Backing for £300m landmark project

The Waterside site is in the south of the region and covers 60 acres close to the centre of Chesterfield, with the River Rother and the Chesterfield Canal waterways at the heart of the development.

"This is a significant milestone for Chesterfield," said Peter Swallow, chairman of the Waterside Partnership, a joint venture between developers Urbo Regeneration and the borough council.

"The Waterside scheme will play a key part in the area's modern

awakening.

"Now we can turn the thriving and exciting new place which is the vision of the masterplan into a reality."

The area will become the permanent home of Dame Barbara Hepworth's Rosewall Sculpture, which was bought last year by the joint venture with the help of an Arts Fund grant.

Outline planning consent includes niche retail, food and drink, leisure and entertainment, contemporary residential, business and commercial space.

The Waterside will have 300,000 sq ft of grade A office space, a hotel and car parks and 70,000 sq ft for retail, restaurants, bars and shops.

How Planning and AECOM, which helped produce London's Olympic Village, led the master-planning process.

Elsewhere in the commercial property world, representatives from the Leeds City Region spent yesterday promoting the city's Kirkstall Forge project at the annual property fair, MIPIM, in the South of France.

The mixed-use development, by developer Commercial Estates Group, is set to include family homes and 300,000 sq ft of commercial office space on a 56-acre site.

Kirkstall Forge is one of the oldest industrial sites in the country and the largest brownfield mixed-use scheme underway in Leeds.

Anne Staton, Leeds City Council's business investment manager, said: "Kirkstall Forge is a great location offering public and private sector occupiers a high quality alternative to a city centre location.

"It is a major development, which will be served by excellent transport links, and has the potential to attract significant inward investment to the city."

The city region – a partnership of local authorities – is at MIPIM to promote property developments, including the Leeds Arena, the redevelopment of Tower Works, Bradford's City Park and the Galpharm Stadium in Huddersfield.