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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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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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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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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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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 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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Tapton House issues addressed at our AGM
We were very fortunate that the managing director of Stone Castle Enterprise, Dan Pattrick, had agreed to speak about his plans for Tapton House at our AGM in September. We made it clear that members of Friends of Tapton House were welcome to attend, as long as Dan was given a courteous reception and a…
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The continuing saga of Hurst House
We have written all too often about the saga of Hurst House, Abercrombie Street, and what we consider is a scandal regarding its sale as a viable property (or rather how this has not happened and of the building’s decline). We were recently contacted by a neighbouring resident concerning the state of Hurst House. The…
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