Overview

Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zones (HAZ) fund aims to champion and revive historic high streets. Funding can be used to deliver physical improvements and cultural activities which help to regenerate high streets and restore local historic character.

High Peak Borough Council (HPBC) selected the Spring Gardens area of Buxton as requiring the most regeneration and successfully applied for a grant in 2019. The HAZ will compliment the Future High Street Fund application to regenerate this area of the town centre.

Buxton’s HAZ will focus upon the following themes:

  • Production of a suite of guidance leaflets regarding traditional shopfront and signage
  • Explore the restoration and continuation of the missing colonnade around the Cavendish Arcade
  • Repair and conversion of vacant listed buildings
  • Repair and restore the external façade of upper floors
  • Heritage interpretation at key visitor entrance points
  • Offer a complementary face lift scheme to allocate small grants towards modern units to improve colour scheme and signage
  • Fund and deliver an education pack for school children.

For further information, please contact the HPBC Regeneration Team via their website here.

Delivery

Delivery of the HAZ project was due to start in April 2020 but has been delayed to November 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. HPBC appointed a HAZ Officer to oversee delivery of the project in late October 2020 to begin in mid-November 2020. The community and cultural programmes are being managed by two sub-committees. See further information below.

Buildings

In August 2020, photographers created a record of the appearance of the current buildings along Spring Gardens.

Cultural Programme

The HAZ cultural programme is being managed by the ‘Cultural Consortia’ action group, led by Joanne Williams, Director of Buxton International Festival, and Louise Cross, Director of Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust. Vision Buxton Vice-Chair, Adrian Brown, and Paul Kerryson, Chief Executive of the Buxton Opera House, are also part of this group.

 

Pilot Project – Capturing a Moment

Funding for a pilot project ‘Capturing a Moment’, was awarded in autumn 2020. The project aims to inspire, gather and retell living memories, stories and experiences of Spring Gardens via a film which will be projected onto the shops themselves. See the concept art below. It will be delivered in partnership with local story tellers, Babbling Vagabonds, and lighting specialists, Illuminos.

November 2020: members of the public are requested to submit their memories and experiences of Spring Gardens and write them into short stories, no more than 300 words, to make an audio recording, no longer than 1 minute, or to do a drawing. To make a submission, fill out the form here. Submission deadline is 28 February.

Community Programme

Vision Buxton Chairman, Roddie MacLean, is part of the action group which will deliver the community programme.