21 June 2026
The plans for the redevelopment of Buxton town centre seem like a huge, expensive, daunting, disruptive, divisive undertaking. BUT I FULLY welcome the plan to overhaul the town centre. Seeing what Capita and Centric have done to towns around us, I can only hope that it does to Buxton what it has also done to Stockport etc. More Green Space, more public facilities, diverse architecture but more importantly, futureproofing our town. There are people in ton who vehemently object to the plans, and the very idea of change. They denounce any development and change but will be AMONG THE FIRST to complain when the town suffers from more empty shops, lack of tourism, more charity shops, more national chain coffee shops. Looking around the town centre, the architecture is varied and fascinating. From the weed topped fascia of Boots upper most floor, to the curved stained window at the Cavendish Arcade. The town has little historic landmarks scattered through town, sandwiched in between the more modern buildings of Iceland, the job centre and Argos. Our town's heritage is so much more than the buildings our businesses are housed in. Our past directly links to our future and we need to embrace the change or become another town destined to be filled with the ghosts of long closed businesses. People also opposed McDonald's coming to town and while the building doesn't necessarily mimic the town centre's aesthetic, it doesn't look gawdy or out of place. There are always people in the restaurant and since it's arrival, a couple of other businesses have moved to town. Admittedly this might be coincidence, but as a local until it was opened, I had to tell a number of tourists (often stopping in their cars) that the nearest McD is in Macclesfield. I say go for it.