Let's help Derbyshire's local businesses keep shining

There was bitter-sweet news this week around one of Chesterfield’s oldest family businesses.
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John Dent the chemist’s has served the community from its base on New Square since 1903 – but was facing closure three years ago when staff were given warning they could lose their jobs.

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The future of the photographic department at Dent’s remains uncertain however, with bosses hoping to find new owners for that part of the business

Dents of Chesterfield.Dents of Chesterfield.
Dents of Chesterfield.

Whilst it’s great news that pharmacy jobs a t Dents will be saved, it’s still very sad that a landmark business in the town centre will no longer be with us. How many people have called in for a prescription or had their had their passport photos taken there down the years?

I’m not even sure it belonged to them, but I always associated the big Christmas star on top of that building as being the Dent’s Star – a welcoming festive beacon.

The corner premises facing New Square and the market hall is a prime piece of retail real estate and I’m sure some other business will snap it up.

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It takes a while to shake former associations though, especially after more than 100 years. Even after all this time, whenever I called in at Meadowfresh for one of their delicious steak and stilton pies, it still felt odd that I wasn’t actually in Hudson’s Records.

It’s clearly a sad day when a business as well-known and as prominent as Dents is forced to close, but at least jobs have been saved and we can only hope the photographic business is too.

Every high street and town centre in the country was under pressure – even back in the days when people thought Wuhan was a rapper – and lockdown has only made things even harder for many of Derbyshire’s small businesses.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, please show a little love for the place where we live and back our local shops – online for now, if you can, and in person once lockdown is lifted and it’s safe to do so.

Let’s keep our town centre stars shining

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