Chesterfield has received nearly £20m of levelling up funding to transform Chesterfield Town Centre.
The funding, which is being matched by £6m of investment from Chesterfield Borough Council, will underpin the Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield improvement plan.
The delivery of the improvement plan is expected to increase land value in the town centre by 16% and shop occupancy levels to more than 90%, resulting in increased spending which will support the creation of around 100 new jobs in the town centre.
Dr Huw Bowen, Chief Executive of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: ‘We’re immensely grateful for the levelling up funding. It will make a big difference to the town centre to support our growth ambitions.’
The Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield programme will see key spaces in the town centre regenerated and reimagined, including Market Place, New Square, Burlington Street and Packers Row, Corporation Street and the George Stephenson Memorial Hall.
The refurbishment and remodelling of the George Stephenson Memorial Hall will bring together a theatre, cinema, bar, café and exhibition space in one asset to allow greater cultural inclusion and participation.
In addition to the creation of new outdoor dwelling and entertainment space, the town centre will have a new lighting strategy and greater data connectivity to enable digital way finding, smart street lighting, predictive maintenance, and environmental monitoring.
Dr Bowen added: ‘We want to celebrate the town’s identity and spaces and seating for people and events in the public realm that will encourage people to stay and dwell longer and spend more in the town.’
Cllr Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: ‘2022 is already proving to be a landmark year for Chesterfield with the construction of the Enterprise Centre and One Waterside Place, both symbols throughout the pandemic that Chesterfield is always open and ready to do business.
‘Alongside regeneration projects and new developments, Chesterfield Borough Council is invested in supporting the future of young people and local residents. We want better jobs and more jobs for local people. Our local labour clauses in contracts have created more than 800 local jobs in the last year alone with many of them being apprenticeships.
‘We are fortunate to have both Chesterfield College and a University of Derby campus in the town centre which, together, are supporting more than 10,000 students and apprentices helping us have a skilled work force to attract further businesses to invest in the borough of Chesterfield.’
In related news, over 60 environmental charities and professional bodies have argued that a ‘legal right to nature’ should be placed at the centre of the government’s levelling up agenda.