Work to refurbish Stephenson Memorial Hall, home to the Pomegranate Theatre and Chesterfield Museum, has been ongoing for more than six months and there have been some major changes to the building.

In the auditorium the changes are significant, the circle has been stripped back, with the decorative panelling being safely stored ready to be reinstalled once the project is complete and new steelwork brought into the building ready to build an enlarged seating area. Cut outs have also been made in the walls to create a new access point and a new control room where the lights, audio and cinema equipment can be operated from.

A new concrete slab has been laid on the auditorium floor and the grid above the stage has been removed ready for a new steel structure to be installed.

On the Corporation Street side, part of the roof has been removed ready for a new Link Gallery to be installed, this will house rooms that can be used for events, school trips, community activities and as extra space during performance intervals.  

A lift shaft has also been built up into this area, this will allow all visitors to access the new Museum spaces on the top floor, the upper level of the new café bar and the circle which will include new accessible seating.

In the Museum, work is underway to create a new café bar space and a new welcome area for the building where the historic builder’s wheel will be displayed. There are also new cutouts and internal windows to make the building feel more open.

As well as upgrading the building a lot of the work is also about improving the fabric of the building to ensure that it is more energy efficient and will stand the test of time. This has included improvements to the roof, where the existing roof tiles have been lifted, new membranes installed and then many of the tiles will be re-laid along with some matching new ones to ensure it is watertight. 

Works have also included the cleaning of external brickwork and some re-pointing to ensure the building looks brilliant when it reopens.

On Station Back Lane a new extension is being built which will house dressing rooms and a new back of house area to provide performers with modern facilities. A new foundation has been laid and the blockwork in this area is progressing well.

You can find out more about the project and see a flythrough of the finished design by visiting our Stephenson Memorial Hall page.


 

As part of the multi-million pound Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield scheme, work has begun in Chesterfield Market.

One of the most common questions we get is about the cobbles – love them or hate them, they are an important part of our town’s history.

Many residents tell us they find them difficult to use and cause accessibility issues for some people.

The plans aims to strike a balance by providing some more even pathways through the market, and levelling and relaying some sections of the cobbles.

We're excited to see these improvements take shape.

Work on the next phase of the multi-million pound regeneration of Chesterfield town centre has officially started on site.

Councillors Tricia Gilby and Kate Sarvent met with Louise Bruynseels a regular market trader and John Allen the Construction Director at contractor Thomas Bow, to see how works had been progressing to the upper section of Market Place during the first week of construction.

The works will see the creation of a new market layout with new stalls and enhancements to paving, seating and lighting. Work will then move on to New Square – to create an attractive and flexible space that will complement the main market and speciality markets, but can also be used to host festivals, events, cultural celebrations, and community gatherings.

The town’s historic cobbles will be lifted, and re-laid and some new paving will also be installed – together this will maintain the historic look but will provide a more level surface throughout the Market Place, making it easier for people with accessibility issues such as wheelchair and mobility scooter users or parents with pushchairs to navigate the market.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “We’re all immensely proud of our town centre and historic market, and we’re investing in its future to help it thrive for generations to come.

“It’s fantastic to see work begin on site, and we all look forward to seeing the improvements take shape over the summer. The town centre is very much open for business, although inevitably there will be some short-term disruption and we thank people for their patience.

“We’re working closely to support our market traders and town centre businesses and will keep people up to date as the project progresses – please sign up to our regular monthly email newsletter and also keep an eye on the council’s social media channels.”

All town centre businesses and market stalls will be open as usual during the regeneration work. Some market traders have temporarily re-located to either the lower half of Market Place, New Square, or other areas of the town centre nearby – but the market will run as usual on Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (and speciality markets as usual on Sundays).

Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield is an 18-month scheme to improve the look, feel and flow of key public spaces, and revitalise the historic market.

Further phases of works include Rykneld Square which will be transformed to create a green and welcoming space from which to enjoy our much-loved Crooked Spire.

Separately, G F Tomlinson will carry out improvements to Corporation Street to create a new gateway to the refurbished Stephenson Memorial Hall, which houses the Pomegranate Theatre and Chesterfield Museum.

Questions about Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield can be submitted to the project team by emailing: rhocenquiries@chesterfield.gov.uk.

For more information or to sign up for project updates by email, please visit our Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield page.

Chesterfield shoppers will notice some changes in the town centre, as preparations for the multi-million pound regeneration project get underway. 

The first phase of the Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield scheme is set to begin in the upper half of Market Place on Monday 1 July, before moving on the lower half of the square for phase two of the work later in the year.

Work to clear this area of market stalls – and temporarily re-locate some market traders to other areas of the town centre – is underway.

This is the first phase of an 18-month regeneration scheme to improve the look, feel and flow of key public spaces across the town centre, and revitalise the town’s historic market.

The externally-funded project is being delivered by Chesterfield Borough Council, in partnership with Thomas Bow.

All town centre businesses and market stalls will be open as usual during the regeneration work – and the council and contractor are working directly with them to keep people up to date and limit disruption as far as possible.

The market will run as usual on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (and speciality markets as usual on Sundays) – with displaced stalls being concentrated in the lower half of Market Place during phase one. Some traders will also move into New Square and Lower Pavement.

Key things for people to be aware of over the next few weeks include:

• market stalls and traders – existing market stalls in the top half of Market Place are being dismantled and moved to clear the area for the first phase of work. Traders who are usually based in this section will be moved to the lower half of Market Place, into New Square or on other temporary stalls close by:
• • Ibbotsons Fresh Fruit and Veg – usually located in the top corner, Ibbotsons has moved to a new temporary home next to Boots (at the bottom of the Market Place)
  • Foot Long Hot Dogs – the mobile food van usually located in the centre of Market Place have set up in Central Pavement, outside Santander
  • Grandad’s Sweets – has moved to Central Pavement
  • Barry The Haddock (a regular Thursday trader) – has moved just up from the usual position to the other side of Santander (outside the former TSB bank)
  • Keeble’s Cakes (a regular Thursday trader) – has moved to New Square
  • Shaun Wright Games (a regular Thursday trader) – has moved to New Square
    all other traders that usually stood in the top half of the market are now located on the bottom half
  • if any customer can’t find their usual trader, they can call the Markets Office on 01246 345999 for more information
• Market Hall – Chesterfield Market Hall will remain open as usual. Please note that the area outside the main clock tower entrance will be restricted to pedestrian access only
• fencing – fencing will be put up around the top half of Market Place, to safely close off the work site. This will have some impact on vehicle access and any small diversions will be signposted. Initial work will include improvements to the paving and cobbles
• Town Pump – this will be covered over and protected during the work, with longer-term plans to make this historic landmark into a feature of the new space
• cobbles – these are an important part of the market town’s history and heritage, but residents’ feedback shows that many people find them difficult to navigate and they can cause accessibility issues for some people such as wheelchair and mobility scooter users, and people with prams. The plans aim to strike a balance by providing some more even pathways through the market, and levelling and relaying some sections of cobbles, while also keeping cobbled sections. More detailed information about this work over the coming weeks
• Rose Hill car park - the west half of Rose Hill car park (the side furthest from the town centre) is now closed, to allow for the contractor’s work compound to be set up ahead of the 1 July start on site for the town centre regeneration project
• Thomas Bow base – this will be located on Lower Pavement. A window display showing key details of the plans is being prepared for the public to view

A spokesperson for the council said: “People will be starting to notice some changes to the town centre as we prepare for regeneration work due to begin, but the town centre is very much open for business. Inevitably the work will cause some short-term disruption and we thank people in advance for their patience.

“We have a detailed plan to support our market traders and town centre businesses throughout the improvement works, and we’d encourage people to sign up to our regular monthly email newsletter via our website and also keep an eye on the council’s social media channels for the latest updates.”

The improvements in Market Square will create a new market layout with new stalls and enhancements to paving, seating and lighting, before moving on to New Square, where works will be carried out to create an attractive flexible space to support both traditional and speciality markets and a wider range of uses. The final phase will involve improvement works to Rykneld Square.

Separately, G F Tomlinson will carry out improvements to Corporation Street to create a new gateway to the refurbished Stephenson Memorial Hall.

For more information – and to sign up for regular email updates – visit www.chsterfield.gov.uk/revitalise 

If anyone has any questions about the work, they can contact the project team at rhocenquries@chesterfield.gov.uk 

The next phase of the regeneration of Chesterfield town centre is set to start in July – with experienced contractor, Thomas Bow, now appointed to take the project forward.

The multi-million pound Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield project includes a range of improvement works to transform the look, feel and flow of the town’s key public spaces. The works are due to start on 1 July and will take eighteen months to complete.

The project will begin in Market Square, where improvements will create a new market layout with new stalls and enhancements to paving, seating and lighting, before moving on to New Square, where works will be carried out to create an attractive flexible space to support both traditional and speciality markets and a wider range of uses. The final phase will involve improvement works to Rykneld Square.

Separately, G F Tomlinson will carry out improvements to Corporation Street to create a new gateway to the refurbished Stephenson Memorial Hall.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We’re pleased to confirm Thomas Bow as our contractor and look forward to the project gathering pace over the coming weeks – with work due to start next month. The town centre will remain open for business, although inevitably the work will cause some short-term disruption and we thank people in advance for their patience.

“We have a detailed plan to support our market traders and town centre businesses throughout the improvement works, and we’ll also be making sure we keep members of the public up to date by sharing information as the work progresses.

“We’d encourage people to sign up to our regular monthly email newsletter via our website and also keep an eye on the council’s social media channels for the latest updates.”

Thomas Bow is an experienced civil engineering contractor having worked on major public realm regeneration projects in cities across the midlands, including Lincoln, Nottingham and Leicester. They will be operating a site office from Low Pavement and from where members of the public will be able to view the plans and find out more about how the project is progressing.

John Allen, Construction Director from Thomas Bow, said: “We are delighted to secure this important scheme with Chesterfield Borough Council. As a local contractor with significant experience in successful public realm delivery across the midlands, our teams are very much looking forward to embarking on this project in the coming months.”

Residents are also asked to note that, due to the timing of the improvement works, Chesterfield’s Medieval Market will not take place this year. The council is working with the local charities which usually fund-raise at the July event to provide alternative opportunities for them to take market stalls on speciality market days.

The next Peddler Market will go ahead as planned on 19 and 20 July – within its self-contained location on New Square, which won’t be affected by the works until later in the year.

A council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, we have had to take the difficult decision to cancel the Medieval Market this year, as key areas of the main market square will be undergoing improvement works.

“However, there are many more great family-friendly events taking place across the summer period and, in the longer term, the improvement works will create more space and flexibility for a range of town centre events and celebrations.

“We’ll also be launching a new public art project. It will include an artist in residency, art trails and an exhibition in the town centre, with the aim of encouraging people to visit and support local businesses whilst the regeneration project proceeds.”

Find out more about Chesterfield Borough Council’s Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield project and sign up for email newsletter updates.

The next phase of a multi-million pound project to regenerate Chesterfield town centre is set to get underway this summer.

Chesterfield Borough Council’s ‘Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield’ project – which has already seen good progress on work to refurbish the iconic Stephenson Memorial Hall, as well as improvements to Packers Row – will transform the look, feel and flow of key public spaces.

The detailed timescales are being finalised, but it is expected that work to revamp the town’s historic market place, which includes New Square and Market Square, will start in summer.

Key improvements will include:

• Market Square – the historic market will be revitalised – with a new layout to make it easier to walk around, new stalls with modern facilities for traders, and vibrant new canopies in heritage colours. The plans will also ensure the historic Town Pump is made into a unique feature in this space

• New Square – the plans will create an attractive and flexible space that will complement the main market and speciality markets, but can also be used to host festivals, events, cultural celebrations, and community gatherings – bringing our town centre to life

• Rykneld Square – this area will be transformed to create a more welcoming, green space from which to enjoy our much-loved Crooked Spire, and better connect this landmark to the town centre

• Spire Walk – the council will work in partnership with the Church of St Mary and All Saints to create a more welcoming and attractive space in which to enjoy our iconic Crooked Spire, this includes imaginative new lighting that will enhance the appearance of the spire at night and link into Rykneld Square

• Corporation Street - improved paving and lighting will revamp this key gateway to the town centre and provide a welcoming environment for visitors to the refurbished theatre and museum, this will provide an attractive and welcoming new gateway to the refurbished Stephenson Memorial Hall

Attractive lighting, new digital facilities, more greenery, new seating and signage will feature across the regeneration sites - creating a more attractive, welcoming and safe town centre for everyone to enjoy.

Councillor Kate Sarvent, cabinet member for town centres and visitor economy, said: “We’re immensely proud of our town and these widespread improvements will create a revitalised and vibrant town centre that builds on our strong history and heritage, supporting it to thrive for generations to come.

“A lot of work has been happening behind the scenes to get to this stage, including ongoing conversations with our market traders, businesses and residents, and we’re excited to look ahead to a start on site in the summer.

“Chesterfield certainly has positive times ahead, with the major refurbishment work at Stephenson Memorial Hall – home to our beloved theatre and museum – also progressing well.”

The Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield project will be completed in phases and is due for completion in 2025.

Councillor Sarvent added: “We have a strong track record of making the most of external funding opportunities to invest in the future of our borough, and through projects like the Revitalising the Heart of Project this work will bring real improvements for the residents and businesses of our town, while boosting our appeal to visitors.”

The project will complement improvements at the Northern Gateway and Elder Way and – at the other side of town – will connect with plans to transform the area around Chesterfield Station.

For more information or to sign up to receive project updates by email, visit our Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield page.