Some of Buxton's highlights. All photographs by Graham Soult
Buxton is a town I’ve always wanted to visit, but it’s not the easiest to get to by rail. So, it was a pleasure to be able to stop off last weekend on the drive back up north after landing at Heathrow the day before. The town has a former Woolworths, of course – now Mountain Warehouse.
Lovely architecture
Buxton is well known as a spa town, but even so it’s hard to be prepared for quite how much lovely architecture there is, alongside beautiful urban parks.
Highlights include the handsome Opera House, the Pavilion and Conservatory, and the stunning Crescent, which was restored for use as a hotel in recent years.
I spotted some delightful independents in Buxton, and the town generally had a lovely buzz on a busy summer Sunday, with clearly a distinctive appeal built around its character and heritage. Hopefully I can return for longer next time!
Voids
Perhaps more diverse uses will help revive the shopping centre in the future.
Graham Soult
As anywhere, I could see that Buxton has some challenges too. Like many such schemes in other towns, the indoor Springs Shopping Centre seems to account for many of Buxton’s voids – despite the continued presence of Next and Waitrose – with a somewhat lifeless atmosphere that contrasts with the busy and interesting streets outside.
If, as is often the case, the combined rent, rates and service charges make trading there challenging, perhaps some opening up of the centre alongside introducing more diverse uses will help revive it in the future.
With Yorkshire Trading, opened last year, now operating from the unit that M&S vacated in 2019, the situation is already more positive than it might have been.
Revitalising
Indeed, it was positive to spot High Peak Borough Council addressing these issues by taking forward a “Revitalising Buxton – Transforming the High Street” consultation, with posters and information available in the Pavilion.
Hopefully this will result in some useful and actionable contributions from local people and businesses.
After all, if the work of the High Streets Task Force over the last five years has produced one key message, it’s that people with a stake in their place are best equipped to generate the ideas and creativity needed to reinvent it.
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A version of this post was originally published on LinkedIn here.
