Friday 1st November 2013

Chesterfield will be a 'glass half full' town this weekend - as the Real Ale Festival, organised by CAMRA, kicked off in the newly refurbished Market Hall Assembly Hall today on Day Two of Chesterfield's three day long Market Festival.


The newly refurbished Market Hall Assembly Rooms has re-opened with a CAMRA Beer Festival as part of the Chesterfield Market Festival

49 locally brewed beers are featuring at the event, with a blind tasting by a panel of experts choosing the event's top tipple.

Dating from 1857, Chesterfield's historic Market Hall, and the Assembly Room which it houses, has just undergone a £4 million refit as reported HERE.

As the traders have returned to the ground floor, the 200-capacity Assembly Rooms have been returned to their former Victorian glory, (above), with a revitalised ceiling, newly-polished original floor and reconditioned period tile work.


(l-r) Phil Tooley and Howard Borrell give an expert opinion on the beers on show!

Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield and shadow minister for pubs, pulled a pint at the event to mark its official opening , telling The Chesterfield Post, "The Chesterfield branch of CAMRA is incredibly active and I think this industry is vital as it provides jobs and tax revenues, as well as being a vital part of the community. I'm always delighted to support this.

"One of my titles in life is the Shadow Pubs Minister, which is not as hard a job as it sounds and it provides me with a number of these opportunities, which I'm always keen to support!

"It's also a great opportunity to showcase the Market Hall and Assembly Rooms - and everyone is impressed by it. It's another sign that Chesterfield is fighting back after the recession.

"So many people who come to town think our market is impressive and I don't think that sometimes residents realise how impressive it is to everyone else.

"The new indoor market really brings that into the 21st century and I hope we all get behind it and help Chesterfield remain a thriving market town for many years to come."


(l-r) CAMRA's Jane Lefley, Chesterfield MP (and Shadow Pubs Minister!) Toby Perkins, Cllr Amanda Serjeant and Suzi Perkins enjoy a tipple in the new Assembly Rooms

Amanda Serjeant, Head of Leisure and Tourism at Chesterfield Borough Council was with Toby as he opened the event and she said she too was delighted with the event, "I think this CAMRA festival is a great showcase, a first showcase, for the Assembly Rooms, which has been brought back to its former glory.

"It needs reinvestment and, with help from the Lottery and The European Development fund, we've been able to bring it back to how it was meant to be.

"We have disability access and ramps, so everyone can use the space and I think what we've seen this week is that people have thought this is a place we want to come and shop. We talk about 'shop local' and I urge residents to come into the town and shop and support the traders.

"It's brought jobs in the town - our new café in there is the Plaza Café and it's run by SLIC training who will provide apprenticeships and NVQ's - training and jobs."

Jane Lefley, who organised the beer festival, told us just what CAMRA does, "We fight for Real Ale! Last year we got tax reduced on beer and we promote Real Ale. At the moment we have a campaign to stop Tesco taking over pubs.

"CAMRA is thriving at the moment. We are opening new pubs all the time. Chesterfield Alehouse has just opened in West Bars and that's what we call a micro-pub and it brings jobs and investment in the town.

"39 breweries in Derbyshire breweries collective - 8 in Chesterfield. Instant Karma have launched beer at the festival and a new one is opening in Clay Cross - Dave Brown, owner of Chesterfield Arms, has started to brew his own beer as well."

The festival is open this evening from 6.30pm - 11pm, and Saturday 11am - 4pm and then again from 6.30 - 11pm. It's ticket only evenings but you can pay on the door - subject to availability.

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