CHESTERFIELD CHAMPION: '˜A great place to work and raise a family'

I am Jan Clarke-Humphries, the centre manager of the Pavements Shopping Centre in Chesterfield.

I have previously managed Pavements between 1991 and 1997 when I also managed the open market, Market Hall and abattoir. I left in 1997 to work in Mansfield town centre as the town centre operations manager. I then returned to work at Pavements in 2011.

I moved to Chesterfield in 1981 from my home town of Halesowen in the West Midlands. My first son was only four months old and my second son was born in the maternity hospital on Saltergate in Chesterfield two years later.

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I now have one very much-loved granddaughter and another one on the way this month.

I have been back working at the Pavements for five years and it’s a job that I really love.

There is a team of 14 that help me operate the centre and the staff are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

It is estimated that we have more than 9,000 visitors every day.

1. What’s your best memory of the town?

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Some of my best memories of Chesterfield are from when I was living in Walton.

I made lots of friends, some of who are still my friends after 30 years. We had some very good times, our children were young and it was very much a community.

2. What development do you think will make the biggest difference to the town?

The development that will make the biggest difference in the town will be the proposed HS2, that will bring lots of diverse opportunities for Chesterfield.

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3. How would you describe Chesterfield to someone who has never visited?

Chesterfield is a great town with a great infrastructure from restaurants, cinemas, theatres and the Peak District very close by.

It has some good schools and is a great place to live, work and bring up a family.

4. What are the positives of running a business here?

It’s location being in the centre of the country and close to the motorway network, makes it a great place to operate a business.

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5. Who or what do you turn to in Chesterfield for business advice?

For advice, I turn to my colleagues in the Chesterfield Borough Council or colleagues within the industry, in particular the British Shopping Centre Consortium (REVO).

6. Who do you admire in the community?

I have shop managers within the centre that I see working extremely hard every day, I admire them for their work ethics. I also have staff who I admire because of their ability to handle some very aggressive incidents, in a calm and collective manner.

7. What are the aspirations of your business?

My immediate aspiration is getting over the next few weeks whilst the centre is being refurbished with the installation of doors at each entrance, new lighting, repairs to the floor and an overall makeover.

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