The agreement between landowners High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council will allow work to start this year on the £32m transformation of The Crescent - a Grade I listed building - in the famous Peak District town of Buxton. This agreement is supported by Nestlé Waters, bottlers of the UK's number 1 local mineral water, Buxton.

The ambitious project will deliver A 79-bedroom, 5-star spa hotel incorporating the neighbouring Natural Baths.

A state-of-the-art thermal, natural mineral water spa.

Eght specialist shops

Refurbishment of a pump room as a high-quality café giving free access to the public to "take the waters".

A brand new visitor interpretation centre with integrated tourist information facilities for visitors to the High Peak.

The legal agreement protects Nestlé's right, granted many years ago, to draw underground mineral water, under licence from the Borough Council. "Protecting the purity of Buxton natural mineral water, which fell as rain 5,000 years ago, has been a key consideration for this development," says Paolo Sangiorgi, Managing Director for Nestlé Waters UK Ltd. The signing follows years of extensive negotiations, test drilling and careful archaeological investigations to establish the feasibility of the development, details of which were first unveiled in 2003 by the two councils and a consortium of developers.

Four years ago, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) awarded £12.5m towards the total development costs. The remainder of the funding will be met by partners including the two councils and the development consortium. The legal agreement will enable the Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa Company to award an enabling contract to prepare the interior of the building for the main redevelopment. The company was set up by the development consortium of the Trevor Osborne Property Group, CP Holdings and Danubius Hotels plus the two councils. It is possible that site work will start this winter.

A delighted Councillor Tony Ashton, Leader of High Peak Borough Council said: "This exciting development will strengthen the growing reputation of our lovely spa town as a major visitor destination". His words were echoed by Tony Kemp, the Borough Council's Executive Councillor for Regeneration: "The visitor economy is of vital importance to the whole of the High Peak, and this development will help boost employment and benefits far beyond Buxton itself.

The news that The Crescent development is set to get underway after years of painstaking preparation is great news for people living across the Borough and is, of course, especially welcome to all those who love the wonderful architecture gems of Buxton. Coinciding as it does with the opening of the £2.5m Pavilion Arts Centre (developed jointly in the Pavilion Gardens by the Council and High Peak Theatre Trust) this project is the final stepping stone in the renaissance of the town's splendid heritage quarter".

Councillor Kemp also paid tribute to the partnership working that has taken place, adding: "This landmark signing of documents is a just reward for the hard work, enthusiasm and professionalism of all the parties to the development agreement." Councillor Andrew Lewer, Leader of Derbyshire County Council added: "This is a nationally significant development that will put Buxton and the High Peak even more firmly on the tourism map, and is testament to what can be achieved when ambitious organisations with shared aims work together".

Source. HPBC. Date: 07/09/2010