In a recent *report by Local Data Company (LDC), the UK’s most accurate retail location insight company, it has been revealed that Chesterfield is one of the UK’s most resilient town centres in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its resilience means that it could recover more quickly from lockdown than other towns and cities.
Within the report, Chesterfield is listed in the top 10 towns with the highest percentage of essential retail which has still been able to trade during the pandemic. This has maintained the strength of the local economy.
Chesterfield Borough Council has pledged its ongoing support for town centre businesses. Councillor Kate Sarvent, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “Rebuilding the local economy following the pandemic is a priority for Chesterfield Borough Council and we have therefore implemented a number of financial and support measures to help our local businesses in these challenging times.
“We will continue to support our local businesses and retailers as much as we can to ensure the long-term viability of the town centre as a place to visit, shop and socialise.”
Despite lockdown, Chesterfield has continued to forge ahead with plans. Construction on the new Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre, located adjacent to Elder Way, commenced recently. Once complete it will offer 32 high quality office suites over three floors.
New stores, like Precious Memories, are also set to open and existing retailers looking to expand in the town centre post lockdown. Shop Indie, based in Vicar Lane Shopping Centre, is one of the businesses looking to expand.
Lisa Swift, owner of Shop Indie said: “We believe that after the lockdown has ended and people are allowed to move freely that they will have a much better appreciation of local businesses they have been reliant on during lockdown.”
Laura Jo Owen, owner of Adorn Jewellers based in Chesterfield’s Shambles, shared Lisa’s optimism, saying: “With many people relying on local businesses through the lockdown period our feedback has been that people are immensely grateful they still have local shops. Rather than a threat to the high street we see lockdown as an opportunity for people to continue shopping locally and to ensure that Chesterfield maintains its excellent mix of independent and multiple retailers.”
Supporting the retail community, the town’s marketing campaign Destination Chesterfield launched a new microsite during lockdown specifically designed to help Chesterfield’s independent businesses continue to operate and supply their services and products.
The website – www.chesterfield.co.uk/supportinglocal has details of nearly 100 shops, food and drink businesses, training, support and service providers in and around Chesterfield that are continuing to operate by adapting their services to meet the needs of the community.
Mark Hill, Commercial Property Director at Jomast which has sympathetically developed the iconic Elder Way building, commented: “We knew Chesterfield was a resilient town and it’s one of the main reasons we chose to invest here. I have nothing but praise for the town’s businesses and how they’ve responded to COVID-19 – it makes us extremely proud to be working alongside them.”
If you want to be part of Chesterfield’s thriving town centre, get in touch with our team now to discover what Elder Way can offer you.
The iconic Elder Way building has been sympathetically developed into eight fully accessible, modern street level units. With glazed frontages and external seating, available units range in size from 1,420 sq ft to 4,219 sq ft. Each unit can be bespoke and fitted out to your own individual requirements.
For more details about the units and lesiure space at Elder Way, please contact Jomast Developments on 01642 666942.