Date: 30/03/2009
Members of the public are to be asked to comment on the work carried out so far on the Buxton Design and Place Making Strategy, in a display being placed in the entrance foyer to the Conservatory, Pavilion Gardens, Buxton.
This follows the two workshops that were held during February and the discussion on the draft results held as part of the Buxton Area Forum meeting on 19 March.
"We have been delighted and, in fact, overwhelmed by the response to the strategy so far," said Councillor Tony Kemp, the Council's Executive Portfolio Holder for Regeneration. "We had another great turnout at the Area Forum where we wanted to test the draft results of the workshops on the public before they went out for general comment."
The strategy is proposing a vision for the town centre based around Buxton's special character derived from its historic source of spa water, its high quality architectural heritage, its reputation as a festival town and its role as a 'hub' for the Peak District. The workshops have also agreed some design principles to be applied to new development in the town centre so to ensure that Buxton's special character is retained.
However, the strategy recognises that the character of Buxton differs from one part of the town centre to another and defines six sub-areas ranging from Higher Buxton at one end through to the Station Road area at the other. Different design criteria would apply to these different areas.
"The critical aspect of the workshops is that we get the public themselves to agree on the approach rather than the Council imposing its own views" added Councillor Kemp. "Once we have the comments on the vision and design principles, there is to be a final workshop when we will apply these to some key sites in the town centre".
The display will be placed in the entrance foyer to the Conservatory, Pavilion Gardens and is open 7 days each week from 9.30am until Friday 17 April, which is also the deadline for comments. The final workshop will be held on Monday 27 April at 6pm with refreshments from 5.30pm in the Paxton Suite, Pavilion Gardens. A total of nearly 300 people have attended the workshops during February and March.