We're back....!!
Yes! - here we are back from a week in Herefordshire overlooking the foothills of the Malvern's in Worcestershire, with sheep in the field outside our cottage, a woodpecker going about its business of 'tree felling', as well as squirrels & rabbits.
But don't worry, work on Old Bolsover Yard carried on with planning ideas abound. Also Ethos Upcycling re-stocking with lots of new goodies - watch out on their Facebook page in the coming days.
Also Molly Felicity Designs, who will be joining the OBY community in the coming weeks (more of that later in the blog), were raiding the vintage shops to stock up on lots of new fabrics, which will be turned into new products etc.
And now, onwards & upwards - no sign of a 'Beast from the East' yet - which means that we can look forward to a new season at OBY, with a full set of tenants now in place and lots of new exciting developments, and sadly, some news on our Heritage Lottery Fund bid.
​So - read on & enjoy!!
Future High Streets Fund
Regulars readers of our blog posts will know that a new Government initiative - 'The Future High Streets Fund' - was launched at the end of last year, and that I had been in contact with Bolsover District Council Economic Development Department, about whether or not they would be making a bid for funds & more importantly, would those funds (if the bid were successful) be for Bolsover?
Well on Monday, I had a meeting with Karl Apps, Paul McGrath & Sudipta Ghosh, from BDC to discuss the bid that they are going to be making. Whilst I cannot say whether Bolsover is 'in the frame', because of an embargo (posh name for 'my lips are sealed'!), the meeting was very productive and explored a wide range of issues about Bolsover & the businesses & people of the town.
The Government expects there to be as many as 400 bids submitted, and based on the size of funds allocated to each successful bid, there will be a 1 in 4 chance of a successful bid.
Still - as they say about the Lottery - "You have to be in it to win it"
I will keep you up to date as & when things develop.
Bolsover District - Destination Marketing Videos
So, hot foot from my meeting with the Economic Development Team, I was back at The Arc for the launch of a series of videos that have been produced to highlight Bolsover District.
In his introduction - Councillor Steve Fritchley, Cabinet Member for Town Centre Renewal, Media and Marketing said -
"The videos are a culmination of the past nine months hard work as we have been out and about across our district filming our communities, businesses and tourist attractions and capturing some unique drone footage of the area.
We are striving to promote Bolsover District as a place to live, to visit, to work and to invest in. These videos will help us do that and portray the District in a positive light, promoting what we have to offer, to residents, visitors, tourists and businesses.
'The District will be bought to life in the short films and will give users experiences like visiting Creswell Crags, walking in Whitwell Wood, fishing at Pinxton Wharf, marvelling at the magnificent Hardwick Hall and showing what business opportunities we have."
Following the introduction & showing of two of the videos about business & tourism opportunities in the area, Scott Chambers, Communications, Marketing and Design Manager of BDC, then invited guests to have a look at the individual town videos that have been produced.
Not surprisingly, I headed for the Bolsover video, which has been professionally produced, and features the centre of the town, and the wider area.
When I have got a copy of the video, which I have been promised, I will try & get it uploaded on to the OBY website.
I also took the opportunity of inviting Councillor Fritchley to visit Old Bolsover Yard, which he agreed to do along with Scott Chambers, to discuss posssible ways forward for businesses in Bolsover. I will update on when that meeting is to take place & report on it after it has happened.
With that I went home after a busy first day back after the holiday & treated myself to an alcoholic drink!
Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire - Annual Leaflet Swap
On Thursday 14th March, Old Bolsover Yard will have a stand at the Annual Leaflet Swap organised by the Tourist Board.
This event is a great opportunity for us to network with tourism providers and tell them about Old Bolsover Yard, and by definition put Bolsover on the map.
The event is being held at the historic Octagon building in Buxton.
Hopefully we can get our leaflets in to shops, B&B & hotel accommodation etc.
and take the opportunity to 'spread the word' about OBY.
New Tenant comes to the Yard!
We are excited that we have 'let' our last Unit in the Yard & we are now a complete community.
Molly Felicity Designs - original designs made with you in mind, builds on the current revival of 'make do and mend' culture & brings you unique handcrafted items perfect for that unique gift for a loved one, or simply treat yourself to something special.
For owner, Sarah Smith, this is the latest development in building a business which she started in 2012 after finding her 'Sewing Bug' making gifts for family and friends.
Those of you who have visited The Gallery @ Old Bolsover Yard will have seen some examples of Molly Felicity Designs work, and their arrival is a natural next move.
We are working hard to make Unit 1 ready for Molly Felicity Designs & hope that it wont be too long before they are 'open for business'
So, if you are into sewing, fabrics and all related things then get ready to visit.
Creative Handmade Crafts
Whilst on the subject of new tenants - Maria & Nino are busy fitting out their Unit
ready to open & provide you with another opportunity to spend money on locally handmade crafts.
They have plans to have an 'Opening' on Saturday 6th April, which other than that date I have no more information, so -
Heritage Lottery Fund Bid
Last Thursday (21st) was the day that our Heritage Lottery Bid went to the final panel for consideration.
Unfortunately, we had a phone call yesterday to say that our bid had been unsuccessful and we would not be getting any funding.
On enquiry, we were told that - "There were better bids than ours" - bit of a statement of the obvious!! and that we would be sent a letter with more explanation later this week.
We are obviously disappointed that we were not successful, but we await 'the letter' and then decide whether to re-submit our bid again!
Thank you to all those people & organisations that gave us letters of support or completed an interest form. Thanks especially to Richard Godley & his team, who put in a lot of hard work on the bid.
More details in a future blog post when we see what Heritage Lottery Fund have to say for themselves!
Tourist information stand has arrived!!
In a recent post, I said that we were going to have a tourist information stand in OBY, as there was presently no official Tourism Information Office in Bolsover.
The stand has now arrived, and will be kept up to date once a month by the providers of the stand. Hopefully this will be useful to both local residents & to visitors to the town.
Currently the stand can be found in Unit 1, where Molly Felicity Designs are about to take up residence.
​And finally....
We still have space available for stallholders on two of our forthcoming Courtyard events.
The first is on April 27th and is Yarn Shop Day -
The second is our Cake Bonanza on July 27th & 28th as part of the Bolsover Food & Drink Festival -
If you interested in either of these events then please email - oldbolsoveryard@gmail.com & and we will send you more information.
So there you are - for this week -