Buxton hotel replacement nixed for fifth time
Plans to demolish the Buckingham Hotel on Burlington Road, to be replaced by a 53-unit aparthotel, have been rejected by High Peak Council’s development control committee.
Although vacant, the three-storey building is regarded as an important heritage asset, being completed in 1876 as one of the first buildings on Burlington Road.
The site is within the Buxton Central conservation area, adjacent to the Buxton Park conservation area, and adjacent to the boundary of the Pavilion Gardens and Serpentine Walks grade II*-listed park and gardens.
Full consent was sought for demolition, followed by the construction of a new-build development offering accommodation across 26,480 sq ft, including basement space.
This is the latest bid in a series of applications dating back to 2016, which saw an application for a 110-key hotel refused. Three subsequent bids failed, mostly on heritage grounds, the last of them defeated at appeal in 2023.
As set out in the design, heritage and access statement submitted by High Peak Architects on behalf of applicant A Barar, this proposal is smaller than those, and would seek to use where possible materials from the existing building.
The application team makes the case that the hotel has been closed since 2023, with the Planning Inspector agreeing that its future use as a hotel, care or office space is unlikely to be viable.
In terms of size, the proposed building barely differs from what is in situ, unchanged on the frontage, with bay windows in the same places, and only longer by a metre at the rear. Access is proposed from St Johns Road, with 35 car parking spaces, reduced from 40.
Buxton Civic Association, which had objected to previous plans larger than the current building, offered a measured view in its submission ahead of the meeting, accepting that the re-use of the existing building as a hotel may not be viable – BCA request that if that is the case, development of “a scale and design sympathetic and appropriate” to the area could be acceptable.
In setting out reasons for refusal ahead of the meeting, officers said that demolition “would be harmful to the character and appearance” of the area, and would represent the loss of an undesignated heritage asset.
Furthermore, officers noted, although the proposed scheme would represent less than substantial harm, “the replacement building would not preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the area”.
Finally, officers said, “the applicant has failed to demonstrate that the optimum viable use cannot be secured through conversion and adaptation of the building, including the refurbishment/extension of the hotel for existing and proposed uses or that the public benefits of the scheme would outweigh the heritage harm that has been identified.”
Documents relating to the application can be viewed on High Peak’s planning portal with the reference HPK/2025/0158.
