There was again a good turnout for the Members’ Meeting at the Old Hall Hotel today, where Inspector Martin Coey from the Police and Councillors Caitlin Biskell, John Faulkner and Tony Kemp were able to update members about current issues.

Police: Inspector Coey told us that crime was again down in the area, with two noticeable exceptions: motor vehicles and burglaries from small commercial premises. There had been a 50% increase in opportunistic thefts from motor vehicles, so he warned everyone to make sure cars were locked, and that valuables were removed. There were particular problems with Land Rover thefts, and the police have cooperated with a company which produces security products  to provide discounted clamps, he will let us have details. Owners of Land Rovers were advised that as this is a national problem, anyone observed driving a Land Rover after 10.00pm may well be stopped by the police to check that the car is theirs.

There had also been an increase in burglaries targeting small, non-alarmed safes in commercial premises ( six recently) where an entrance has been made through rear windows.

Otherwise, Buxton is a reasonably safe place to live, with a 50% decrease in thefts from domestic dwellings, and anti-social behaviour down by 20%.  The police are aware of problems with ‘boy’ (and ‘girl’) racers and will act in persistent cases. They have the authority to take away cars, and charge offenders £150 to retrieve them.

The police are also involved in ‘Project Argos’: sessions for people on how terrorism could affect both businesses and individuals. Inspector Coey mentioned that 70% of the small businesses affected by the Manchester bombing went out of business, and that is just the commercial problems – there would also be a knock-on effect on individuals. Sessions run for 3 hours, and he will advise us of dates.

Cllr Caitlin Biskell then mentioned the two most outstanding planning issues: Tesco and the Crescent.

Re Tesco: She confirmed that the application had been withdrawn but that this did not necessarily mean it was the end of the matter and that a revised application may still come forward.

Richard Silson had undertaken a consultation exercise for Vision Buxton, which he had hoped to present to the Council. Caitlin explained that because of the timing of the Tesco application, this had been postponed, but assure us that a date would be agreed as soon as possible.

The Crescent. Work had started to remove asbestos, and Catlin was ‘tentatively hopeful’ that an agreement would be signed before Christmas (this year) for the rest of the work to begin.

The Swimming Pool: There had been problem with the ceiling – these are not causing any health and safety concerns, and will be dealt with between Christmas and New Year to minimise disruption to  pool users.

Corbar Maternity Unit: The proposed closure was against the wishes of both HPBC and DCC, and may be referred to the Secretary of State.

Orthodontic Services: It has been discovered that there are plans to remove provision of orthodontic services in Buxton. There has not been any noticeable consultation about this, and HPBC are keeping an eye on the situation.

Clinical Commissioning Group: the proposed replacement for the Primary Care Trust has been told it is not large enough, so there may have to be a joint Clinical Commisioning Group with another area.

Jo Dugdale (Transition Buxton) asked if Buxton could work on a ‘Neighbourhood Plan’ (part of the Govt’s new policy on Localism). It would need the cooperation of the Civic Association, Transition Buxton, and HPBC, but it was the type of project that Vision Buxton could facilitate. This led to a general discussion on ‘Neighbourhood’, and which area/areas might be covered, as the act does not define how big this might be.  Mention was made of the Buxton Design and Placement Strategy, which had had cross-party and cross-interest group support, but not always the support from local traders or from appropriate external agencies.

There was then a very lively discussion about ‘footfall’ and how to encourage it in the town for the benefit of the independent shops – topics included how ‘out of centre’ Tesco  would be compared to Morrisons;  the inadvisability of being specific about planning constraints, e.g. if we specify ‘there must be a footbridge’ – we cannot complain if there IS a footbridge, but  is inappropriate – better to go with ‘any new area must be connected to existing town centre’; the Portas report, and how we could encourage the idea of Buxton being a ‘Destination’, not just a place to shop; how we could/should encourage market traders, and how access might be provided by zip wires! Transition Buxton were interested in having a competition to dream up new ideas for the Nestle site, but the feeling was that, as a commercial organisation, unless there was money in it for Nestle, they would not be interested.

Caitlin said that HPBC had done work on visitors’ perceptions of Buxton, and the feeling was that,  with the University and the Crescent, we should be attracting high-end retailers.

The business part of the meeting was ended by Di Golding, Chair of Vision Buxton, reminding us of the many interesting and individual establishments we do have in Buxton, and how lucky we are!

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