Rediscover Chesterfield

Words: Paul Chapman

Images: Unhampered-Chesterfield

Chesterfield is being recognised as a destination for independence... a place to visit for it's independent businesses.

Our high street, Chatsworth Road and Sheffield Road, are doing well, with new and exciting ventures popping up all the time. Despite the odd negative comment on social media, Chesterfield remains a positive place with lots to offer its residents and visitors.

Unhampered-Chesterfield.co.uk is the place to go to find over 200 independent businesses based in and around Chesterfield, that are delivering excellence and experiences that keep people coming back, time and time again.

When I was younger, our weekends were filled just doing everyday tasks, shopping, visiting the bank, sorting out your insurance, and you only had the one day, everywhere was closed on Sunday... Today we have the internet, we can now spend every night doing tasks online, when I was a teenager it didn't exist!

We talk about the web being quicker and more convenient, am I the only one that feels this has been mis-sold?

If it's all so quick and convenient why does it seem to take over my life, and sorting out a problem that occurs can soak up whole days! I find the online experience a bit soulless, not to mention the carbon footprint of all the individual deliveries being driven around, personally it all feels a bit wrong! www.unhampered-chesterfield.co.uk

I'm not a complete evangelist, I order stuff from the web but I try and reserve it for things I can't get locally or over the counter, I try not to use it for everyday stuff. I like the opportunity to browse, to try things on, to talk to knowledgeable people who can help, not some AI generated BOT at the bottom of my screen.

I like to walk away with what I want there and then, ideally purchased from an independent business, do my bit to support the local economy. I'm not the world's best shopper, if I'm out browsing, I'm looking for something in particular, or coffee and food!

Chesterfield has a fab range of independent businesses, find yourself some time, pop into town and give them some support... the more we do this, the more it will encourage new businesses to open up.

Be sure to take a browse of the Unhampered website (www.unhampered-chesterfield.co.uk) before you go to help plan out your day and find something new..

But most of all, enjoy, and keep supporting the town in which you live.