A multi-million pound regeneration of Staveley town centre is on track to be completed this year.
Chesterfield Borough Council’s Staveley 21 project, funded through the Staveley Town Deal, started on site last November – the new landmark building is in place with work set to begin on the glazing and external brickwork. In the wider market square paving works have been completed outside of shops and the new layout of the square is beginning to take shape.
Local businesses have also been utilising shop front grants to improve their premises and make them more attractive.
The town centre works are expected to be completed by Christmas this year. The building is set to be the future home of Derbyshire County Council’s Staveley Library.
Representatives from Chesterfield Borough Council and the Staveley Town Deal Board visited the site to see how the works are progressing.
Councillor Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council and Vice Chair of the Staveley Town Deal Board, said: “This project is really starting to come together, and you can get a feel for how the completed square will look once complete. This is a transformational project which will help encourage more people to visit the town centre and support both existing and new businesses.
“There are lots of different elements included in this project including things that will help make the area more attractive but also important things like improved signage to help visitors navigate the area and improved CCTV and lighting which ensures the town centre is always a safe and welcoming place. We are working with town centre businesses and traders to try and minimise disruption to ensure that they can continue trading throughout the works and once complete we hope they will all benefit from these improvements.”
The Staveley 21 project received just over £6 million of funding from the Staveley Town Deal, a £25.2 million programme that aims to ensure Staveley is a place to start, stay and grow.
Ivan Fomin, Chair of the Staveley Town Deal Board, said: “This is a key project within the Town Deal programme, and it is fantastic to see works progressing so quickly. It will make a huge difference to Staveley and I can’t wait to see the project complete later this year.”
The town centre works are being delivered by complete construction partner Stepnell.
Tom Sewell, regional director at Stepnell, said: “We’re continuing to make strong progress across all areas of the Staveley 21 project, with our focus firmly on completing the pavilion building to a high standard, ready for completion before the end of the year.
“Ongoing engagement and close collaboration with Chesterfield Borough Council, our partners, and the local community – including Staveley Junior School – have been pivotal to delivering this landmark town centre regeneration. Minimising disruption to the public and keeping social value at the heart of the transformation remain key priorities as we move forward.”
Work to install windows on the new pavilion building will begin shortly, the building will then be clad in a traditional red-brick to be in-keeping with the rest of the town centre.
Internal works will then see the downstairs turned into a new home for Derbyshire County Council’s Staveley Library and the upstairs fitted out as office space.
In the wider square works to the paving are ongoing and the new play area will be installed in September once groundworks are completed.
Designs for the play equipment have been developed in collaboration with pupils from Staveley Junior School, who visited the site with Stepnell and took part in a workshop to discuss what kind of equipment they would like to see installed.
Through the Animate Chesterfield public art project, Coralie Turpin has been appointed to work with the community and develop a new piece of artwork that will celebrate Staveley’s heritage and develop designs that can be incorporated into the new paving.
Taking inspiration from Staveley’s heritage and working with local schools the final design is set to be unveiled soon.
To find out more about the Staveley 21 project and the Staveley Town Deal visit: www.chesterfield.gov.uk/staveley-town-deal
