Buxton welcomes boost for town centre

Historic England has given High Peak Borough Council almost £1 million to spend on Buxton.

The £926,700 grant will go towards the £1.5 million Buxton Heritage Action Zone four-year scheme to:

• Repair and restore historic buildings.
• Improve shop fronts of more modern buildings.
• Celebrate the high street ‘with new cultural experiences’.

Work is set to start later this year, but in the coming weeks the council will be collating a photographic record of the buildings along Spring Gardens and Hardwick Street as they look now.

Cllr Damien Greenhalgh, the council’s deputy leader and Executive councillor for regeneration, tourism and leisure, said: “We know Spring Gardens, as the town’s primary shopping zone, isn’t the best it can be and is out of keeping with Buxton’s magnificent Georgian heritage.

“This scheme is aimed at addressing some of those issues by investing in improvements to the buildings and in a programme of cultural activities which celebrate the history and heritage of this area and what makes it unique.”

The council has committed £101,300 to the scheme which, with the Historic England grant and private sector match funding of £391,666, makes up the funding pot.

Main image:

Buxton town centre. Credit: Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership and Derbyshire County Council.