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:
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- 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
