LETTER: Town '˜on the ropes' compared to others

If I read once more in the Derbyshire Times that Chesterfield '˜punches above its weight' by a council spokesman, I will ask him to consider the following points and then he may see that the town is '˜on the ropes'.

When compared with Mansfield and Derby it does not come out favourably.
In Chesterfield, the large Co-op building is empty, in Mansfield theirs is fully occupied by a retail unit and in Derby that too is fully occupied.
In Chesterfield the bus shelters are scattered around the town and open to the elements, yet Mansfield and Derby have 21st century modern bus stations.

At Chesterfield train station, we have no buses to and from the town centre, but Mansfield’s train station is situated adjacent to the bus station and Derby has frequent buses to the city centre and bus station.
Chesterfield’s town centre post office is empty and up for sale, yet both Mansfield and Derby’s are still occupied.
Burtons and many other town centre shops are up for sale in Chesterfield but occupied in Mansfield and Derby.
I could go on with other comparisons, but I will put just one more comment in. If the Co-op building is turned into a hotel, where is the facility for car parking? Wouldn’t it be better to refurbish the Chesterfield Hotel which already has a large car park?

A Hunt

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