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Website updates
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Hurst House sale
Chesterfield and District Civic Society hope that the ‘sorry’ saga over the sale of Hurst House, Abercrombie Street, Chesterfield, might now be nearing closure, with the announcement of its sale by auction on 26 September. The Grade II listed building, latterly used as an adult education centre, has been empty since 2014. The property…
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Heritage Open Days 2024
We have updated our Heritage Open Days (HODS) Page which you can view here. HODS events take place from 6-15 September 2024. Heritage Open Days (HODS) is England’s largest festival of history and culture, bringing together over 2,000 local people and organisations, and thousands of volunteers. Every year in September thousands of people come together across England to celebrate…
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And then there were three!
We have fitted our third plaque this month – a replacement for a formerly inaccurate one on North Midland House, Malkin Street, on the approach to Chesterfield railway station. Like our plaque on the Portland Hotel it’s been sponsored by East Midlands Railway Community Fund. The old plaque it replaced stated that North Midland House…
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Second plaque marks Portland Hotel and former station
Chesterfield and District Civic Society’s second plaque to be unveiled in July marks the Portland Hotel and the adjacent, but 1973 demolished, Lancashire, Derbyshire and East Coast Railway Station. The latest in the society’s blue plaque series was unveiled on 23 July by Wetherspoon’s area manager Joe Argyle, with the society’s chairman Howard Borrell. The…
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Latest plaque marks origin of walking football in town
The civic society’s latest blue plaque marks the birthplace of organised walking football – at Chesterfield Football Club’s stadium. The blue plaque was unveiled in a ceremony at the SMH Group Stadium on Wednesday 17 July 2024. The plaque is situated on the exterior of the East Stand, near the Chesterfield FC Community Trust’s facility…
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Busy July for society’s blue plaques scheme
July will be a busy month for the society’s blue plaque scheme, with two new plaques to be unveiled alongside the fitting of one replacement. The first plaque will be unveiled at Chesterfield Football Club – commemorating the origin of walking football. It’s very kindly sponsored by the club’s community trust. Two further plaques…
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Views expressed on new powers to help combat empty high street shops
Our Chairman, Howard Borrell, has contributed to an article in the Derbyshire Times, which looks at the possible opportunities and downsides of a new power for local authorities, designed to combat high street vacancies. High Street Rental Auctions is designed to help them to take control of empty properties, renting them out to local businesses.…
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Society committee visits Dunston Hall
The society have previously expressed its concern about various aspects of recent works at Dunston Hall, but have been reassured following a visit to the premises made in late April. The committee saw at first hand the considerable and high quality work that has been carried out on the grade II listed house itself, into…
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Town trails available
We are sometimes asked if there is a trail available looking at Chesterfield town centre. We’re pleased to advise that there are, in fact, two and they can both be downloaded for free. One of our committee members, local historian Janet Murphy, has written two trails. One looks at Chesterfield’s black and white buildings, the…
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Successful 18 April members’ meeting
Chesterfield and wider area initiatives, issues, problems and opportunities were discussed with Chesterfield Borough Council’s Economic Development Chief, Neil Johnson, at our members’ meeting on 18 April. We’ll be circulating details of the discussion threads to our members in due course. We also received some suggestions about the future format of meetings such as this,…
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Member meeting on 18 April
At our member (and guests) meeting on Thursday 18 April Neil Johnson, Head of Economic Development at Chesterfield Borough Council, will be the speaker. Neil will be talking about current and planned developments in the borough. There will be a question and answer session following his presentation. It will also be a chance to have…
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Rethinking Chesterfield town centre
We’ve made available some of our thoughts on issues facing Chesterfield town centre. These were originally published in the run-up to a well-attended public meeting we held back in February 2023. We’ve slightly edited these, but think they still represent a good starting point on looking at and identifying the issues facing our town centre.…
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Latest Plaque unveiled – 87 New Square
Our latest plaque – actually a replacement for an inaccurate and life-expired one – was unveiled on Thursday 8 February 2024 by the Mayor and Mayoress of Chesterfield. It has been sponsored by Leverton UK who own and have renovated the Grade II listed property on which it sits – 87 New Square – as…
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Visitor Information Centre set to close
The Society is very disappointed at the decision to close the Chesterfield Visitor Information Centre (VIC). We feel it is not clear how the supposed ‘digital’ delivery aimed at providing information in future will actually work. It can’t, for example, replace the availability of such things as hard copy leaflets that have been available at…
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Society regret over old courthouse demolition
Chesterfield and District Civic Society has expressed regret that the former courthouse complex on Brimington Road, near the train station, is being demolished (as January 2024). Says Civic Society Chairman Howard Borrell; ‘Many people will remember that this now privately owned building was latterly the Probation Service and was, some time ago, a martial arts…
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Our latest Blue Plaque – 87 New Square
Information on our latest ‘blue plaque’ to be unveiled at 87 New Square, at the beginning of February. The latest in the Chesterfield and District Civic Society’s ‘blue plaques’ series has been kindly sponsored by Leverton UK Ltd. They are responsible for the restoration of the plaque’s destination – 87 New Square – and its…
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Society ‘not hopeful’ about visitor centre survival – stressing that cuts proposals need effective consultation
Chesterfield and District Civic Society is not hopeful that the town’s popular visitor and information centre (VIC) will survive and wants to see further consultation on forthcoming budget cuts proposals. In November Chesterfield Borough Council announced that, as part of work to produce a balanced budget, they were looking to hold a ‘conversation’ with the…
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Society responds to Borough’s budget ‘conversation’.
Chesterfield and District Civic Society has submitted its response to Chesterfield Borough Council’s budget ‘conversation’. The Society understands that Chesterfield Borough Council needs to make service cuts, as it is predicting a £4 million budget shortfall. This is the result of the cumulative effect of reductions from central government funding, inflation, and the lingering negative impact…
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Society hopes Hurst House debacle on way to being resolved
Chesterfield and District Civic Society are hopeful that neglected Hurst House will soon be for sale – one of the first steps in assuring a future for the Grade II listed building on Abercrombie Street, Chesterfield. Empty since 2014, the property has been part of a wrangle involving the Chesterfield Schools Foundation charity, who owned…
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