once again appear on the worldwide investment stage when it is showcased at the leading property event – MIPIM – this month.

Now in its 30^th year, MIPIM is regarded as the international platform for industry leaders to connect and do business.

Taking place in Cannes, France, MIPIM is described as ‘Europe’s premier real estate event’. It is expected to attract more than 26,000 of the most influential players in the property industry when it opens its doors from 12 – 15 March later this month.

Both Team Derby and Derbyshire and Sheffield City Region will highlight the investment potential of the borough at MIPIM.

With £1 billion of development already underway and an HS2 station expected in 2033, Chesterfield and north Derbyshire is considered an attractive investment prospect.

The town’s central location and transport networks have made it a magnet for commercial, leisure, industrial and residential investment in recent years and there is further potential to unlock in the town with the right investment.

Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield, explained: “Chesterfield has strong investment potential and Team Derby and Derbyshire and Sheffield City Region take a very compelling pitch to MIPIM 2019 on our behalf.

“We have made huge progress in the town during the 12 months since we were last represented at MIPIM. An HS2 station has been confirmed, planning applications have been submitted for homes and offices at Chesterfield Waterside, the new Saltergate car park is under construction and the Premier Inn, which has been developed in the former Co-op building, is about to open on Elder Way. Make no mistake – there is significant investment potential for the town.

“We are already a town already punching above our weight, made possible by the partnership of public and private sector partnership and investment. We have secured more than £1 billion of development in the borough to create significant opportunities for businesses, residents and visitors, and there is lots more potential just waiting to be unlocked by the right investors.”

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “With £1 billion worth of development happening in the borough and our excellent travel links by road, rail and air, Chesterfield is ideally placed for investment.

“With the council-led Northern Gateway scheme and as a partner in Chesterfield Waterside, as a council we do all we can to help support local developments and continue to work with investors to bring more opportunities to the borough.”

For further information about investment opportunities in Chesterfield, visit www.chesterfield.co.uk/invest

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development