Council wins £20 million to boost Chesterfield town centre transformation

Chesterfield Borough Council has secured £19.98 million towards development schemes in the town, after bidding for money from the national Levelling Up Fund.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of the council, said: “This is fantastic news for Chesterfield. The funding that we have secured from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund will complement the significant investments the council and its partners are already making in Chesterfield town centre and will ensure that we can continue to create a better future for our market traders, retailers, residents, and businesses.

“We want Chesterfield to be a go-to place for visitors. The projects that will be enabled through the Levelling Up funding will go a long way to helping us achieve this ambition by enhancing our cultural offer and creating new experiences.”

The investment was confirmed in the Autumn Budget and Spending Review, and will be split between two projects.

The first will see £11.4 million allocated towards the costs of a £15.6 million project to remodel Chesterfield’s Stephenson Memorial Hall.

This will allow for the extension of the Pomegranate Theatre, which welcomes 86,000 attendees annually, and the modernisation of the Chesterfield Museum, which sees 26,000 visitors a year. A new gallery, café bar and community facilities will also be created.

The remaining £8.5 million will be used for town centre regeneration. It will focus on four key public spaces and the connections between them: Corporation Street, Rykneld Square, Market Square and New Square.

A planning application was submitted last week for the refurbishment of the Stephenson Memorial Hall.