18 June 2026
I know that every objection to this plan will be ignored and potentially not even read. There is never going to be a legal reason strong enough to reject this application' there is however an opportunity not to be a coward and instead to become a reason as to why Buxton once again became one of the greatest spa towns in the world! Millions of tourists visit spa towns every year, and Bath in particular is one of the most popular UK destinations for Americans. Buxton's tourism appeal used to be of a similar popularity but has significantly been outdone in recent years by Harrogate due to their pride and ongoing upgrades to their spa town heritage and period architecture. Meanwhile, Buxton is happy to let old fashioned shopfronts and heritage architecture be slowly eroded and changed over time, to the aesthetic normality of any other town. With this £100m grant that Buxton had (and hopefully still has), there is a fantastic once in a lifetime opportunity to upgrade our high street, and attract trade and tourism to revitalise our town. Increasing tourism is the proven most effective way to do this in Buxton. Taking examples from Harrogate, Buxton would benefit hugely from offering grants to restore shop fronts to their former heritage old-world charm, restore street lamps, benches, colonnades and other period architecture. The Crescent was a good step, but it needs to be followed up with other projects to continue the momentum and give Buxton the spa town recognition that it deserves. Spending £100m on a new shopping centre might look okay, but will not be the reason that makes Buxton stand out from other towns. The current development plan will also in practice reduce the amount of parking spaces which will create more congestion, and will deter visitors and Buxton residents from using the area too. Ultimately it is going to mainly be the shareholders of Capital & Centric that will be benefittng from this development, along with any other individuals who will be involved with financial transactions associated with this project. [Page 2] Thank you for reading. Please do the right thing and press the 'stop button' and not just give in to colleague peer pressure.