After securing nearly £20m of Levelling Up funding, plans to boost the town centre and enhance its cultural offering are set to be unveiled at the annual Celebrate Chesterfield event at the Winding Wheel on Wednesday 23 March.
At the event, Neil Johnson, Director of Economic Growth at Chesterfield Borough Council, will unveil Chesterfield Borough Council’s plans for the modernisation and further development of the town centre as part of its journey to become a go-to destination for residents, retailers, and visitors.
A new Inward Investment Campaign for Chesterfield, focussed on attracting further investment to the town, will also be launched at the event.
Now in its twelfth year Celebrate Chesterfield, which is organised by Destination Chesterfield in association with The University of Derby and sponsored by CT and Markham Vale, attracts around 250 delegates.
This year, the event will also host the Derbyshire Festival of Business Exhibition, designed to showcase Derbyshire’s extensive business offer and capabilities.
Fully booked every year, businesses are being urged to book their tickets now to the free in-person event which is being held at the Winding Wheel from 7.30am – 11.00am.
Mr Johnson will be joined at the popular event by Dr Huw Bowen, Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council and Professor Warren Manning, Provost Innovation and Research at the University of Derby.
In addition to plans for the town centre, the conference speakers will also address progress on the town’s multi-million pound commercial and residential developments, office space and the Digital High Street programme.
Last year the Celebrate Chesterfield event was held online. Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield, said: “Chesterfield’s business community demonstrated resilience through the pandemic and continued to make significant progress in all areas. I am pleased we can finally come together in person and celebrate all that we have achieved in such testing times. It’s also important we look to the future and capitalise on the progress we have made to ensure the town remains a place where people want to live, work and invest.”
Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, added: “Celebrate Chesterfield is a fantastic opportunity for our business community to come together to hear and discuss the significant investments that the council and its partners are making across our town and borough. We need a strong business community to maximise the opportunities created by these investments and to contribute to our aims of making Chesterfield a thriving borough and improving the quality of life for local people.”
Dr Peter Dewhurst, Director, Strategic Projects at the University of Derby, said: “The University is once again proud to be the headline sponsor of the Celebrate Chesterfield event, which we see as presenting an excellent opportunity to bring together and showcase the talent that is helping Chesterfield recover from the challenges of recent times. What’s more, this year’s event is being promoted as part of the inaugural Derbyshire Festival of Business that is being used to elevate our fabulous county as a great place to launch and grow a successful business.”
Ian Snow, Managing Director of CT, said: “CT is delighted to sponsor this event and continue our support to promote Chesterfield as a great business destination. We are proud that our roots are in Chesterfield. The fantastic central location, together with the investment into Chesterfield to build a town people want to both live and work in, is supporting the growth of our business to offer a nationwide IT service. We are lucky to be in good company, surrounded by exceptional businesses from the legal, manufacturing and engineering sectors and we look forward to meeting everyone at this great event later this month.”
Anthony Clitheroe, Director at HBD, which is jointly developing Markham Vale in partnership with Derbyshire County Council, said: “Markham Vale is at the heart of the business community, so we’re pleased to be able to support Celebrate Chesterfield and the launch of the Derbyshire Festival of Business – there’s no better advert for Derbyshire as a place to do business than the ambitious, growing companies based at Markham Vale. Benefiting from excellent connectivity and a great local skills base, they continue to create new jobs and attract investment into the region.”
