Leisure

Schools invited to nominate sporting stars for annual awards

23rd June 2016

Derbyshire’s brightest and best sporting stars are to be recognised at a special awards ceremony later this year – with schools now encouraged to nominate their talented youngsters to ensure they don’t miss out.

The annual awards will return to Chesterfield’s Proact Stadium on October 19th – and teachers, schools, sports associations and area associations can now put forward outstanding performers who deserve recognition.

The Derbyshire Schools’ Sports Association (DSSA) Sports Awards honour young people who have excelled whilst competing in school sport or sport outside of school, as well as young people and adults who have been involved in voluntary roles off the playing field, court or gym floor.

Nominations are invited for individuals and teams from primary, secondary and special schools in Individual Achievement, Team Achievement, Young Leaders / Ambassadors and Adult Volunteer categories.

There is also a Special Award, for media and arts contribution to school sport, which recognises individuals and groups who have produced exceptional work such as photography, film, written reports, music or dance in relation to school sport.

The Individual Achievement, Team Achievement and Young Leaders / Ambassadors awards will be divided into Primary and Secondary School categories, as well as a disability category.

More information about the awards can be found at www.derbyshiresport.co.uk/dssa-awards, where an online nomination form is available. A nomination form can also be downloaded.

The closing date for all nominations is 5pm on Friday, July 29th.

Secondary School Team of the Year
Secondary School of the Year 2015: Tupton Hall School Under-12s Girls Football Team

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Manufacturing, Uncategorised

Chesterfield College inspires town to cycle at Aviva Women’s Tour

22nd June 2016

Chesterfield College students supported Chesterfield Borough Council’s role in the Aviva Women’s Tour of Britain cycling event last week, by helping school children, and members of the public, to get involved and get pedalling.

Students who are currently studying Public Service were involved in marshalling the event route and helping to run the schools event, where children got to ride part of the route and have a go on balance bikes in the market square. The students put their skills to the test to help with managing the crowds and ensuring the safety of spectators and riders.

Sports students and staff challenged members of the public in New Square, in the town centre, to see how far they could cycle in 2 minutes using a spinning bike. They were also on hand to encourage and advise women to take part in sporting activities, as well as carrying out fitness testing.

Stuart Allen, Director of Learning from Health, Wellbeing and Society, said:-

“This kind of high profile sporting event really brings communities together and inspires people to take part in sport. We’re delighted the college has been invited to play a role to help make it happen and to show how the people of Chesterfield can improve their health, fitness and wellbeing. Our students did a fantastic job at sharing their skills and expertise with people, young and old, in order to help them improve their health and fitness.

“I want to thank staff and students from our public services and sport courses for working so hard to make our involvement in the Aviva Women’s Tour so successful.”

Sports students from Chesterfield College encouraging members of the public to take part in a cycling challenge at the Aviva Women’s Tour event

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure, Uncategorised

Chesterfield FC launch summer Soccer School

20th June 2016

Chesterfield FC Community Trust are set to launch a series of Soccer School sessions for 5 – 13 year olds this August.

Taking place at St Mary’s Catholic High School, the sessions will be delivered by FA qualified Chesterfield FC coaches in a fun environment and feature a technique and skills masterclass, as well as free-kick and penalty challenges.

Michael Noon from the Chesterfield FC Community Trust said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of the Chesterfield FC Soccer School. Our aim is for the kids who attend to receive top quality coaching and enjoy themselves at the same time.

“There will be appearances from club mascot Chester the Field Mouse and we will also have tours of the Proact Stadium on Friday afternoons.”

The sessions are open to ages 5-13 and will take place from 9am to 4pm. Those attending need to bring trainers/shin pads and football boots (if available), along with a packed lunch.

Pre-booking costs just £15 per day or £60 per week while pay on the day costs £20. All those pre-booking will be entered into a prize draw to win a signed Spireites shirt.

To book, please phone 01246 264030 or email activities@chesterfield-fc.co.uk.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Lizzie Armitstead takes stage win and Aviva Yellow Jersey in Derbyshire

17th June 2016

Lizzie Armitstead powered to an emotional victory in Chesterfield at the end of the third stage of the Aviva Women’s Tour, outsprinting a trio of breakaway companions to move into the Aviva Yellow Jersey of race leader with two stages remaining.

See pictures from the finish in Chesterfield

The reigning World Road Race Champion crossed the line pointing to the sky, dedicating her win in Derbyshire to the memory of Jo Cox, the Birstall MP who was murdered yesterday.

Armitstead crossed the line clear of second placed Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio to now enjoy a five second lead over the Cervelo Bigla rider on the Aviva General Classification, with overnight leader Marianne Vos leading the bunch in for fifth, 36-seconds down.

The Boels Dolmans rider had led Moolman-Pasio and Wiggle HIGH5’s Elisa Longo Borghini across to the day’s breakaway group, catching the group of 11-riders shortly after the Strava Queen of the Mountains climb of Bank Road in Matlock.

Those eleven, who went clear after the feed zone and around 47-kilometres of racing, included the likes of Hannah Barnes, Chantal Blaak and Australian national champion Amanda Spratt, who went on to finish fourth.

While the break were working well together, they were powerless to stop the pursuit of Armitstead, Moolman-Pasio and Longo Borghini, with the trio making the junction after the summit of Bank Road having gone clear on the flatter valley roads following the Chain Reaction Cycles Sprint at Darley Dale.

Having missed the move, Vos and her Rabo Liv team chased hard, but with around 15-kilometres to go Armitstead attacked again, at first joined by just Moolman-Pasio before Longo Borghini and Spratt also made the junction.

The quartet worked well to hold off the chasing Rabo Liv, whose pursuit saw the remnants of the breakaway caught, allowing them to contest the finish in Chesterfield’s Market Place, with Armitstead leading out the sprint to take victory, her second ever stage win in the Aviva Women’ Tour.

Behind Vos outsprinted Armitstead’s Boels Dolmans teammate Amalie Dideriksen for fifth, ahead of Leah Kirchmann and Giorgia Bronzini.

In addition to the Aviva Yellow Jersey and a five second lead overall, Armitstead also retained the Adnams Best British Rider Jersey, with Dani King her nearest challenger in that competition, 47-seconds back in 15th overall.

Despite losing yellow Marianne Vos retains the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey, 11-points clear of Stage One winner Christine Majerus, with Vos’ compatriot Floortje Maackaij holding a 34-second lead in the Best Young Rider classification presented by Stoke-on-Trent, European City of Sport.

Having been in the day’s 11-rider move, Katie Hall led the race across both Strava Queen of the Mountains climbs at Winster and Matlock to take a 14-point lead over Ilona Hoeksma.

Highlights of Stage Three will be shown on ITV4 at 23:00 on Friday 17 June, with a repeat on Saturday morning at 08:55. The programme will also be available on demand via the ITV Hub catch-up service for 30-days.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Marking the centenary of the Battle of the Somme

17th June 2016

Chesterfield residents are invited to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme on Friday 1st July.

On the day Chesterfield’s mayor, Councillor Steve Brunt will blow a whistle three times at 7.30am to signal the exact time that the whistles were blown at the Somme to signify the beginning of the battle.

The event will also include a march with standards, a rendition of the Last Post and a two minutes silence followed by a wreath laying ceremony.

Councillor Sharon Blank, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for governance, said: “The Battle of the Somme was a terrible event in which hundreds of thousands of servicemen were killed within hours of the battle starting.

Chesterfield’s Battle of the Somme commemoration takes place at the war memorial on Rose Hill, opposite the Town Hall on Friday 1 July. People are asked to be in place for 7.10am.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Perez duo gear up for Father’s Day races

17th June 2016

Father’s Day on Sunday will be one to remember for Chesterfield’s well known rally driver Steve Perez with both Steve and his son set to compete in different Ginetta races at the Croft circuit in North Yorkshire.

Seb Perez, Steve’s 16 year old son, will compete in the Simpson Race Products Ginetta Junior Championship – the popular race series contested by 14 to 17 year-olds.

Father Steve, 4 times British National Rally Champion and 2014 BTRDA Gold Star Rally Champion, is set to race in the more prominent Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT5 Challenge with his Amigos and Global Brands sponsored car.

More familar with the mud and dust of the forests of Wales in his VK Kick Energy sponsored Ford Focus WRC rally car, Sunday’s competition will be a big change for rally driver, Perez Senior.

Chairman of Chesterfield-based Global Brands, Steve Perez said, “It’s a very different discipline driving a race car on a circuit, but the Ginetta GT5 is a very easy car to drive; I just have to remember I am not in a group 4 Escort rally car on some deep forest track and cut out the Scandinavian Flicks!”

Son Seb will be in high spirits this weekend after his latest race weekend at Oulton Park just over a week ago in which he had a fantastic weekend. Seb jokes: “I’m sure he (Steve) will be doing some learning off of me for a change; it would be good to see him get a nice Father’s Day gift of a win at Croft.”

The end of the Ginetta Junior season is at the beginning of October and there is still a long road ahead for Seb to prove what he is made. Seb’s performance and all the action is broadcast live on the Sundays on ITV 4.

Editorial by Paul Horton.

Images – Landscape: Perez in action at Oulton Park: Jakob Ebrey Photography. Portrait: Paul Horton Motorsport Photography.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer

Tickets on sale for first RHS Flower Show at Chatsworth

16th June 2016

Tickets are now available to buy for the much-anticipated RHS Chatsworth Flower Show.

The iconic, spectacular 1,000-acre parkland – home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and set in the heart of the rolling Derbyshire countryside – is set to host the show for the first time in June 2017.

Nick Mattingley, Director of RHS Shows said: “RHS Chatsworth will be playful, fun and unforgettable for visitors from beginning to end. We, and our contributors, are developing really exciting ideas for show content, we’re looking forward to sharing them as they develop over the next year.”

“For the 2017 show, the overarching theme will be ‘Design Revolutionaries’, celebrating creative people through history, the present and future, who through their foresight and innovation change the way we think about and approach gardens and garden design.

The show will celebrate great historical revolutionaries such as Sir Joseph Paxton and Lancelot Capability Brown; both of whom have left a lasting legacy in landscape design and had a great impact on the Chatsworth Estate.

The Floral Marquee will take inspiration from Joseph Paxton’s Great Conservatory which housed a host of horticultural specimens, from exotic palms and aquatic plants, to brilliantly coloured flowers.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Over 50 new homes planned for former Newbold School site

15th June 2016

Plans have been announced for 56 new homes to built on the former Newbold School site in Chesterfield.

The 4.8 acres of land is to be sold to Miller Homes by Chesterfield Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council for a mix of two, three, four and five bedroom houses. Most of the houses will be two storey properties, with four planned to be two-and-a-half storey homes and one a bungalow.

The residential area would be accessed from Newbold Road and covers a rectangular area that is also next to Loundsley Green Road and Newbold Back Lane.

The land has been vacant since Derbyshire County Council demolished the former Newbold School in 2006. It is allocated as a site that is suitable for housing, although planning permission will be required before the development could go ahead.

When a planning application is submitted the council will seek agreement for up to 30 per cent of the houses to be affordable homes and require Miller Homes to make a Community Infrastructure Levy payment that will contribute to education and open spaces facilities, such as playgrounds, in the borough.

Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for planning, said: “This is an important site in the town and if planning permission is approved then having 56 homes on this site would make an important contribution to the borough’s housing needs.

“It would also deliver that housing on a brownfield site that is already allocated as being suitable for housing, subject to the correct planning permission being in place.”

Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for council services, Councillor Andy Botham, said: “This proposal shows how two authorities can work together to provide much-needed affordable housing in Derbyshire.”

Miller Homes is intending to carry out initial public consultation with local residents in the coming weeks ahead of submitting a formal planning application.

Newbold School, which has since been renamed Outwood Academy Newbold, moved off Newbold Road in 2006 to merge its lower and upper schools on a single site in Highfield Lane.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure

World-renowned landscape designer Capability Brown inspires Florabundance

15th June 2016

The legacy of world-renowned landscape designer Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown is the inspiration behind this year’s Florabundance festival at Chatsworth, taking place from 24-28 June.

Leading floral designer Jonathan Moseley is set to showcase extravagant and colourful displays featuring British flowers, herbs and fragrances celebrating the tercentenary of the iconic garden designer.

‘Capability’ Brown transformed the parkland at Chatsworth in 1760 designed out of what was then working farmland – a challenge for the great designer who often talked of a garden’s ‘capabilities’ which earned him his well-known nickname. He continues to be hugely influential to landscape gardeners and architects across the world to this day.

This year’s Florabundance will see Chatsworth transformed with colourful displays of British grown flowers, fragrances and herbs and unusual exotics inspired by the current exhibition ‘The Grand Tour’. Each room will be bursting with foliage and colour and will have its own distinct features, with the Chapel drawing inspiration from Damien Hirst’s Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain. Local growers from Derbyshire and Yorkshire will provide assistance in setting up the displays.

The house will be dressed with large floral sculptural installations in both classic and contemporary styles using a combination of foliage specially gathered from the Chatsworth Estate.

The Sculpture Gallery is always one of the highlights of the event and will feature a collection of naturalistic displays influenced by the Chatsworth gardens and wider Capability Brown landscape.

Jonathan Moseley will be hosting a series of demonstrations and a workshop during the exhibition where visitors will be shown how to create inspirational designs using British flowers and receive top gardening tips from the renowned designer.

Florabundance takes place at Chatsworth from 24-28 June. For more information search online for Florabundance Festival.

(Image below shows leading floral designer Jonathan Moseley).

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Community choir to perform at West Studios

15th June 2016

Chesterfield’s community choir Qdos is set to showcase some of its best songs this week in a free performance taking place on Thursday 16th June at West Studios on Sheffield Road.

Set up in March 2015 by Qdos Creates – a local arts charity, which deliver projects, performances and workshops for children and adults locally and nationally – the choir includes members of all ages.

Anjie Taylor, Co Founder and Artistic Director of Qdos Creates comments: “There will be no written music or any instruments – just the natural voice and lots of lovely harmony lead by Andrea Small, a natural voice practitioner. We look forward to seeing lots of people at our performance!”

Community choir Qdos will perform at West Studios, Sheffield Road, Chesterfield on Thursday 16 June at 11.15am and everyone is welcome to attend. The performance is free of charge and refreshments will be available to buy.

The group is currently looking for a local sponsor or further funding so the choir can continue. If you are able to help with this or would like to join the choir please email anjie@qdoscreates.com or call 01226 242905.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Get ready for a weekend of cycling in Derbyshire

15th June 2016

Derbyshire is gearing up for a weekend of cycling action with the Aviva Women’s Tour on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June, and vintage cycling festival Eroica Britannia in Bakewell on 17 to 19 June.

The Aviva Women’s Tour will race through the county from Ashbourne to Chesterfield, travelling through Buxton, Chatsworth, Youlgreave and Matlock, on Friday 17 June.

Cycling fans in the county will also have the chance to catch the action for a second time a day later on Stage Four, which will also pass through South Derbyshire on its way from Nottingham to Stoke-on-Trent.

The Ashbourne to Chesterfield stage falls on the same weekend as the popular Eroica Britannia family festival in Bakewell, just a short ride from the route. The festival offers fun for all the family with three days of live music, entertainment, acres of shopping, the World’s biggest Bike Jumble and food festival.

Derbyshire County Council’s Deputy Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, Councillor John Owen, said: “The weekend promises to be a fantastic opportunity for the county. There’s the Aviva Women’s Tour where you can watch a top class international sporting event for free.

“And then we welcome thousands of cyclists on vintage bikes to take part in Eroica Britannia. This prestigious event will boost the county’s economy as many of the riders come from outside the county, as well as offering a great day out for local people.

British Cycling rider Jessie Walker said: “I’m delighted to be riding in the Aviva Women’s Tour. I’m very familiar with the Derbyshire hills as I’m from Sheffield and have been cycling in the county for many years.

“I competed in the inaugural Women’s Tour in 2014 and was overwhelmed by the support out on the roads. It really gives the race an amazing buzz, making it an extra special race on the calendar.”

Find out more about the Stage three finish in Chesterfield.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Leisure, Summer, Visiting