Beighton Construction is overseeing the 14-week refurbishment of the former Chesterfield register office on Beetwell Street for charity Derwent Rural Counselling Service. The company will carry out roof works, an internal strip out, a new damp proofing system and new electrics. Inside the refurbishment project will include plastering, internal walls, decoration and floors plus new toilets and a lift with a view to the building opening this summer, and an official launch event in September. Beighton Construction director Andrew Holmes said: “The works have started externally with scaffold erection, followed by the installation of new perimeter gutters by the roofing team. “Internally, once the strip out works have taken place, the basement will be prepared for a new damp proofing system and structural alterations will be made to various walls and the first floor in readiness for the new lift. “New floor screeds and plaster repairs will be carried out through the building, including the construction of new partition walls. Mechanical and electrical works will also run alongside the building works for the duration of the project.” Final plans for the three storey premises, set to open in summer 2023, include office space, treatment and consulting rooms, meeting rooms and relaxation space to help cope with an increased demand for DRCS services in the area plus tenanted options including rooms and floorspace. Janette Smeeton, chief executive at DRCS, said: “I am pleased that we are now moving forward on this important scheme that will be the largest building housing talking therapies in the county, and know the people of Chesterfield and beyond will benefit from having high quality facilities in the heart of the town. “Restoring and reintroducing the building to community use will give it a new purpose, and allow us to deliver a high-quality service to support our service users, and offer room rentals and services to other organisations in the town.” Over the last 30 years, DRCS has become the largest third sector provider of counselling services in the region offering help to individuals, via self referral or via a GP, with common mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, stress and long term conditions through counselling, CBT, guided self-help, and other forms of talking therapy. In the last eight years, DRCS has been in partnership with Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust to improve access to psychological therapies throughout Derbyshire achieving above national recovery rates and shorter waiting times.

independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard has moved its Derby operation to Sadler Bridge Studios, part of the Connect Derby portfolio of managed workspaces. The company is making the move from Kenning Studios on Queen Street to Sadler Bridge Studios as part of a wider national office strategy enabling the business to adopt more agile and collaborative ways of working for its growing 650-plus work force; specifically for its team of 30 based at the Derby Studio. The Derby office directly supports a range of commissions with important locally based clients including Bowmer + Kirkland, Rolls-Royce, Nottingham Trent University, Leicester Tigers, Derbyshire County Cricket Club and PMI Developments. Sadler Bridge Studios is located in the heart of Derby’s commercial district, close to shops, bars, and public transport links. The purpose-built workspace was constructed in 2014 and has 35 units in a three-storey modern multi-occupancy office building. SBS also contains RASK, a Scandinavian-style café on the ground floor. Partner David Nisbet said: “The location of our new home in the heart of the city is perfect for us, and the facilities are ideal for our evolving office portfolio. “Our aim is to provide outstanding services to our clients and communities, developing our agile and collaborative style of working. “The team at Connect Derby has been very accommodating and have enabled us to achieve a seamless transition into our new office space. Ann Bhatti, head of Connect Derby, added: “I’d like to welcome such a long-standing and well-established business as Pick Everard to Sadler Bridge Studios. They are a great addition to the range of creative businesses already based here. “Sadler Bridge Studios’ city centre location is proving increasingly popular with businesses looking for a flexible and hybrid working environment. We now boast a diverse community of new and established businesses from across the creative industries and the supply chain to the creative industries.” Sadler Bridge Studios is one of seven buildings within the diverse Connect Derby portfolio alongside Friar Gate Studios, Kings Chambers, Shot Tower, Riverside Chambers and the iconic Marble Hall on Nightingale Road in Osmaston.

Plans for a new £6m mixed-use building at the site of the UK’s largest inland marina have been approved despite complaints that Government policy discourages entrepreneurial investment. South Derbyshire District Council this week approved Mercia Marina’s proposed Promenade building, an iconic glass, stone and timber structure housing 14 apartments above seven ground floor retail units. The planning application, lodged more than 12 months ago, succeeded due to what the marina’s owner John Thornton describes as ‘foresight’ of the local authority, which recognised the scheme’s £11.9m estimated benefit to the local economy over 10 years and the creation of 43 new jobs. Yet John, former CEO of Derbyshire-based chocolate manufacturer Thorntons, also criticised recent Government policy and attitudes which, he claims, offer few incentives to regional private investment schemes such the Promenade development. Construction of the Promenade, which the marina expects to begin in around 12 months, follows the completion of two similar developments on the 77-acre site over the past decade – the Boardwalk and Piazza – which have won national awards for architecture. The Promenade will replace three existing buildings, one of which was originally a timber fishing hut prior to the marina opening 15 years ago and is now a much-loved tea room that will relocate to the new building. John, founding partner of Mercia Marina, which sits next to the Trent & Mersey Canal at Willington, Derbyshire, said: “We are delighted this iconic new building has received planning approval from South Derbyshire District Council (SDDC). “We very much hope and believe that the Promenade, which is in keeping with the style of the existing Piazza and Boardwalk buildings, will, when built, become a heritage asset complementing the Canal Conservation Area. “It has been a slow and difficult process. But it is thanks to the foresight, support and leadership of South Derbyshire District Council, which realises that the region’s economic, employment and cultural welfare depend upon the encouragement of private investment, that the project has been approved. “When the economy strengthens, inflation recedes and confidence returns, we look forward to bringing the project to fruition.” John said that the planning application had succeeded despite, not because of, recent UK Government policy. “We hope that our national leaders will quickly come to realise that it is only through encouragement rather than the recent destruction of private initiative and investment that our country will be able to create the jobs and wealth needed to provide for the future wellbeing of all,” he said. “The great wealth and social progress created in this country during the nineteenth century was through private rather than public investment, and the levelling up that everyone wishes to see throughout the nation will only be realised when the conditions necessary to encourage and foster local private initiative and investment are created.” Mercia Marina has grown from a former fishing lake in a gravel pit to becoming one of the leading leisure and tourism businesses in the East Midlands, attracting around 800,000 visitors annually. The marina supports more than 300 jobs directly, and many more indirectly. An Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) submitted with the latest planning application estimates that the site contributes £18.8m per year towards the local economy (including £9.1m to the visitor economy), with the Promenade set to add a further £11.9m over the next 10 years.