As part of the Destination Chesterfield and the Derbyshire Times features, we’re delighted to announced our Partner, Jonathon Dickens has been crowned the ‘Chesterfield Champion of the Week’!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a Chesterfield resident, here’s Jonathon’s take on why business in the town is something to be proud of…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having lived in Chesterfield all my life, I\u2019ve grown up seeing a lot of\nlong standing businesses continue to have a strong presence in the town. As\nChesterfield historically is a market town with traditional values, the local\ncommunity really engage with local businesses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We see this across many different sectors \u2013 the professional services\nsector which I work in has a strong concentration on Saltergate, with many businesses\nworking together rather than in direct competition to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The location of Chesterfield itself is great for national trade as well\ndue to the transport infrastructure we have in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dales & Peaks Estate Agents immediately spring to mind here \u2013 they have\na similar profile to us in that they are also going through a significant\ngrowth phase and have achieved this by identifying new avenues for the\nbusiness, such as focusing on property sales in addition to lettings. They are\nalso family run and locally owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is one notable landmark\nin Chesterfield that no other town can rival \u2013 the crooked spire, which\nprovides a unique visitor attraction and local talking point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a visitor you are on the\ndoorstep to one of, (if not the best!) national parks in the UK in the Peak\nDistrict, as well as an improving nightlife scene in both the town centre and\nthe outskirts, such as Chatsworth Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been some great local developments, or re-developments in\nthis case such as the new Premier Inn that has completely revamped the old\nlandmark Co-op building. It\u2019s great to see huge global brands like this seeing\nChesterfield as an opportunity to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chatsworth Road is now very much on the social scene map, and we\u2019re\nexpecting further development at the Waterside which will bring further trade\ninto the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Festival of Cricket and Chesterfield Marathon have been fantastic\nover the last few years and continue to grow. The Sparkle Walk which Ashgate\nHospice run raises some great awareness for one of the town\u2019s key charities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chatsworth Christmas Markets are expanding every year, and it would be\ngreat to see something like this in the town centre as well. After all,\nChesterfield is a traditional market town, so is already set up to hold\nseasonal events like this. Drawing people into the town centre at this time of\nyear when they would usually travel elsewhere could provide a huge boost to the\nwhole town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a lot of entrepreneurs in Chesterfield who are always\ndeveloping new business ventures. The great thing about these people is they\nare always willing to give it a go. If we all adopt this mentality there will\nbe a bright future ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bottle & Thyme is a recent success story \u2013 the food and staff are\ngreat, and that fact that it is always busy means it is currently one of the\ngo-to places to eat. It\u2019s a great asset to the town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re looking for something more traditional, then you can\u2019t beat a\npint of Stones at the local working man\u2019s club!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been tough for the retail sector recently with so many household\nnames struggling on the high street throughout the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is light at the end of the tunnel though, and it\u2019s great to see the redevelopment of the Co-op building by the Premier Inn chain. Hopefully this will set the precedent for other large brands to follow<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chesterfield has fantastic foundations and infrastructure for new\nbusinesses to establish. There\u2019s a great business support network in the town\nfor start-ups, as well as access to a lot of professional entrepreneurs who are\nwanting to give something back into the business community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Chesterfield public seem to take to local businesses as they like to see businesses investing in their community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n