How you can take part in exciting new project to shape Chesterfield's future

Leaders behind a new project aiming to shape Chesterfield’s future want to hear your ideas on how the town should evolve.
Tim Paget
By Tim Paget
Published 8th Sep 2020, 16:45 BST
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Your Life, Your Chesterfield is a series of interactive online workshops where anyone who cares about our town can have their say about what matters to them.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the project was intended to be a major event in the town centre but will now be a completely virtual experience.

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However, organisers say the impact of lockdown makes their aims more relevant than ever.

Chesterfield Market Place.Chesterfield Market Place.
Chesterfield Market Place.

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Kate Burns, skills coordinator at Community Chesterfield, said: “In this new world that we find ourselves in it is more important than ever that people have their say on the town.

"We want people to embrace the fact that everything is changing and get in their early to help shape it.”

Everyone who lives, works, runs a business or studies in Chesterfield – or is a regular visitor to the town – is welcome to join in the free workshops on video-conferencing platform Zoom.

Kate Burns, skills coordinator at Community Chesterfield, wants people to have their say.Kate Burns, skills coordinator at Community Chesterfield, wants people to have their say.
Kate Burns, skills coordinator at Community Chesterfield, wants people to have their say.
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Kate said: “It will be my job to make sure everyone who takes part has a chance to say the thing they want to say in the way they want to say it.

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"It might be about their home, their street, their community or the town centre – it’ll be exciting to see where the conversation takes us.”

Kate admits that the online sessions will make it harder for some people, but for others the virtual workshops will be ‘much more accessible’.

People in Chesterfield are being asked to have their say.People in Chesterfield are being asked to have their say.
People in Chesterfield are being asked to have their say.

To get the ball rolling, Kate has asked people to tell her about their favourite thing to do in town and has received ‘a fantastic variety of answers, ranging from sport to theatre, to feeding the ducks on the canal’.

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"We want this to be led by people who care about Chesterfield,” Kate added. “Pride in Chesterfield is a very real thing.”

The project will then be able to use its links with decision makers to get these views across.

Your Life Your Chesterfield is hosted by a partnership of organisations supporting communities in Chesterfield.

Sessions will be held in September, October and November, and to book a place, click here or email [email protected]

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Related topics:Pride