Date: 18/09/2007
The future of a number of historic town centre buildings in Derbyshire's High Peak have been secured, thanks to a new round of grants totalling more than £336,000, from English Heritage, High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council.
High Peak Borough Council joined a competitive bid for funding under English Heritage's Partnership Grants Scheme, to continue to provide grants over the next three years for historic buildings within the Conservation Areas at Higher Buxton, Bridge Street, Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith and New Mills. The scheme works on the basis that the local authorities make a contribution to the total cost of the work.
Partnership Grants Schemes are three year projects designed to target funding for the preservation and enhancement of Conservation Areas - areas of special architectural or historic interest. The general principle is to target urban or rural areas of deprivation where funding for building repairs and enhancement will help to secure local services (such as shops) and community facilities housed in historic buildings. They are based on partnerships between English Heritage, local authorities and the property owners themselves.
Planned work will include:
Joanne Brookes, Conservation Officer at High Peak Borough Council, said: "This latest scheme supports the wider High Peak Regeneration Strategy, which addresses many specific local issues and the concerns defined by the local population. Not only will it help increase attractiveness of the town centres, but it will contribute to maximising the potential value of tourism as a key economic activity in the area.
"The use of modern materials on historic buildings and loss of original details cause harm and eradicate the character of an area. The repair and restoration of these buildings at risk would improve the town centres and enhance the attractiveness of the town to visitors and investors, which can only be a good thing for the High Peak."
Of the £112,000 total committed for the first year of the scheme, English Heritage is contributing £56,000, High Peak Borough Council £45,000 and £11,000 from Derbyshire County Council.
Regionally, English Heritage has committed a total sum of £315,000 towards six Partnership Schemes in the East Midlands for year one of the grants (Swadlincote, the Derwent Valley World Heritage Site, High Peak, Mansfield, Melton Mowbray and South Holland). The subsequent years' funding will be discussed and reviewed annually.
Jon Breckon, English Heritage Casework Officer, said: "We are delighted to be able to award this grant for the continued regeneration of these important areas in the High Peak. By funding much needed repairs and reinstatement of original details to commercial premises and buildings in community use we are helping to reinforce its character and deliver a sustainable future for the historic environment and the life of the town."
English Heritage has been providing conservation grants to High Peak Borough Council for 12 years, under the Conservation Area Partnership and Heritage Economic Regeneration Schemes.