Twist Issue 161 May 2024

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Town conference urges
growth and collaboration
Chesterfield businesses are being encouraged to
explore ways in which they can grow, as part of
ambitious plans to improve the town’s economy
and create higher-value jobs for residents
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PEAKERS at Destination Chesterfield’s annual
Celebrate Chesterfield Business Conference at the
Winding Wheel highlighted ways in which local businesses
can harness support to innovate and create new jobs.
They also identified that if all organisations in the town currently
categorised as ‘low growth’ experienced just a 1% uplift, it would
significantly boost the local economy.
Helping businesses to grow and ensuring people have the right
skills are key objectives of Chesterfield Borough Council’s
Growth Strategy for 2023-27. To support this, delegates heard
from businesses which are innovating and overcoming
challenges to boost growth.
At the conference, Destination Chesterfield also launched its
ambitious new strategy and plan, which outlines the partnership’s
aims to attract further inward investment, support businesses to
grow and encourage more people to visit the town.
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Heron Publications, the independent local company behind
Twist magazine. were exhibitors at the Winding Wheel
Delegates visit some of the more than 40 local businesses
and organisatioins exhibiting at the event
Peter Swallow, Destination Chesterfield Chair, commented:
“This plan reflects our town’s ambition, and where we collectively
see the biggest growth opportunities. Recent research has
identified 26% of revenues from tourism, inward investment and
talent growth are shaped by people's perception of a town or
city. Meaning our collective work to promote the town are vital to
achieving the towns growth aspirations.
“Since 2010, Destination Chesterfield has worked
alongside Chesterfield Borough Council and Chesterfield
Champions to promote the area as a contemporary
destination to invest, work, live and visit, and our publicprivate
partnership continues to play a central role in the
town’s success. We must continue working together to
raise the profile of Chesterfield to realise its significant
potential.”
Coun Tricia Gilby, Leader of the Borough Council,
added: “Celebrate is always a fantastic event that
showcases the very best that our borough has to offer. It
was great to be able to meet with businesses to talk
about how the council can support them to grow, but also
to hear from them directly and discover what else we can
do to drive growth and investment.”
The event also saw almost 40 businesses exhibiting
across the East Midlands Chamber Business Support
Zone and the Invest in Chesterfield Zone.