2022: The year of development for Chesterfield and North Derbyshire

Office and retail spaces will be created to cater for businesses looking to start their journey or expand further, and these will be complemented by a new indoor activity centre and the revitalisation of the town centre.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said the developments taking place in 2022 would be crucial in helping the town recover from the pandemic much quicker than counterparts across the country.

“As we look ahead to 2022, our borough has a bright future. Our ambitious investment and regeneration projects, together with those from our public and private sector partners, mean we’re in a strong place to recover from the impact of the pandemic at a faster rate than many other towns and create lots of exciting opportunities for our community.

“In the next few months we will see the opening of the Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre, One Waterside Place, The Glass Yard and the first elements of PEAK resort. These will all help create new and innovative economic opportunities in our borough, but this is just the start.

“Work will also begin on our levelling up projects including the refurbishment of our striking Stephenson Memorial Hall, and work to revitalise the historic market place and the wider transformation of our town centre. We will also begin to see the eleven projects that comprise the Staveley Town Deal come to life, and we will begin delivery of our ambitious station master plan to transform this key gateway to our borough.

“Together all these projects will help ensure our borough is in a strong position for a prosperous future. They will create new jobs and skills opportunities for local residents, ensuring that our borough thrives in the modern world.”

Chief Executive of the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, Scott Knowles, echoed Cllr Gilby’s optimism surrounding the coming months, and said this exciting year of development would secure Chesterfield’s place as one of the principal towns in the Midlands.

“There is a huge amount of construction activity taking place right now that will provide a huge boost to Chesterfield’s economy. The volume and scale of the planned developments will bring more people to live and work here, which creates an enormous knock-on effect via other new commercial and investment opportunities that will become possible.

“While the pandemic has forced cities to re-evaluate their future purpose, towns have perhaps enjoyed something of a renaissance, as people have enjoyed experiencing a different pace of life, using local amenities and reconnecting with green spaces.

“Chesterfield, of course, is already superbly located at the gateway to the Peak District, one of the UK’s most popular national parks, while also within both Derby and Sheffield’s sphere of influence. By adding new facilities and infrastructure via these ongoing development schemes, it has a very exciting future ahead- with the potential to cement its position as one of the leading towns in the Midlands.”

The Northern Gateway:

The Northern Gateway scheme, which promised to create 500 jobs and improve the northern entrance into Chesterfield, is now close to being finished.

The main feature of this development is the Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre, due for completion in early 2022, which will provide modern, sustainably-built office spaces for start-up and medium sized businesses.

Built on the site of the Donut car park, the office space offers easy in and out letting terms for tenants. They will also benefit from access to a range of other council services and venues, including business support and corporate rates for leisure passes, parking permits and conferencing facilities.

PEAK indoor activity centre:

PEAK is an all-year leisure, education, wellness and entertainment destination, being developed in 300 acres of reclaimed parkland near Unstone.

The first phase of the development will cost in the region of £100m, and covers approximately one third of the total planning permission. This will include an indoor adventure centre, outdoor water courses and lake, a gateway building, travel hub and a covered events space.

The indoor activity centre, called The Summit @PEAK, will be the first part of the project to be completed, and is due to open in late 2022. This will include a helter skelter, zip lines, climbing walls, caving, ninja course, trampolining, rope courses, fun walls, adventure golf and electric g-karts.

Glass Yard

The Glass Yard project is set to be finished this year, and will transform an empty plot of land on Sheffield Road into an innovative site incorporating office space, retail units, restaurants and bars.

The flexibly designed spaces will allow the special requirements of any tenant on the new 50,000 sq ft development to be accommodated.

The centrepiece of the project is an artisanal food hall called The Batch House, which will host an array of street food traders.

One Waterside Place:

One Waterside Place is another office space set to be completed in 2022, as part of the £320m Chesterfield Waterside regeneration scheme on the site of the old Trebor factory.

Described by Chesterfield Borough Council as a “key strategic investment opportunity for the town”, OWP will be part of a wider business and residential offering in phase one of the Basin Square, which will also see the creation of a new 1500 home community.

Chesterfield accountancy firm BHP Chartered Accountants have already committed to occupying a floor at OWP once the building is finished.

Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield:

This £3.25m project aims to revamp the town’s historic outdoor market space and improve the public space around Elder Way.

The revitalised outdoor market will benefit from better lighting and power, improved access and stall configuration and general paving repairs. New flexible trading areas will be created, and all existing stall structures will be repaired.

The project will support the creation of 66 jobs, as well as safeguarding 80 jobs on the outdoor market.

Stephenson Hall & Pomegranate Theatre:

The Stephenson Memorial Hall, home to the Pomegranate Theatre and Chesterfield Museum, will be refurbished as part of a £15.6m project.

Under the proposals, the renovated hall will bring together under one roof an extended Pomegranate Theatre and a reconfigured, modern museum offering, alongside new gallery space, a café bar, education and community facilities.

The aim is to ensure that all residents can experience the arts and culture in much improved facilities, while attracting new visitors to Chesterfield’s economy.

Chesterfield Station Master Plan:

Cllr Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said they will “begin to deliver” the Chesterfield Station Master Plan in 2022.

Once completed, this project will revolutionise the area in between the town centre and the station. A new public ‘boulevard’ will be created for pedestrians and cyclists from the station to Corporation Street, which will replace the existing footbridge over the A61.

A new station link road between Brimington Road and Hollis Lane, with improved public transport access, will also be constructed.

Staveley Town Regeneration:

Cllr Gilby also said that, in 2022, “We will begin to see the eleven projects that comprise the Staveley Town Deal come to life.”

Staveley is set to benefit from £25.2m worth of funding following the Government’s Town Deal programme.

This will allow for projects including Staveley Waterside, a business and residential development on Staveley’s canal basin, and a proposed train station, relating to a wider project to restore passenger services on the Barrow Hill to Sheffield line.