Featured

New survey launched to better understand how Covid-19 has affected physical activity levels

28th May 2020

Active Derbyshire has launched a new survey to better understand how physical activity levels may have been affected during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey, which is being launched across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, aims to get a further understanding of whether resident’s frequency of exercise has been affected positively or negatively, and to explore the possible reasons for this.

The survey will run until Friday 6 June and anyone who participates will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win £50 in shopping vouchers.

Anyone can participate and is encouraged to share with as many friends and families as possible so more communities can be reached.

Stuart Batchelor, Active Derbyshire Director, said: “The Active Derbyshire team, our partners and our board are committed to our vision, and working hard to deliver our vision of making physical activity, including sport, the norm for people who live, study and work in our communities.”

He added: “Active Derbyshire are calling on all partners and stakeholders who share this purpose, to work together collaboratively to make physical activity the norm for people who live and work within our communities. By sharing this survey, you can help us to gather important information to better understand the physical activity landscape during this time – keep an eye on our social channels and newsletters where we’ll be sharing the survey also.”

To take part in the survey please visit: https://www.activederbyshire.org.uk/active-at-home#survey

Click here to find out more about Active Derbyshire

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

Local residents invited to help name new Wingerworth development

28th May 2020

Local residents in are being invited by housebuilder Rippon Homes to name a new development of homes in Wingerworth.

The development located on Deerlands Road will comprise 180 properties, split over four phases. Each phase requires a title as well as the overall development. This is the second development Rippon has built in the village having provided 51 high quality new homes at Kings Meadow also on Deerlands Road back in 2015.

The mix of two, three and four bedroom homes will help meet the demand for starter and affordable homes in the area, allowing younger and expanding families to return to Wingerworth and support local facilities such as the schools, village hall, health facilities and local retail businesses.

Carefully designed to blend with the existing homes in the village with a mixture of two-storey properties and bungalows, the new Rippon homes will still boast modern interiors and features alongside the thoughtfully designed exterior designs which benefit from off road parking and electric car charging points.

The village itself offers an excellent range of amenities including shops, pubs, communal facilities and well- reputed schools available for a range of age groups from nursery to secondary grades.

Ian Dyke, Managing Director at Rippon Homes said, “We are very pleased to be bringing our quality homes to Wingerworth once again and look forward to selecting the perfect name to reflect that.”

“We know Wingerworth has a very close knit community and the new development will become an integral part of the village life, hence it was a natural decision to invite local people to name it!”

Entries should be submitted to ripponhomes@unsworthsugden.co.uk by Monday 22nd June 2020. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number alongside your name suggestion and reason behind it.

Rippon is hosting a public consultation for the development online for the first time via its website on Friday 29th May 2020, which can be accessed here.

Feedback can be given via the online form and the plans are available to view on the web page as they would be if we were having a physical event.

You can view the Site Plan & Street Scenes here.

Images credit: Rippon Homes

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

Chesterfield company create virtual community art gallery

27th May 2020

Seymour & Lerhn, a division of Chesterfield-based technology Oasis Studio, have created The Rainbow Gallery, an online community art project where both children and adults can submit pictures of their artwork to be showcased in the virtual gallery.

In order to adhere to the latest government advice, Seymour & Lerhn decided to think creatively and decided to host a virtual art exhibition. Delivered online in an immersive 360-degree environment, visitors can view and submit their images of colourful paintings, sculptures, and even poetry. The aim of the gallery is to be inclusive and available for everyone, whilst celebrating the fantastic efforts that NHS staff and key workers are going through.

Seymour & Lerhn Associate, Charlie Power (right), explains: “We created The Rainbow Gallery as a way to bring people together, even during social distancing. As you walk down the street or look on social media, lots of people are creating artwork to celebrate the key workers of the UK. We thought we’d create a virtual space to bring all the fantastic artwork together in a central place, in an immersive, interactive way.”

The exhibition is free to tour around, and visitors can observe the artwork created by people from across the UK, without even having to leave their own home.

Oasis Studio Founder & Director, Paul Deakin, said: “It’s easy to just focus on the physical effects to public health during COVID-19, however we also need to focus on the mental health of the nation. With people not being able to see family and friends, getting furloughed, or potentially spending a lot time on their own, the morale of the nation is low.”

“We’re not saying that all mental health problems will go away with a single painting, but art offers escapism to focus on a project, have a fun time, and enjoy the end result.”

Seymour & Lerhn are encouraging residents across the country to submit and create their own artwork, as they are promoting the benefits to mental health by doing so. To tour The Rainbow Gallery or to submit your artwork, click here.

Click here to find out more about Oasis Studio

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

Outwood Academy Newbold donates PPE to local key workers

27th May 2020

A secondary academy based in Chesterfield has donated PPE equipment to Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Elm Lodge Care Home in Newbold.

Outwood Academy Newbold has donated plastic gowns and 300 pairs of goggles from its science labs to Chesterfield Royal Hospital to assist staff during the current coronavirus outbreak.

Students and staff have also been busy making PPE visors using laminator pouches, plastic sheeting and cut with the academy’s laser cutter. The visors have since been donated to Elm Lodge Care Home in Chesterfield.

Steve Roberts, Principal of Outwood Academy Newbold, said: “We are in the midst of a national crisis and it is time that we believe we all need to come together to support each other to help the country get through this situation. This is why we decided to take action to do what we can to help our NHS.”

“Obviously we aren’t equipped with the medical equipment that can be of use to the NHS, but as a school we do have science labs and as such we have plenty of goggles which are of use so we decided to donate them.”

“We will continue to make more visors like this and have offered it out to other care homes in the local area.”

Outwood Academy Newbold is part of the new North Derbyshire Careers Hub, a network of 21 schools and colleges working together to transform careers education for young people across the region.

Led by the D2N2 LEP, with financial support from the Careers & Enterprise Company, the Careers Hub works collaboratively with local schools, universities, training providers, employers, Enterprise Advisers, careers professionals and Shirebrook Academy to deliver the Gatsby Benchmarks and improve careers outcomes for young people.

In addition, the Careers Hub also offers a central fund for employer engagement activities and training for a ‘Careers Leader’ in each school.

Daniel Heffernan, D2N2 Careers Hub Lead, said: “We are delighted that the students are using this time to both increase their employability skills whilst supporting our fantastic NHS.”

Click here to find out more about the North Derbyshire Careers Hub

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Featured, Home

Chesterfield town centre prepares for retail reopening

26th May 2020

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement earlier this month regarding plans to restart the economy and ease lockdown restrictions over a planned period, Chesterfield Borough Council is working with retailers and market traders to assist wherever possible with the phased re-opening of shops and stalls in the town centre.

The safety of those who live, work and shop in Chesterfield town centre is the council’s number one priority. Over the next couple of weeks, people visiting the town centre will start to see a number of physical changes in advance of more market stalls opening, potentially from Monday 1 June and more shops from Monday 15 June.

Signage will be visible around the town centre to advise shoppers where to queue outside individual shops, and where restrictions may be enforced, as they are currently at the Market Hall, regarding limiting the number of people who can enter premises at the same time.

There will also be signs in other areas such as Chesterfield Borough Council car parks and green spaces reminding people to follow social distancing guidelines keeping two metres apart from anyone outside of their household, and not to congregate in groups.

Barriers will be available for shops to use to make it clear where people should queue and wait to enter shops and this process will be supported by a number of council appointed ambassadors who will be deployed around the town centre to assist shoppers and maintain safe social distancing.

The council has been working with a number of town centre retailers to establish what assistance they might need in controlling queuing outside their stores, particularly in terms of barriers, signage and floor markings; the intention being to create safe queuing zones and pedestrian flows in these areas.

The public toilets located in the Market Hall will re-open from Monday 1 June, with social distancing measures and extra cleaning processes in place; this may mean increased queues for the toilets.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “Our priority is to ensure that Chesterfield town centre is as safe as possible for everyone. Whilst we are still awaiting further government guidance about the relaxation of lockdown measures, the council is committed to supporting local retailers and market traders to return to the high street.”

“We have conducted a specific review looking at how the council can help our town centre retailers and traders to start to return by introducing positive measures such as signage reminding people to follow social distancing guidance and controlling queuing outside shops, all of which will be in place soon.”

Chesterfield Borough Council is encouraging its shopworkers and residents to cycle or walk into the town centre, wherever possible.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, added: “Please do think about whether you need to drive into the town centre or take public transport. We would encourage you to cycle or walk. This would good for the environment and good for your health and wellbeing.”

The council will be lowering the car parking barriers and re-introducing car parking charges from Monday 1 June.

Residents are reminded to use their Resident’s Permit, which entitles them to park for free in most car parks before 10am and after 3pm Monday to Saturday and all day on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Find out more about this here: https://www.chesterfield.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/parking-car-parks-and-parking-fines/free-parking-for-chesterfield-residents.aspx

Funding generated from town centre car parking charges helps the council to cover the cost of several essential services, including CCTV, street cleaning and public toilets provision.

If you would like to find out more about the location of car parks in Chesterfield or car parking charges visit https://www.chesterfield.gov.uk/parking-roads-and-travel/parking-car-parks-and-parking-fines/car-parks-in-chesterfield.aspx

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

Peak District & Derbyshire marks English Tourism Week

26th May 2020

For English Tourism Week (25-31 May), Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire is highlighting the need to protect the long-term future of tourism – by shining a spotlight on the sector’s value to the local economy.

English Tourism Week is an annual celebration of the tourism industry, dedicated to showcasing the country’s diverse tourism offer. For this year’s event, Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire has joined with local leaders to pledge support for the sector’s recovery.

Tourism is a vital industry in the Peak District and Derbyshire, employing more than 30,000 people and generating more than £2.3 billion a year for the local economy. But the impact of government restrictions and the seasonality of the industry mean that many businesses now require crucial support.

Recent surveys* collated by Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire show that by March, coronavirus had already had ‘a major negative impact’ on over 80% of tourism businesses, with many reporting cancellations as far ahead as October. If lockdown restrictions lasted until the end of September, businesses said they would lose 97% of their income.

Ahead of the potential reopening of the hospitality industry on 4 July, 30% of businesses said they wouldn’t be able to open if restrictions such as social distancing measures remained in place. Over 20% said they may be forced to cease trading entirely – highlighting the need for long-term support to protect the sector’s future.

Throughout English Tourism Week, Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire is encouraging people to pledge their support for local tourism businesses by using the hashtag #ProtectTourism and #EnglishTourismWeek20.

The tourist board is urging its followers on social media to share a ‘Peak District and Derbyshire Wish List’ of businesses they look forward to visiting when restrictions have eased, and to continue experiencing the Peak District and Derbyshire from home via www.visitpeakdistrict.com/inspiration/at-home.

Jo Dilley, Managing Director of Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, said: “English Tourism Week is about celebrating the quality and value of our tourism offer, and during these testing times it has never been more important to support our local businesses and highlight the valuable contribution they make to the local economy.”

She added: “Tourism has been one of the earliest and hardest hit of all economic sectors and we must act now to protect the industry’s future. We’re working closely with our local and national partners to plan for recovery and help businesses bounce back. Part of these plans include the development of common industry standards that will provide a ‘ring of confidence’ for both businesses and visitors, so the sector can open safely when the time is right.”

Leader of Derbyshire County Council Councillor Barry Lewis said: “It’s vital that Derbyshire’s tourism industry has the tools at its disposal to bounce back once restrictions are lifted and people are able to start visiting our wonderful county once more.”

“Derbyshire County Council, together with Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire, has a key role to play in helping the sector re-open for business and we’re committed to supporting the industry to safely welcome back visitors when the time comes.”

Robert Largan, Member of Parliament for High Peak, said: “Tourism is a vital part of our local economy. A huge number of High Peak jobs depend on tourism, both directly and indirectly. It’s really important that we do all we can to protect the industry through this crisis, as tourism will play a key role in our economic recovery. I look forward to welcoming visitors back to the Peak District, to enjoy our beautiful part of the world and to spend money here, when the crisis is over.”

*Results taken from Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire’s Coronavirus Business Impact Survey (17-23 March 2020) and Tourism Recovery Planning Business Survey (27-30 April 2020).

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

Chesterfield Borough Council’s Careline supports vulnerable residents

24th May 2020

Chesterfield Borough Council’s Careline and independent living services’ have continued to support over 4,000 older and vulnerable people during the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

Councillor Chris Ludlow, cabinet member for housing, said: “Careline is a really important service and at this unprecedented time has proved to be an essential lifeline for many members of our community. The team have been working round the clock to ensure everyone receives the support they need.”

Careline allows people to maintain their independence in their own home, by providing services which meet individual needs whilst also delivering essential preventative actions in support of social care, GPs and primary care, and more acute NHS services.

Throughout the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak the Careline service has proved to be even more important than normal as it has helped to reduce pressure on the emergency services at this challenging time, as well as providing reassurance for the most vulnerable and their families.

Between 23 March and 26 April 2020, the council’s Careline monitoring centre received 6,160 non-emergency calls and 487 emergency calls. Of these emergency calls, the team were able to visit and directly assist 131 people who had fallen in their home, whilst 72 of the calls resulted in referrals to the ambulance service for emergency health issues.

Officers of the council’s independent living service have also been contacting more than 100 people each day to check on their wellbeing and to offer help with any applications or referrals for further support at this time.

If you or a family member live in the Chesterfield Borough and could benefit from the Careline service you can register by calling 0300 3230076 or visiting: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/careline.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home

County Council release statement on Derbyshire school reopenings

22nd May 2020

Councillor Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Young People at Derbyshire County Council, has made a statement regarding reopening Derbyshire schools following the Coronvirus outbreak.

“We support the Government in its ambition to see schools opened up to more pupils as soon as it is sufficiently safe to do. To do this we’ve been working flat out to support schools in interpreting the guidance and planning to admit the target year groups announced by the Prime Minister on 10 May.”

“This is an incredibly complicated issue to work through. Unfortunately, the guidance so far issued by the Department for Education has not always been entirely consistent or clear on some key aspects and this has created some issues for schools and the council.”

“Due to the challenges that we’re having to work through with schools, it is clear now that many primary schools in Derbyshire will not be able to admit the additional year groups (reception, year 1 and year 6) that the Government had envisaged by 1 June. This is because the latest advice from the Government is that children need to be 2m apart in classrooms, and that it is not safe to rota children through the week and more time is needed to work through these issues.”

“The Department for Education have been absolutely clear with us that the priority remains the children of key workers and those who are vulnerable. In turn we’ve made clear to all schools that from 1 June their first priority should be aiming to increase the number of children from these groups.”

“Then we have advised that they should also continue to plan for how they might accommodate children from the other key year groups (reception, year 1, year 6, year 10 and year 12).”

“Every school in Derbyshire is different and their approaches to offering more places back in classrooms for our children and young people will vary.”

“If schools do admit children on 1 June from the key year groups they will need to make sure they have the room to do this safely.”

“We hope that secondary schools will be able to offer some face to face learning for year 10 and year 12 students, due to the greater flexibility they have in terms of space.”

“We will continue working with schools to identify when they will be able to admit whole year groups in the coming weeks, although for many of our schools this will still be challenging.”

“I want to thank head teachers, school employees and governors who have worked extremely hard over recent weeks as they plan for 1 June. I’d also like to thank parents and carers in advance for bearing with us and their local schools while we continue to work very hard to deliver on our collective ambition to get more children back to school as soon as possible.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Featured, Home

Chesterfield College to hold virtual events to help people plan for September

22nd May 2020

Chesterfield College is holding a series of virtual events to help people get the information they need to make the right choice about their future study options. The college is inviting school leavers, and adults who want to retrain or develop their skills, to join any of their virtual events taking place throughout May and June.

A virtual open day takes place on Wednesday 3 June between 4 and 6pm and a new series of ‘Live at Lunchtime’ chats on Instagram are taking place on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The virtual events will demonstrate the range of courses available in September, from beauty to engineering or digital technologies to vehicle refinishing. They will provide an opportunity to explore all the study options available.

The virtual open day will include video interviews with staff from every area of study as well as the different support teams across the college. Advisors with specialist knowledge on academic support, finance, travel and other aspects of college life will be on hand to answer questions via a live chat during the event.

During the Instagram ‘Live at Lunchtime’ chats, you can hear from special guests across the college as they talk about studying particular subjects and what other aspects of college life they can expect.

Julie Richards (right), principal and Chief Executive of Chesterfield College said; “It has never been more important to focus on the future and although we can’t hold our normal open days right now, we hope these virtual events will help people get the information they need to make the best choices to be ready for September.

“I want to reassure everyone in our community that there is a place for you at Chesterfield College. We’re still teaching and helping our students to learn the skills they need for the careers they want. We’re helping to train the next generation of healthcare workers, engineers, scientists and many other professions our economy needs now and in the future. When the new academic year starts we will be here to support all our new and returning students and apprentices to secure a positive start to their studies.”

You can register to take part in the virtual open day here and all the joining information will be sent to you.

To find out more about the series of ‘Live at Lunchtime’ chats taking place, click here.

Click here to find out more about Chesterfield College

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Made in Chesterfield

Custom Solar completes a further installation project at Port of Southampton

21st May 2020

Chesterfield’s Custom Solar has successfully and safely completed another solar project working closely with Associated British Ports (ABP) at the Port of Southampton.

Despite the impact of Covid-19, the 120kWp solar system was successfully installed on the Ocean Terminal Coach Canopy within 6 working days, incorporating amended safe systems of work and social distancing measures.

The project is an extension to the existing 1.7mW previously installed by Custom Solar across multiple buildings on the port including the main Ocean Terminal, this means Solar is now providing over 20% of annual electrical demand.

The Port of Southampton is the nation’s second largest and most efficient container port, as well as the UK’s number one for cars and cruise. In 2016, ABP and its customers handled 89 million tonnes of cargo. They support 119,000 jobs and contribute £7.5 billion to the UK economy every year.

Custom Solar operate and maintain all of the systems across the port providing live monitoring via their own bespoke monitoring solution, full reactive maintenance and annual scheduled service visits.

Matthew Brailsford, MD of Custom Solar, said: “Once again we are very proud to be supporting ABP in the quest to source the majority of their power from solar energy, it proves what at integral role solar has in our energy future. This project is all the more amazing as we delivered it during a global pandemic and amended the entire way in which we approach our construction sites. It’s truly been a fantastic effort by the team.”

You can find out more about the project on the Case Studies section of Custom Solar’s website here.

Click here to find out more about Custom Solar

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

Shorts win Best Private Client Tax Practice in national awards

21st May 2020

Chesterfield Champions Shorts are thrilled to have been crowned Best Private Client Tax Practice in the prestigious 2020 Tolley’s Taxation Awards, held this month.

With COVID-19 situation meaning that the annual black-tie award ceremony in London could not be held, this year’s event was run online and the Shorts team joined in to watch through Zoom together as all of the category results were announced.

Tolley’s Taxation Awards are highly regarded within the Accountancy and Taxation profession; awards which continue to recognise the finest achievements and talents of remarkable individuals and teams across the entire UK tax profession. Winning or being a short-listed Finalist for a Tolley’s award brings prestige to any team and shows recognition from a first-class judging panel.

Shorts were thrilled to have been recognised as Finalists for two consecutive years, and in a fiercely competitive category with some exceptional talent amongst the final shortlist.

Best Private Client Tax Practice This category was open to practices of all sizes across the UK, and the winning firm has provided sufficient evidence and documentation to provide the judges with a clear picture of their business and the service provided to clients.

Chris Chambers, Senior Partner and head of Shorts’ Private Client practice (right), commented “This is a significant achievement for Shorts, which is made even more special coming in the year that we mark our 130th Anniversary. It felt a little strange that we couldn’t come together as a team and celebrate our achievements in the usual way, but I was delighted that everyone was able to join together and share the news online – and we will celebrate later in the year, when possible.”

“I remain intensely proud of the team we have built at Shorts, and winning the award for Best Private Client Tax Practice backs up my firm belief that the service we provide for our clients is exemplary. The Tolley’s Taxation awards are regarded as the Industry’s Elite, recognising the very best and we are absolutely delighted to be Finalists for the second year running – winning it this year is phenomenal.”

There were five teams shortlisted this year, of varying sizes and in the end, the judges chose the winner who showed that a regional firm with a passion for excellence, can compete at the highest level.

You can view the Tolley’s Awards ceremony here.

Click here to find out more about Shorts

Click here to find out more about becoming a Chesterfield Champion

Please note this image was taken before the coronavirus outbreak

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