Chesterfield sustainability news

Transition Chesterfield opens Eco Hub thanks to community funding

Transition Chesterfield has benefited from Chesterfield Borough Council’s community grant funding, enabling them to open an Eco Hub in the town.

Based on Low Pavement in Chesterfield, the Eco Hub is a pilot project that will work with residents to:

  • Improve their awareness of ‘Transition Chesterfield’ and the aims and objectives of the community group
  • Improve their awareness of climate action and the protection of the environment
  • Improve their understanding of net zero and a more sustainable Chesterfield
  • Access further learning and volunteer opportunities

Transition Chesterfield was one of the local organisations to benefit from the first round of funding, receiving £2,500 to open the new hub in the town centre.

The Eco Hub is initially open every Friday from 10am to 12.30pm until May 2024 and may open at other times if successful in recruiting enough volunteers.

The Hub at Low Pavement itself is open most days though for other community-based activities.

A total of £59,965 has been awarded to 16 local groups via the council’s new Community Grants Funding scheme so far, and applications for the second round of funding are now open.

The council is looking for grant applications from community groups and local voluntary organisations in Chesterfield and surrounding areas who have climate focused projects to deliver.

Karl Deakin, a volunteer with Transition Chesterfield, said: “We’re excited to win this funding which gives us a much-needed base for our activities. Our hub project will encourage interest and participation amongst residents to reduce their carbon footprint. It’s also a great opportunity for people to volunteer to help our environment and meet new people.”

Councillor Martin Stone, cabinet member for climate change, planning, and environment said: “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges humanity faces worldwide, and it needs us all to consider how we can make individual changes to our routines as well as how we can will make substantial changes in the borough of Chesterfield.

“Community groups can play a huge part in helping to educate and inform our communities so we would love to hear about any local project ideas that could benefit from the available grant funding.

“Chesterfield Borough Council has more than £118,000 available to eligible local groups in this financial year (2023/24) so we are encouraging as many people as possible to find out more about the scheme and submit an application.”

The funding allocated through the grant scheme will support local groups to deliver projects that will build resilient, healthy, and safe neighbourhoods, as well as initiatives which will help reduce the borough’s impact on the climate and wider environment by promoting greener choices.

Funding can also be used by community projects to develop volunteering opportunities, help people prepare to get in to work, and to support organisations to expand their reach into different areas of the borough.

Grants range from £500 to £6,000, and the deadline for applications for phase two is Friday 27 October.

Further information about the Community Grant Scheme, including details of how to apply can be found on the council’s website: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/community-grants-fund.

Funding for Chesterfield Borough Council’s Community Grants Scheme has been successfully secured from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), together with money raised through the Community Infrastructure Levy Neighbourhood Portion (CIL).

The community grants are just one initiative which is benefiting from funding through the UKSPF, after the council was successful in securing £2.6m from the Government. It will fund initiatives up to April 2025, which are designed to improve life for local people and support local businesses.

transition chesterfield eco hub

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Climate Change Forum to launch in Chesterfield

Chesterfield Borough Council is getting ready to launch a climate change forum and is looking for Chesterfield based representatives to get involved.

Climate change is a huge issue, and everyone has their own view on how Chesterfield Borough Council can make a difference in our communities. Therefore, if you are part of a community group or organisation and could spare a bit of time, the council wants to hear from you.

The forum is planned to launch in September and will meet in person around once each quarter.

The representatives involved will be asked to act as a sounding board, comment on current projects, suggest new ideas and help Chesterfield Borough Council to raise awareness about climate projects happening either through the council or locally. The plan is to create a wide consultative process, in which the council is working closely with a variety of community representatives.

No experience of climate projects is required, just an interest in helping to shape plans in relation to climate change in the future.

Councillor Martin Stone, cabinet member for climate change, planning and environment, said: “By joining the group you will have the opportunity to network, collaborate, and discuss how climate change will affect your communities of interest and what we can do to support an effective change across the borough.

“We always welcome new ideas and community views, so if you do run or attend a local interest group and would like to make a difference to Chesterfield and its future, consider applying to be a part of the climate forum.

“Taking action on climate change is a collaborative process, and we can work together to find new ways of making changes in our communities.”

The council launched a new seven-year climate change strategy (2023-2030) earlier this year that is based around several themes including: buildings and energy use, travel, green space, land use and offsetting carbon emissions. This is Chesterfield Borough Council’s formal commitment to putting climate change at the centre of everything it does, ensuring this is always considered as part of service output and decision-making processes.

The creation of the climate forum will help to build and shape the authority’s future plans and will allow it to get an insight into how community groups or organisations could play a part in the communication of messaging and get involved in climate projects.

Councillor Stone continued: “I’d like to encourage representatives from our communities to join us in progressing our efforts to becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030 and help to reach the goal of being a carbon neutral borough by 2050”.

If you would like to be part of the forum, please contact the climate change team at Chesterfield Borough Council via email climate@chesterfield.gov.uk.

The first session will contain a training element, so individuals are requested to get in touch with the team at their earliest convenience.

town hall drone shot

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North Wingfield community project chosen for national sustainability trial

A community project in North Wingfield has been selected to take part in a national trial, which looks to help consumers reduce their impact on the environment.

North Wingfield Community Garden scheme has been chosen to take part in a national composting trial run through a partnership between Natracare, creator of compostable disposable period products, and Social Farms & Gardens, a UK-wide charity, of which the North Wingfield group is a member.

The partnership sees Natracare providing insulated compost bins to Social Farms & Gardens’ specially selected community garden projects as a pilot scheme. The community gardens will compost garden and food waste, as well as Natracare products. The hot composting should take around six to eight weeks to turn green and brown waste into compost that is ready to use on the garden.

North Wingfield Community Garden scheme near Chesterfield is one of four women-led community garden schemes across the UK to receive a Natracare composting bin. Throughout the ongoing partnership, they will manage and maintain the hot composting process, monitoring and sharing the progress of the composting on their social channels. Additionally, using the Natracare Composting Guide, they will share the value of community composting and the benefits that composting period products has for the environment.

The Social Farms & Gardens partnership is the latest initiative in Natracare’s recently launched Project #BeKind campaign created to draw attention to the need to design health and well-being products for bio-loop systems and to consider the impact of consumer choices on our well-being and the environment.

North Wingfield Community Garden was set up at the start of 2021 as a space where people could safely gather to socialise in a post-lockdown world. Funded by the People’s Health Trust using money raised by Health Lottery East Midlands, the one-acre site is located on allotments at Alice’s View, North Wingfield, and produces a range of fruits and vegetables, all grown using organic and no-dig principles where possible.

It runs social gardening sessions and nature-connection crafting sessions every week. Over the last 12 months alone, more than 50 locals have participated in at least one of these sessions, and there is a core group of 15 regular volunteers who help out with garden maintenance.

Key volunteer and committee secretary Abi Grant said: “Having a hot composter available to us here at North Wingfield Community Garden opens up new opportunities for us to expand our knowledge and become even more sustainable, which is such an exciting thought—we can’t wait to get stuck in!”

north wingfield community garden

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Green Arch Consulting supports FTSE 250 listed organisation with ESG reporting

Green Arch Consulting has been retained to develop and write JLEN’s ESG report for 2023.

The company supports businesses in Chesterfield, as well as nationally and internationally, to embed environmental and social considerations into their ‘business as usual.’

This helps to make organisations more resilient to a changing climate and changing public and investor opinions, and helps firms make sense of the rapid rise in environmental issues in the media and with investors, customers and clients.

2023 is the 5th year running that Green Arch has had input to JLEN’s ESG reporting, which Green Arch Consulting was originally responsible for designing and developing.

JLEN is an environmental infrastructure investment fund listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is part of the FTSE 250 and has been awarded the Green Economy Mark from LSE.

The report has won a series of awards including ‘Best ESG Communication’ award at The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Shareholder Communication Awards 2022. JLEN’s ESG report has also been shortlisted for a number of awards including, most recently the edie Awards 2023, in the Sustainability & Reporting Communications category.

Emma Knight-Strong, sustainability coach and owner at Green Arch Consulting commented: “It is increasingly evident that businesses with a clear sustainability path are more resilient and more attractive to investors, customers and clients.

“There are big risks to business associated with climate change, but there are also big opportunities for businesses that take it seriously and develop a truly sustainable model of operating in a rapidly changing world.”

Speaking about Chesterfield’s sustainability credentials, Emma added: “There is significant expertise in Chesterfield related to the low carbon transition – by collaborating together we can deliver a really interesting offering to clients across the UK and beyond.”

Find out more about Green Arch Consulting’s recent work alongside the Central Bank of Nigeria – which is helping the organisation in its transition to a low carbon future: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/2023/02/green-arch-consulting-advises-international-bank-on-sustainability/

Green Arch Consulting supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Emma Knight-Strong Green Arch Consulting

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60 acres of land to be used for nature conservation in Chesterfield

60 acres of land has been secured by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust for a major project to improve nature conservation in Chesterfield.

The charity says the ‘Wild Whittington’ project has been enabled for local people to enjoy nature, thanks to overwhelming support from the public, generous grants and philanthropic loans.

The piece of land at Old Whittington, to the north of Chesterfield, is set to be rewilded, becoming a place of major importance to nature, and to the people of Chesterfield and Derbyshire.

Wild Whittington has been acquired through a mixture of investment in nature, including donations from Derbyshire wildlife Trust supporters and The John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust in response to the Defend Nature appeal.

The site connects St Bartholomew’s woods to the south and Grasscroft ancient woodlands to the north. These woods join to Unstone and then down into the valley of the River Drone. Using rewilding, the plan is to create varied habitats to bolster a vital corridor between the woodlands and support nature’s recovery in Chesterfield and the surrounding areas.

Matt Buckler, Director of Natural Solutions at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust said: “We are so grateful for the incredible response we had to our appeal to secure this land from our members, the public, and our generous major donors.

“Here in Derbyshire, we want to take action to restore nature now. Quite simply, turning land over to rewilding projects is one of the most effective ways to get resilient nature back in people’s lives, and it would not be possible without the support we receive.

“The purchase is not only good news for wildlife, its great news for local residents and visitors to the area too. We can’t wait to turn this piece of land into an oasis for wildlife for future generations to enjoy.”

Wild Whittington

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Robinson receives FSC certification to boost sustainability credentials

Robinson, a sustainable packaging manufacturer based in Chesterfield has announced it has received a prestigious sustainability certification for its Paperbox division.

Forest Stewardship council ® (FSC)’s pioneering certification system, which now covers more than 195 million hectares of forest, enables businesses and consumers to choose wood, paper and other forest products made with materials that support responsible forestry.

Dr Helene Roberts, CEO at Robinson, says this is a major step forward for the company, its customers, and the environment. She added: ‘We are delighted to have been awarded FSC certification for our rigid box packaging business. This is another step in making our business more sustainable, together with ensuring our packaging is made from up to 100% recycled board which is in turn recyclable.’

FSC certification ensures that all products produced at Paperbox are sustainable. FSC-managed forests help provide clean air and water by restricting hazardous chemicals and following strict harvesting and forestry practices. Their work also helps ensure a diversity of animals, trees and plants as well as providing safe working conditions for everyone involved.

This further demonstrates the investment that the company is making in its Paperbox business, following a significant investment in its new SATE box-making machine in Chesterfield, with improved quality and a reduced carbon footprint that allows customers to avoid long, complex supply chains from Asia.

Robinson partners with some of the world’s most luxurious brands, from concept to commercialisation, creating widely recyclable packaging made from 100% post-consumer recycled material.

The news follows Chesterfield Borough Council’s publication of its new climate strategy for the town, which is laying the groundwork for Chesterfield to become a carbon neutral borough by 2050. The new strategy will direct how the council works with industry in the future, ensuring sustainability and climate change a central theme of everything it does. Read more about the strategy here.

Robinson supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 200 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Helene Roberts - Robinson PLC

 

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Zero-carbon tourist transport network to be trialled in Chesterfield and the Peak District

A pioneering trial is taking place in the Peak District National Park where EV and hydrogen vehicles will run together between multiple destinations and attractions.

The trial is led by the Gateway at PEAK, a major new tourism resort in Chesterfield which has planning for 5,000 overnight beds and 2,800 carpark spaces.

The trial route connects eight key locations and attractions including Chesterfield Train Station, Chatsworth, and the Gateway development, which will act as a hub for PEAK Express when it is due to open in 2025. The route is designed so that there’s no more than 20 minutes between each stop, much like the gondola lifts found in international ski resorts.

Currently 85% of park visitors arrive by car and with interest in the great outdoors and the staycation market booming, the numbers are set to increase. Regional stakeholders are also keen for more diverse groups to access the park and to grow the local economy through tourism. However, this must be done in a sustainable way which doesn’t exponentially increase carbon emissions, threaten community wellness and prosperity, or damage the park’s biodiversity.

Once fully operating, PEAK Express at the Gateway alone, aims to remove 500,000 tourism journeys from the National Park, reducing CO2 emissions by 3.6 million kg pa and provide a national exemplar of sustainable visitor economy growth. The long-term ambition is to see multiple hubs located around the Peak District National Park boundary.

Andrew McCloy, Chair of the Peak District National Park Authority, said; “We are delighted to be a stakeholder for this ground-breaking trial. Protecting the National Park for future generations and developing more sustainable ways for people to visit is high on our agenda. The PEAK Gateway site outside the National Park is an excellent location for a transport hub. The Peak Express service is a commitment to net-zero and will connect more of the National Park’s attractions without the need for a car, making them more accessible and spreading out the economic benefits of tourism.”

Hydrogen fuel and refuelling stations for the trial are being supplied by the world’s largest hydrogen producer, Air Products. The electric and hydrogen buses will be provided by Toyota where data will be gathered about each technology’s suitability for the varying terrain and refuelling needs. Jon Hunt, alternative fuels manager at Toyota (GB) said; “There is not one simple solution for zero-carbon mobility. That’s why this trial provides us with an exciting opportunity to trial both EV and hydrogen vehicles, assessing which is more suitable to different types of journeys across the park. We will also be looking at optimal ways to provide refuelling and great levels of customer service on board the vehicles.”

Andrew Lavery, Chief Executive of Chatsworth, a key attraction on the route said; “Derbyshire and the Peak District are world-class destinations for domestic and international tourists, and we are thrilled to be part of this trial.  Working with partners we are committed to reducing car journeys and supporting and promoting a more sustainable way of getting to and from the Peak District. There’s also a wonderful connection with hydrogen technology and Chatsworth – Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen in 1766 and so, this venture is very interesting.”

Cllr Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council praised the collaborative efforts of the project team saying: “The value of this partnership is clearly demonstrated when considering significant issues like climate change, which requires collective local commitment and action if we are to make a real difference, and we are delighted to be a key partner in this trial.

“Chesterfield has excellent road and rail connections, making it the ideal base to stay and explore the Peak District from – but we are committed to a net-zero future and this trial is an exciting step forward in how we think about our regional transport links. The trial of PEAK Express at the PEAK Resort, will make it even easier – and cleaner – for visitors to experience the UK’s first national park from neighbouring destinations, like Chesterfield.”

John Milligan, CEO of Milligan developers of the Gateway added; “The PEAK Resort site has been reclaimed from opencast, rewilded and we are investing in its future. PEAK’s proposition emulates the internationally successful ski resort model, providing a mixed range of hospitality, accommodation, retail, wellness and education facilities all served by a zero-carbon mobility service connected to 1,600 miles of trails and world class attractions in the Peak District National Park.

“Milligan has been developing iconic destinations for over 20 years. Our skills lie in curating the right mix of uses which will serve the community and visitors in a sustainable way bringing long term value. This trial is part of the development’s journey to zero and marks an important milestone for Gateway and the National Park.”

The trial has been running since 5th September and will finish on the 16th. The results will be published at the beginning of November. PEAK Express is planned to be fully operational as part of the Gateway at PEAK Resort, due to open in Spring 2025.

Find out more about PEAK at: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/developments/peak-resort/

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