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New website highlights how Chesterfield’s businesses and service providers are adapting during lockdown

A new website is helping Chesterfield’s independent businesses and service providers continue to operate and supply their services and products during lockdown.

People are being urged to #LoveChesterfield and use the new website to access the products and services of local businesses and organisations during lockdown.

Developed and launched by Destination Chesterfield www.chesterfield.co.uk/supportinglocal has details of nearly 100 shops, food and drink businesses, training, support and service providers in and around Chesterfield that are continuing to operate by adapting their services to meet the needs of the community.

And Destination Chesterfield wants to add even more businesses, organisations and supports services to the free online directory!

A listing on the website is FREE and Destination Chesterfield is keen to hear from any business or service provider that is offering or adapting products and services in support of the COVID-19 effort.

There are eight categories on the website – Shopping, Food and Drink, Dine at Home, Keeping Busy, Pets, Education & Training, Business Services and Community Support – all combined in an easy to use directory. Details of the businesses and how you can purchase or access the products or services are listed on the site. Business owners and service providers can supply their details free of charge for inclusion on the new website.

Dom Stevens, Destination Chesterfield Manager commented: “The mission for Destination Chesterfield has always been to encourage as many people as possible to support the town and celebrate its achievements. The resilience that local businesses and service providers have shown during lockdown has been remarkable and we hope the new website will become a valuable tool in supporting them further in their efforts to remain operational.

“We’re encouraging everyone to #LoveChesterfield and continue supporting small independent businesses and service providers throughout lockdown. Every trader and service producer plays an important part in the local economy and we all need to work together to can ensure their survival beyond these extremely challenging times.”

National retailers are currently deluged with consumer demand, causing long queues into both their websites and stores, as well as prolonged delivery times. Shopping local at independent retailers not only supports a small business but also puts money back into the local economy.

If you’re a business owner or service provider and would like to be considered to be included on the new website, please complete the form at https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/supportinglocal/get-involved/ .

To find out more about the new ‘Supporting Local’ site, please visit: www.chesterfield.co.uk/supportinglocal.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Summer, Visiting

Quarantine Cuisine cooks up Live Demo Kitchen

Foodies from Chesterfield and across the UK have been promised a series of live cooking demos to be streamed by new Facebook group, Quarantine Cuisine.

Run by Chesterfield Champion, Edge Events Management Ltd (the company behind the Chesterfield Food and Drink Festival), Quarantine Cuisine has been created as a platform for people to share recipes to cook at home and to connect with like-minded food lovers.

The demo kitchen idea is set to take the group to the next level after reaching over 1,000 members in only a week.  Filmed ‘alfresco style’ from a Chesterfield garden, chefs will conduct the demos in slow-time so that everyone can cook along.  And chefs will be available online during the streaming to answer any questions.

So far the group has focused on interesting cuisines from around the world that can be cooked at home easily.  As well as stage-by-stage photo recipes from Richard Alsop, one of the owners of Edge Events Management Ltd, members have also been encouraged to share their ideas and feedback.

Edge Events’ Richard Alsop comments: “It’s fantastic to have hit the 1,000 milestone with the group and we are excited for the launch of our cooking demos.

“Whether it’s just for you or for the whole family, all the dishes are designed to be practical, affordable, healthy and freezable; so there will be no waste whatsoever!

“The demos will be filmed in our own front garden, in line with social spacing.  We have already spoken with production and chefs and we can broadcast these events without anybody coming within 10 metres of each other.  There will be multi-camera angles and audio production so you will get a really high quality experience to enjoy in your very own home.

“The first demo will be by myself and I am really looking forward to showing you how easy these dishes really are to make.  It will be my first time taking to the knives live on camera for the first time ever; so please do go easy on me!

“Prior to the demo, we will announce the ingredients you will need and we will give a full week to allow time to include them in your essential shopping list. We do not want people rushing out just for the ingredients; we still want you to be safe and only add them to your full shopping list.

“Once the cook-along has finished, we then encourage you to post photos of your attempts along with any feedback!

“The more, the merrier, so please do join the group if you haven’t done so already.”

The first cooking demo will take place with Richard Alsop from Edge Events on Saturday 9th May at 6pm, streamed live from Quarantine Cuisine Presented by Edge Events Management Ltd.  Once registered, members are invited to suggest the recipe they would like to see Richard cook by commenting on this post.

Edge Events Management Ltd supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.  The company’s past events have included the Chesterfield Food and Drink Festival and the Chesterfield Street Food and Grooves Festival, both of which are set to return in 2021.

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

Chesterfield Borough Council leisure activities go digital

Following the ongoing temporary closures of both Queen’s Park Sports Centre and the Healthy Living Centre, the Chesterfield Borough Council leisure team have been putting together a selection of digital sessions that include dance classes, gymnastics, high-intensity interval training and Pilates.

You can get involved in these classes by visiting either of the center’s Facebook pages below:

The team have also put together a selection of downloadable resources that can be used to support your child’s education around health and fitness. These cover a range of topics from swimming to gymnastics and can be downloaded from the council’s website.

Councillor Jill Mannion-Brunt, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing (right), said: “I want to thank all of our customers for their understanding and support at this difficult time. Our leisure team are working hard to put together digital classes and activities for the whole family that will encourage people to lead a healthy lifestyle and exercise at home.”

With regards to the reopening of the leisure centres, the council will continue to evaluate the situation and update the public in line with the latest Government guidance. If you are currently a member of the leisure centres, your direct debit has been stopped and the council will not resume taking payments until after the centres have reopened.

The midwifery team based at Queen’s Park Sports Centre are still taking appointments, please contact the midwifery team directly to discuss arrangements for visiting the Centre.

Chesterfield Borough Council will continue to provide updates about its services on its dedicated coronavirus information hub: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/your-council/coronavirus-information-hub/leisure-services-updates

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

Dronfield Arts Festival create online hub for residents to celebrate VE Day 75 at home

The organisers of Dronfield Arts Festival have created an online hub with ways residents can take part in stay at home celebrations for VE Day 75 on Friday 8th May.

Even though the highly-anticipated celebrations planned at Dronfield Hall Barn will no longer be taking place, local digital design agency FWD Motion, who manage the Dronfield Arts Festival, have created a new hub with ways residents can show their wartime spirit.

Ideas for celebrating at home include holding a patriotic party from your house or garden, cooking wartime recipes or downloading their specially-themed craft activities.

In the lead up to the 8th May, there will be lots of free online activities to enjoy as part of their virtual entertainment programme featuring classic 40s artists including swing and vintage singer Jayne Darling, female harmony group La-Di-Dah and jazz vocalist Sarah Eastwood. Dronfield’s History Van will have online activities for children throughout the day itself.

Donations are still being welcomed online to support SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity and The Dronfield Heritage Trust charity who supports and maintains Dronfield Hall Barn.

The festival team are encouraging residents to share their celebrations and stories on social media to help boost morale. To see a full list of activities taking place and ways you can get involved, click here.

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

Chesterfield tea-blender collaborates with local traders to launch gift hamper deliveries

Gail Hannan, owner of Chesterfield-based Cup & Saucer, is collaborating with local businesses to produce tailored gift hampers that can be delivered to those who are isolating.

Cup & Saucer, who blend and sell quality loose tea with a Peak District twist, won the title of Food Producer of the Year at the Chesterfield Food & Drink Awards 2018. The company has traded at various markets & events and expanded in early 2020 by opening their own shop.

The shop is temporarily closed but now offer online sales and local contact-free delivery. Gail realised this was not an option for many of her fellow market traders so contacted a number of local companies in order to offer support and promotion.

Gail said: “It has all happened really quickly, but the gift hampers are proving to be really popular with our customers! I am working closely with many food & drink producers who I have met primarily through local markets, to create bespoke hampers for people to either order for themselves as a treat in isolation, or to send as a gift to a loved one.”

“Our most recent hamper aimed at chocoholics sold out within a day of advertising! This includes products from ourselves; Rate Good Brownies; Cacoa Elora; Jades Delights; Urban Flamingo and Homemade at Haslemere.”

She added: “It’s actually a really great opportunity for us to showcase our products to a wider audience. It obviously won’t change the fact that this will in no doubt be a devastating year for our businesses, but I am determined to not let this destroy what has taken me so much time and energy to build.”

Hampers include a Totally Tea Hamper, a Chocoholics Dream Hamper and two Derbyshire Producers Gift Hampers and can be ordered directly through the Cup & Saucer website. For a full list of products, or for more information, visit www.cupandsauceronline.co.uk/shop

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Manufacturing, Visiting

Casa Hotel commends NHS staff with free meals

Chesterfield Champion, Casa Hotel has started a complimentary dining service for employees of Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

The partnership with Winster Foods has been enabling workers to enjoy freshly cooked, locally sourced meals.

A recent delivery included Franklin & Sons’ Mango Go Natural Energy Drinks from Global Brands, which is also located within the hotel building.

This generosity follows the hotel’s invitation to local NHS workers to enjoy a complimentary night’s stay.

Last week the team welcomed a nurse to the four-star hotel following a 95-hour week.  It is hoped that the break, which included a hot meal, helped the guest to recuperate before returning to the frontline.

Casa Hotel is proud to commend the town’s frontline NHS employees.  Owner, Steve Perez said: “We just want to do what we can to say thank you to the key frontline workers tirelessly fighting against this pandemic.”

“We will do everything we can to take advantage of the Government support available to help both our business and our amazing team in order to get through these difficult times together.

“We are maintaining what operations we are able, cutting back where we can and trying to support our customers, our local community and our teams at the same time. All within the realms of what is possible under the current Government guidance.”

Casa is also currently providing a dine at home takeaway and collection service for the public. For further information about this and other local businesses which are operating creatively, whilst following Government guidelines, visit https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/2020/04/supporting-local/.

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

Two local magazines combine

Two Chesterfield publications have united to continue to serve their local communities during the Coronavirus crisis.

A combined April 2020 edition of ‘Twist’ and ‘Wings’ is published this week, but you can read it online here.

Heron Publications produce both titles – ‘Twist’ in Chesterfield and ‘Wings’ in Wingerworth, Tupton, Ashover and Clay Cross. The company has temporarily closed its office, but has managed to put together a 36-page ‘emergency edition’ to serve its readership.

Said editor Mike Firth: “We were encouraged when a good number of local businesses told us they wanted to continue to get their messages across to local people through advertising in our publications, so we combined our two Chesterfield titles for ease of production.

“Along with important public information, this magazine also contains plenty to entertain – and even amuse – our readers.

“We have tips for activities people can to take up at home, a tale about previous school closures, a feature detailing how local folk can enrol to become life-savers, an update on Chesterfield Canal progress… and readers can learn why a former local headmistress used to remove her teeth in class!”

To read this special edition of Twist / Wings, click here.

Last year, Twist Magazine delivered the 100th edition of Twist. Heron Publications are also responsible for Active8, delivered in south Sheffield, and the Dronfield Eye.

Click here to find out more about Twist Magazine

Click here to view the online publication

Click the image above to view the online publication

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Featured, Home, Leisure, Manufacturing, Visiting

Beat the Street Chesterfield concludes

Organisers of the Beat the Street game across Chesterfield borough have drawn the game to a close, owing to the restrictions in place to help stop the spread of Coronavirus / COVID 19 that were announced on Monday 23 March 2020.

Beat Boxes will no longer work and the leaderboard has been frozen.

Points are now being counted and the winners of the game will be announced in the next few days on the Beat the Street Chesterfield Facebook page and on Twitter and Instagram plus via the Beat the Street newsletter at www.beatthestreet/me/chesterfield.

Unfortunately, the planned celebratory event is unable to take place however all winning teams will receive their prizes by post and email.

Councillor Jill Mannion-Brunt, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “We have seen lots of people get more active thanks to the Beat the Street so we’re sad to see this end, however, we must encourage people to stay at home to stop the virus spreading.

“We are sorry that Beat the Street is ending early but we’d still love to know what you thought of the game. Please complete our survey www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DTPQGSJ and you could be in with a chance of winning prizes.”

Beat the Street has been designed to encourage people to be active, so organisers will continue to help with a new programme called Beat the Bug, packed with hints, tips and advice on how you and your family can stay fit, get active, reduce stress and have fun at home.

There will be regular Beat the Bug advice and Q&A sessions with Intelligent Health’s founder, Dr William Bird MBE, who is a doctor working on the NHS frontline, a world-famous expert in physical activity and an advisor to the World Health Organisation and Public Health England.

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

Derbyshire Emergency Relief Fund for businesses now in place

UPDATE 25/03/20: Applications are currently closed on a temporary basis – “We are currently processing the applications received so far as quickly as possible and prioritising self-employed applicants to ensure they are the first to receive payments.” Read more here.

Following the announcement of an initial £1m allocation, complementing the Government’s coronavirus funding packages, the Derbyshire County Council Emergency Relief Fund for the county’s smallest businesses is now in place.

Businesses with nine or fewer employees and sole traders will now be able to apply online for up to £500 in emergency support to help to cover the initial hardships that companies might have as a result of the pandemic.Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis said: “Derbyshire’s smallest businesses, particularly in certain sectors, will already be feeling the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The support available from the Emergency Relief Fund won’t solve those problems but might help those who face an immediate issue as a result of lost income.””The Fund is easy to apply for and one-off payments will be made quickly for successful applicants. Alongside this direct financial help we are pulling together a wider package of support in place to help companies access the millions of pounds that the Government has made available for businesses and more details are available at  www.derbyshire.gov.uk/businessgrants.”

The Emergency Relief Fund criteria and application form are available online at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/businessgrants . Businesses will need to be registered in Derbyshire, be able to evidence a loss of income as a direct result of the coronavirus outbreak and fulfil the other criteria laid out online in order to apply. The Fund will be open until the 17th April 2020 and has a limited number of grants available.

The Government has already announced a wide range of measures to support businesses across the country including a business rate holiday and a range of grants. Details of this support is awaited and the Emergency Relief Fund is intended to help businesses whilst the national support is put in to place.

Businesses and residents can find Derbyshire-specific support during the coronavirus outbreak.

Click here to view our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Business Support Page

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Chatsworth to close garden with immediate effect

Chatsworth has taken the decision to close its garden to visitors with immediate effect today (22 March) until further notice in light of the most recent government guidance.

The toilets will remain open today 22 March, but all public toilets at Chatsworth will be closed from 23 March. Chatsworth House, Farmyard and Adventure Playground were not open, and will remain closed.

Chatsworth Chief Executive Stephen Vickers said: “This decision has not been taken lightly. The situation is enormously complex and fast moving, and we believe that taking decisive action to help implement effective social distancing is in the best interests of all of our visitors and staff, and is part of the collective national effort to help contain the coronavirus.

“On behalf of the Duke and Duchess, and everyone as at Chatsworth, I would like to thank our visitors for their continued support, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back soon.”

As a vital food service outlet, the Chatsworth Estate Farm Shop remains open, and everyone is working hard to ensure staff and customers are protected with social distancing measures, and maintain stocks and replenish shelves, so it can best serve the community.  More products are being added to the online shop, and local delivery and click and collect services are being set up to support those who are self-isolating. The café at the farm shop remains closed.

Outdoor space and fresh air are imperative to everyone’s wellbeing, and the Chatsworth Park and Woodland will remain open. However, Chatsworth is asking people to observe all Government guidelines regarding social distancing and unnecessary travel.

Updates will be posted when available on the Chatsworth website and social media channels, so please look out for these.

For more information, visit www.chatsworth.org

Chatsworth House

Posted in About Chesterfield, Home, Leisure, Visiting

Barrow Hill Roundhouse and the Rail Ale Team issue joint statement

Barrow Hill Roundhouse and the Rail Ale Team have issued a joint statement regarding the upcoming event:

It is with the utmost sadness that we have made the decision to postpone this year’s celebration of 20 years of the Rail Ale Beer & Music Festival at Barrow Hill Roundhouse.

This has not been a decision taken lightly in our 20th year but the welfare and safety of visitors to this hugely popular event as well as that of our staff, volunteers, traders and musicians is of the utmost importance.

As the country comes together to deal with the threat of coronavirus we must all do what we can to overcome it. Following discussions with all those involved in the organisation of the event – which was due to take place on 14th, 15th and 16th May 2020 – we have agreed that this year’s Festival will now take place on 13th, 14th and 15th August 2020, subject to the Government’s advice at that time.

We would like to offer our sincere apologies to all those who have already booked tickets for this year’s Festival. We are pleased to advise that you may use the tickets you have bought for May in August without any additional charges being payable. However, if you would prefer to be refunded, please contact the ticket seller. For online tickets this is www.seetickets.com who will be happy to help.

We also hope to reschedule the Craig Charles Funk & Soul Club event that was due to take place on 14th May 2020 and are in contact with his management team about this. As soon as we are able to provide an update on this event, we will contact all those who have already bought tickets.

The postponement of this year’s Festival will no doubt be a great disappointment to many of you – our incredible team of staff and volunteers who work so hard to make this event happen are equally saddened.

We were really looking forward to welcoming you all to the Roundhouse in May but are hopeful that we will see you all in August. You can keep up-to-date with details of the revised dates and our plans at www.railalefestival.com or on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Barrow Hill roundhouse will also be closed until further notice:

We have made the decision to temporarily close Barrow Hill Roundhouse to our weekend visitors.

This has not been a decision taken lightly in the year that the Roundhouse celebrates its 150th birthday but the welfare and safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers is of the utmost importance.

We do not know when we will be able to reopen and will follow the Government’s advice before we make that decision.

In the meantime you can still keep in touch with us through our website www.barrowhill.org and social media channels.

Stay safe and take care.

The Roundhouse Team

Click here to view our Coronavirus (COVID-19) Business Support Page

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