4,000 new jobs to be created in Chesterfield over next five years

That was the message from the annual Celebrate Chesterfield event which saw more than 300 business leaders gather to learn about further investment plans for the town.

Jobs will be created at the major developments, including Chesterfield Waterside, Peak Resort, Northern Gateway, Walton Works and Markham Vale.

The meeting heard that significant movement has also been made on Staveley Corridor scheme, following confirmation that there will be an HS2 maintenance depot based there which will create around 250 jobs.

More than 2,000 people currently work in Chesterfield’s tourism sector and a further 1,300 jobs will be created at Peak Resort when it opens in 2019.

Speaking at the event Huw Bowen, Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council told investors and business leaders that the council was committed to developing the skills and talent of people living in the town.

He said: “We remain wedded to the concept that the growth we generate must be ‘inclusive’ and that local people should benefit from the proceeds of growth.

One of the council’s key objectives for 2017 is to create a skills action plan for Chesterfield which ensures that local people and businesses have clear advice, signposting and support with regards to the range of SCR and D2N2 programmes that are available.”

Work at both the £320 million Waterside Chesterfield scheme and £400 million Peak Resort development is already underway.

Rupert Carr, Director of Birchall Properties, the company behind Peak Resort which is being billed as the gateway to the Peak District, also spoke at the Celebrate Chesterfield event.

He said: “Peak Resort has been a 28-year story in the making. We gained outline planning consent for the development in 1989, however it is only in recent years, thanks a coalition of national and international partners, that we have made significant progress with the development. We are now on course to launch the first phase in 2019.”

Peak Resort is currently the largest leisure development in the UK. When complete it will almost double the amount of tourist accommodation in the Borough with the construction of both a four star hotel and five-star clubhouse lodges. An additional hotel is also being built at Basin Square in the first phase of Chesterfield Waterside, aimed at maximising Chesterfield’s proximity to the Peak District National Park.

Peter Swallow, Chair of Destination Chesterfield added: “Chesterfield is on a journey; one that will see it become a significant and attractive location in the UK thanks to both the current investment and the forthcoming HS2. The town’s connectivity has always been a key selling point, but with the advent of HS2 in 2034, Leeds, Birmingham and London will be minutes away and investors are looking at the area with renewed interest. It’s a tremendously exciting time for the town, as we move from concept to delivery making it a town of opportunity for everyone.”