Thursday 13th June 2013

There are "Positive Signs for The Future" said Mike Hayden - Head Of Regeneration at Chesterfield Borough Council, as members of the Chesterfield business community and local media were, this morning, given an update on regeneration projects currently being undertaken around the town.


(l-r) Matt Sorby, Head of Contractors at Kier, Huw Bowen, Chief Exec of Chesterfield Borough Council and John Burrows, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council inside the currently 'regenerating' Market Hall

During a breakfast meeting at the Town Hall, talks were given by John Croot from Chesterfield Football Club, Matt Sorby, Head of Contractors at Kier and Mike Hayden, Head of Regeneration at Chesterfield Borough Council.

Having previously asserted that Chesterfield is a forward thinking town, with a commitment to growth and development, Destination Chesterfield - the driving force behind the meeting - were keen to show that the plans to put this in place were well underway.

Members of the media were also given the chance to tour the Market Hall in the town centre, which is currently undergoing a massive restoration and due to re-open in October this year.

John Croot - Community Director at CFC, was the first to speak to the room, and he first outlined the work of the CFC Community Trust, based at the PROACT stadium.

He said he was delighted and proud of the work done by his team and the club in building community links, saying that, "The move to the new stadium gave us the opportunity to develop further partnerships and we work strategically with local authorities, NHS and charities, and other partnership agencies and that gives us a good opportunity to work with the wider community. We also manage the hugely popular 'Chester The Fieldmouse!' "

He outlined the fact that the Community Trust is a registered charity which began 3 years ago, and that all proceeds go back into the Community Trust, joking, "not paying for a new Centre Forward!"

John explained that the Trusts' vision when they moved to the new stadium was to deliver a community stadium, and went on to say that the new £1.5 community stand facilities, due to open in September, were the "final piece of the jigsaw."

"Those facilities", explained John, "will feature many community based projects and spaces - including a gym and therapy pool - and will enhance the experience and blend the club and community in an exciting way. It is an ambitious project!"

More will be released about the facilities nearer the time, in partnership with the Football League.

Matt Sorby, from Kier - the Council's Property advisors - talked next about perhaps the most visible project in the town at present - The Market Hall.


The Market Hall entrance on New Square, formerly to the Fish Halls.

Currently swathed in sheeting and scaffolded on all sides (above), it has been the subject of much debate and consultation.

Matt admitted that it had been "A difficult project! We had a listed buiiding , in the town centre, with existing tenants to negotiate with, to relocate - and with some traders still at the site - a live site to deal with too."

However, doing nothing was not possible. He explained, "The dated and closed interior and the condition of the building would have cost Chesterfield tax payers £1 million just to maintain. It had no long term viable future."


Impressions of how the Market Hall will look when completed in October 2013

The new building, on schedule to be opened in October 2013 will have a simplified layout (as above), with a light modern environment and better accessibility to all floors. It will also provide meeting rooms and a new base for the markets team.

Currently two thirds of the way through demolition, there have already been significant revisions of the original plans as the building gave up its secrets as it was stripped back - and that had lead to "significant delays" Matt informed the room. However, he confidently predicted that it would open, as billed, on 1st October 2013.

Tenants are currently being sought for the refurbished spaces - and Matt maintained that the Council was committed to giving priority to existing traders but that there was room for many new opportunities.

45 businesses had, said Matt, already expressed an interest - and the deadline for business plans is this coming Monday (17th June).

Business advice and guidance has been offered to existing tenants to allow them to submit high quality business plans.

Traders will be selected by mid July to give successful applicants the chance to complete legal formalities and shopfitting for opening.

Meeting rooms will be managed by Chesterfield Venues and enquiries with regard to lettings should be directed there.

Matt summarised the project by saying that the new, revamped building would be "A mix of a traditional exterior and a modern interior. It would", he said, "last 150 years”



The site is currently stripped right back, with the middle ripped out (pictured above) and the atrium about to go in, replacing the flat roof. Units are well under way to completion and colour schemes being chosen.

Mike Hayden then updated the room on various other projects which are in various states of completion around the town.

Mike admitted that The Northern Gateway site (the site of the Donut car park) had "nothing happening at the moment on site - but that does not belie what is going on in the background", and went on to say that, after picking the development partner (Bowden Wilson) they were now currently seeking "anchor tenants" for what is a "substantial scheme to provide an anchor for the north of the town centre."

He conceded that they had hoped to have planning permission by now but that the slow down in the retail sector had meant that an announcement should be forthcoming by the end of the year .

The Waterside development, on the old Trebor site, is the 47th largest regeneration project in the UK, and the £340 million transition will see residential and office space begin to grow by the end of the year.

Again, the economic downturn has meant a rethink of original timings but, a £3.1million Growing Places funding grant has meant the first phase can now begin. Mike also confirmed that there has been genuine interests from housebuiders and commercial partners which will see the commercial and residential builds begin shortly.

Markham Vale has been a huge success with regeneration, including new roads and £2.5 million of industrial space on the former 85 hectare colliery site, bringing thousands of jobs and economic benefits to the area.

It was confirmed by Mike that 2 new businesses alone are due to bring in another 113 jobs very shortly. Mike said that he was pleased to see "momentum is beginning to build around Markham Vale."

Finally he summed up by saying that, in the last year, 160 further new homes had been built in the town on the former Saltergate site (70) and the site of the former Rugby Club at Stonegravels (120) and also revealed that on the Ravenside development, Hobby craft and Asda living were about to open.

Leader of the Council, John Burrows accompanied press and leaders on the 'hard hat' tour of the Market Hall, and he spoke to The Chesterfield Post afterwards.

He admitted that the schemes had their detractors, but that they were bringing much needed jobs to the town - both during and after construction - and that he was keen for residents and business owners to stay behind the town and keep the faith.

Listen to the interview in full here...

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