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Tourism businesses encouraged to apply for new industry standard mark

Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire has welcomed the announcement of a new UK-wide industry standard mark that will provide a ‘ring of confidence’ for tourism businesses as the sector works towards reopening on 4 July.

The ‘We’re Good To Go’ accreditation, introduced by VisitEngland in partnership with national tourist organisations, means businesses can demonstrate that they are adhering to Government and public health guidance and have the required processes in place.

The scheme is free to join and Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire is encouraging local businesses to apply as soon as possible to ensure they are COVID-secure and ready to welcome visitors.

Jo Dilley, Managing Director of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire says: “We’re encouraging all local tourism businesses to apply for the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard, which will play a vital role in ensuring visitors can enjoy a holiday in the Peak District and Derbyshire this summer and be confident they can do so with peace of mind.

Jo added: “We know that businesses are already working incredibly hard to prepare for reopening on 4 July, and this new industry standard provides a welcome boost of confidence for the sector and added reassurance for our visitors that we are putting all the right measures in place.”

To obtain the accreditation businesses must complete a self-assessment through an online platform, before receiving certification and the ‘We’re Good To Go’ mark for display in their premises and online.

Businesses must align with the Government’s official guidance for the sector including ‘Working Safely during COVID-19: Visitor Economy’, which outlines the processes and facilities that tourism businesses in England need to put in place before reopening.

The scheme has been developed in partnership with national tourist authorities with input from more than 40 industry bodies including Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire. For more information on the industry standard mark, click here.

Details of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire’s ‘welcome back’ campaign will be released shortly.

Please note: images were taken prior to the Coronavirus pandemic

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards, Chesterfield Retail Awards, Destination Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield, Summer, Visiting

Summer adult education courses are moving online

Residents across Derbyshire can take part in a wide range of free online courses this summer organised by Derbyshire County Council.

Some courses can be done online at a pace that suits you while other courses will be delivered remotely using Zoom where learners will be part of a live class with a tutor and fellow learners.

Learners will be provided with a list of materials or equipment they need for each session. All you need is a laptop, tablet or smart phone with internet access.

Online courses include:

  • environmental awareness
  • interview skills
  • sign language
  • Spanish
  • dealing with uncertainty and stress
  • art and crafts

Councillor Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People,  said: “Our adult community education service is committed to providing quality learning for Derbyshire residents for skills, leisure and fun.”

“Staff have been working hard to keep our service running during the current coronavirus crisis and provide opportunities for residents despite the barriers we all face.”

“Through online learning our learners have access to a range of courses and a high quality and safe learning experience during this period of uncertainty.”

“If you’re looking to pick up a new hobby or learn a new skill while spending more time at home this summer, we have something for you. Spaces on our courses are limited so make sure you sign up soon to guarantee a place.”

Due to the current coronavirus crisis, adult education community centres are unable to open. Derbyshire County Council be issuing further guidance on when facilities will reopen once it is safe to do so in line with government guidance.

Find the course for you and register your place now  

Full details of online courses available can be found in this brochure.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Local businesses optimistic for recovery

A report released today (25 June) by East Midlands Chamber (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire) has revealed optimism among local businesses for a full recovery following the outbreak of Covid-19.

As part of the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey for Q2 2020, firms were asked a series of questions about how they view their post-coronavirus prospects, with one in five responding that they anticipated their business to return to 100% or more of its pre-lockdown activity levels by the end of the year. A further 45% said they would achieve this by the end of 2021.

To help them do so, 36% said they would actively look to invest in activity that would help to diversify their offer to access new markets, while 25% said they would invest further in staff training to improve efficiencies.

Chamber Chief Executive, Scott Knowles, said: “Although national figures published over the past few weeks have given a broad overview of what has happened to the economy in general, the findings of our survey provide the first real, tangible evidence of the impact that Covid-19 has had on businesses across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.”

“The speed at which the economy shut down because of the pandemic and the resulting lockdown was unprecedented. Whole swathes of the business community either ceased or dramatically reduced activity, with some yet to get back underway.”

“For most businesses, this period has been defined by uncertainty and a wait for much-needed clarity about how and when the economy may unlock and any further health implications this may have.”

“The key thing many businesses need right now is focused support to assist in the transition of their staff out of furlough and back into the workplace and to adapt their operations, to help them return to pre-lockdown levels of economic performance as quickly as possible.”

“Clearly, there’s a long way to go before the economy can fully recover, and there will be many hard stories at both an organisational and an individual level in the months ahead.

“However, regardless of the individual experiences of businesses over the past three months, many see opportunities to grow and succeed outside of this current period, perhaps taking a different approach to how they do this.”

“To help them in this, continuing to support businesses to innovate, diversify, enhance their resilience and think differently must become a central focus of the Government’s policy response as we come out of the pandemic.”

In its report, East Midlands Chamber highlights the full extent to which the Covid-19 crisis affected local firms in the second quarter of the year. Read the full report here.

Click here to find out more about the East Midlands Chamber

East Midlands Chamber are members of the Chesterfield Champions local business membership scheme. To find out more about the Chesterfield Champions, click here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Made in Chesterfield

Specsavers Chesterfield staff member features in national TV advertisement

An optometrist from the Specsavers store in Chesterfield has played a starring role in a national television advert as part of the company’s new campaign.

The 90-second video, titled ‘We Were There’, aired on ITV1 on Saturday 13th June and tells real life stories of store colleagues and their customers during lockdown.

The video explains how store staff had to change the way they worked to help people outside the normal test room environment, offering eye and hearing care for people in car parks, on doorsteps and even at picnic tables.

Allissa Charlesworth is currently the Optometrist Director at Specsavers Chesterfield and Matlock. Allissa is the first Specsavers staff member to appear in the advert, which you can watch below. Allissa said: “I was quite nervous to find out that I’d been given a role in the national advert. However, when I watched it for the first time, the overriding feeling changed to pride, as it’s certainly testament to all the hard work and community spirit people are showing across the UK.”

“Over lockdown, the most surprising and rewarding part for me has been the power of a simple phone call. So many people are vulnerable and have to self-isolate, but they still develop problems with their eyes and giving advice over the phone has become a daily routine.”

“A calm and reassuring voice on the end of the phone makes such a difference to people and you can hear the relief in their voice when they realise they don’t have to deal with this problem alone.”

The Specsavers store in Chesterfield has now re-opened, yet with increased health & safety, as well as social distancing, measures.

With Specsavers’ RemoteCare service, you can speak to the experts by video or over the phone about any sight or hearing questions you have. It’s free to use and you don’t need to be a previous customer to use it.

Click here to find out more about Specsavers Chesterfield

Specsavers Chesterfield are members of the Chesterfield Champions local business membership scheme. To find out more about the Chesterfield Champions, click here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Featured, Home

Chesterfield College’s annual Arts Festival goes virtual to celebrate the work of creative students

Students from across Chesterfield College’s visual and performing arts courses are celebrating their work in a virtual Arts Festival.

The virtual festival includes an end-of-year exhibition of work from photography, fine art, graphic design, digital, media, fashion and performing arts students, which would normally take place in the college. Teachers at the college were keen to ensure students didn’t miss out on the chance to exhibit their work because of Covid-19 so they have created a virtual showcase.

Dave Smith, Curriculum Operations Manager for Visual and Performing Arts, said: “It has been a privilege to see the work created by such a talented group of students. They have worked extremely well over the last few months, under challenging circumstances. It is a credit to their dedication and passion for their subject which has resulted in well executed final pieces.”

Dave added: “The virtual Arts Festival gives us an opportunity to celebrate, congratulate and thank our students and teachers for their hard work and successes over the year. Exhibiting work is also an important part of preparing students for working in the creative industries. We might not be able to do that physically at the moment, but the virtual festival does allow us to share their achievements with a wider audience so it actually gives us a fantastic opportunity.”

Chesterfield College has a long history in supporting people across the region to develop skills for successful careers in the creative industries. Their excellent facilities, including a range of well-equipped studios for everything from ceramics and silversmithing to fashion and theatre, have been the launchpad for many designers, artists and performers for many years. The Arts Festival has been an integral part of the creative courses the college offers so it was important to continue the tradition this year in spite of the challenging circumstances.

You can access the festival at www.chesterfield.ac.uk/artsfestival20.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

New high-quality apartments set to add vibrancy to Chesterfield town centre

ALB Group have bought Burlington House, a four-storey 37,000 sq ft building located on Burlington Street in Chesterfield’s town centre for a seven-figure sum, and aim to convert the office block into apartments.

The company is set to apply to Chesterfield Borough Council for planning permission to turn the two, largely vacant, upper floors into 40 high-quality apartments. The ground floor would be kept for commercial use, where tenants already include Rebel Menswear, H Samuel, BetFred, Bird’s Bakery and Max Speilman.

Property consultants FHP acted on behalf of the previous owners and sold the building to ALB Group. The company has looked after lettings in the building over the past five years.

Arran Bailey, Managing Director of ALB Group, explained the attraction of the investment. He said: “The offices will make fantastic flats in the centre of Chesterfield, which will increase footfall on the high street.”

“The development will breathe life into this part of the town, adding vitality and vibrancy.”

“Chesterfield is such a good area to invest in as it is in a great location, with the Peak District and M1 on its doorstep, and it is an ideal, affordable commuter base for those working in cities like Sheffield, Derby and Nottingham, with London less than two hours away by train.”

“There are multiple million-pound projects, such as the Chesterfield Waterside and Northern Gateway developments, underway. It’s not a typical market town.”

Oliver Marshall, Associate Director at FHP, said: “The upper floors comprise of two floors of office space sectioned into individual small office suites which have been predominantly vacant for the last five years.”

“The tenants in the ground-floor retail space will stay and I’m sure Arran will look at bringing in more to fill the empty units.”

“In terms of the upper floors, the natural light and windows and the structure of the building mean it would lend itself well to a conversion to apartments.”

If approved, the scheme is expected to take 50 weeks to complete.

Click here to find out more about the Chesterfield Waterside development

Click here to find out more about the Northern Gateway development

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure

HappyWired appoints hometown PR agency Roaring Mouse to support expansion plans

Local technology firm, HappyWired, has appointed Chesterfield’s Roaring Mouse Public Relations to help expand its client base in the UK.

Roaring Mouse will lead a proactive content marketing campaign for HappyWired to attract IT professionals and owners of small and medium-sized businesses via online, search and social media. The campaign will guide HappyWired’s audience around opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency and collaboration using automation functionality included in increasingly popular cloud-based technologies such as Microsoft 365.

Based in Chesterfield, HappyWired specialises in delivering business, process and content automation projects for organisations across the UK. The consultancy employs ten people currently and is a certified Microsoft Gold Partner.

Simon Wright, CEO of HappyWired, comments: “Organisations of all sizes are adopting powerful cloud-based software such as Microsoft 365, which offers incredible opportunities to automate tedious, time-consuming tasks. We’ve engaged Roaring Mouse to communicate how these technologies can work harder for organisations and ensure that potential customers recognise how HappyWired can help them to develop new sources of competitive advantage.”

James Taylor, founder of Roaring Mouse Public Relations, comments: “HappyWired is a hidden gem in the world of technology consulting, with deep technical expertise, a friendly approach to business and extensive experience gained from dozens of successful joint projects with Microsoft. We are delighted that it has chosen Roaring Mouse to play such an important role in its expansion plans.”

HappyWired are members of the Chesterfield Champions local business membership scheme. To find out more about the Chesterfield Champions, click here.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Featured, Home

Derbyshire County Council offer apprenticeship support to local SMEs

Small and medium size businesses getting back on their feet across Derbyshire are being reminded that they can get apprenticeship support funded by Derbyshire County Council.

Derbyshire County Council are using some of their apprentice levy to pay for training for apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses.Apprenticeships can be undertaken by new employees, or existing employees in a wide range of business sectors such as manufacturing, construction, health and social care, digital and many more. There are different types of industry standard apprenticeships at a wide variety of different levels.

Councillor Tony King, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us to put our lives and businesses on hold. But now lockdown restrictions are easing slightly and businesses are starting to open up again, this is a great opportunity to remind companies of the value of apprenticeships.”

“During this period of recovery, apprenticeships offer a great opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses across Derbyshire to boost their business efficiency by taking on a new apprentice, or upskilling existing employees.”

More information is available from:-

Derbyshire County Council will fund the full duration of the apprenticeship training, and provide expert help to find the right apprenticeship for the individual needs of the business.

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

Chesterfield College promises to kick-start the return to education for 16 year olds before September

Chesterfield College will ensure all new students have access to a programme of online learning and support, designed to kick-start their return to education before the start of the new academic year in September.

The measures are designed specifically to support current year 11 students to allow them to catch up on the missed months of learning they have had since March.

The college has put a range of measures in place to ensure students who will be joining them to study a full-time course in September can start developing the skills they need now. They have streamlined the application and enrolment process to allow new-starters access to expert tutors and a range of support before the new term gets underway.

The new programme will include engaging, interactive online learning and support specific to the subject students want to study. It will also provide plenty of opportunities to get to know tutors and their peers on their course.

David Malone, Chief Operations Officer at Chesterfield College said: “We want work with school leavers, and anyone else returning to learning, to reduce the impact their time away from education will have had. This initiative will help to provide a head start so they can make the next academic year really count and give them the best chance to boost their future grades. ”

He added: “Our promise to all new students who take part in this programme is that they will start the new academic year feeling prepared and confident to move onto the next stage of their studies. As soon as students are offered a place at college they are part of our community and this programme will help them to feel connected from the outset.”

To take advantage of this initiative, the college is urging school leavers to apply as soon as possible to ensure they secure a place on the course they are most interested in. Once enrolled, tutors will be in touch with key information about how students can get their learning started, giving them access to the college’s virtual learning environment.

To find out more about the courses available visit www.chesterfield.ac.uk/courses. Trained advisors are also available for anyone who needs support to choose a course or find out about funding on 01246 500500 or enquiries@chesterfield.ac.uk.

Click here to find out more about Chesterfield College

Chesterfield College

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Featured, Home

Derbyshire’s homelessness support during pandemic recognised nationally

The efforts of those involved to house rough sleepers in Derbyshire following the outbreak of Covid-19 have been recognised nationally in the Local Government Association (LGA) briefing paper on the response to accommodating rough sleepers during the pandemic.

Chesterfield Borough Council has been actively engaged in The Derbyshire Homeless Officers Group, delivering Derbyshire’s response to the Government’s “Everyone In” initiative, a national effort.

In Chesterfield, the council has successfully provided temporary accommodation for 30 rough sleepers across the borough.

Local hotels and bed & breakfast facilities were commissioned alongside existing accommodation options. In addition, the council developed a number of new temporary accommodation units within its own housing stock to ensure that all who needed a safe place to stay during the pandemic could be accommodated.

Following the success of the ‘Everyone In’ initiative, the council is now working on ‘Keeping Everyone In’, developing new support arrangements and services to try and ensure that all who have been temporarily accommodated are able to access suitable, permanent accommodation.

Councillor Chris Ludlow, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for housing, said: “The way in which the council and our partners have come together to ensure we could house all of the borough’s rough sleepers through the period of the Covid-19 lockdown has been nothing short of outstanding.”

“However, using hotels and other establishments as temporary accommodation was only ever going to be a short-term solution. Our aim now is to ensure that all of our rough sleepers have an offer of suitable, permanent accommodation and access to wrap-around support services to give them the very best chance of re-building their lives.”

Chesterfield Borough Council have also announced that due to the easing of Government restrictions on the housing market and people being able to move homes, they will be restarting the advertising of council homes through Chesterfield Home Options from Monday 22 June.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home

Citizens Advice Chesterfield releases details of support given to local people during pandemic

Citizens Advice Chesterfield have released a report including details of the support they have provided to local residents during the Coronavirus pandemic.

From the start of lockdown in March to the end of April, Citizens Advice Chesterfield supported 942 people with 3078 problems.

Staff and volunteers adapted the delivery of their services once the pandemic began, adding extra advisers to their telephone lines and also introducing a webchat feature to their website in order to meet the increase in demand.

The report shows people needing help to access emergency food, cash or vital essentials was 5 times higher than in the same period last year. There were also 4 times the amount of employment issues then in the same period in 2019.

The top four areas where advice was issued, in order, were:

  • Universal Credit
  • Benefits and Tax Credits
  • Debt and Money Issues
  • Employment

The proportion of people seeking advice under 30 years of age was double that in the same period in 2019.

Linda Moore, Chair of Trustees, commented: “Trustees are constantly in awe of what our staff and volunteers do for local residents on a daily basis and we feel privileged to be a part of such a vital, life-saving service. Recently though, what has been done is nothing short of miraculous. We are proud of their work and achievements. We want to thank them publicly for their tireless dedication.”

As one of their clients said: “You were amazing and listened to what I said. I don’t know what I would have done without your help and support. Thank you.”

Advice Appointments are available throughout each weekday between 9am and 5pm. To access help, please contact the triage and advice line on 0300 4568437, open from 10am to 2pm Monday to Friday.

Click here to find out more about Citizens Advice Chesterfield

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Featured, Home, Leisure

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