Problems facing Chesterfield town centre and potential solutions to be discussed at public meeting

The Chesterfield and District Civic Society is set to host a meeting regarding the future of Chesterfield town centre.

The organisation said that the town centre had become a matter of “lively discussion in the last few months.”

They noted fears that Chesterfield is “threatened with decline, characterised by empty shops (and other buildings) and falling support for the open market, alongside other problems of longer standing, such as graffiti and anti-social behaviour.”

The group added that “none of these problems is unique to Chesterfield, and some towns are in a worse position. On the other hand, there is a feeling that unless something is done, probably through the efforts of both private enterprise and public bodies, the situation will get worse, rather than better.

The society has invited three people to speak at their meeting, which will start from 7.30pm on Monday, February 27 at St Thomas’s Church Centre, Chatsworth Road. They are: Neil Johnson, an officer from Chesterfield Borough Council responsible for the town centre; Dom Stephens of Destination Chesterfield, which speaks for the business and professional community in the town; and Lisa Hopkinson of Transition Chesterfield, which campaigns for a more sustainable future for the town.

There is no specific agenda for the meeting, but issues that might be raised is how to encourage the ‘night time economy’ in a way that attracts rather than repels families and older people. Chesterfield’s tourism offering, the possibilities around town centre housing, independent retailers and if they can fill gaps left by the decline of chain stores, how can the market be sustained and the role of the local authority in developing the area may also be discussed.

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Philip Riden, chairman of the society, said: “We hope to see as many Civic Society members as possible at the meeting, and also non-members (or prospective members, as we would like to think of them). Members are very welcome to bring friends and to make the event known as widely as possible.”