Controversial planning application to turn disused Buxton hotel into luxury apartments given green light

Despite the plans for the former Alison Park Hotel building on Temple Road receiving several objections High Peak Borough Council have passed the application.

The decision was made through delegated powers and the plans given the green light at the end of last month.

This means the conversion will now go ahead.

Applicant Amos Homes (Buxton) Ltd, said in the a supporting statement which was submitted with the proposal that the hotel officially closed for business in June 2020, but had been vacant for many months before this due to Covid-19 restrictions. The property, along with the grounds, now appear ‘visibly run down and badly in need of attention and new investment’.

Work can now begin to convert the existing building into 10 luxury one and two bed apartments, and a four-bedroom townhouse. Three cottages are proposed through the conversion and alterations to a single storey rear extension.

A further three-bedroom townhouse is proposed as a new extension to the northern gable end of the building.

Amons Homes says this will result in the demolition of a dilapidated garage located on the boundary with the neighbouring property.

The statement said: “The development of this site will offer significant social benefits by delivering a mix of housing to meet the needs of the area, and importantly will bring back into use a vacant building in a highly sustainable location.”

The apartments will be luxury homes and Amos said: “The National Planning Policy Framework states to ‘support the re-use of brownfield land, where vacant buildings are being reused or redeveloped, any affordable housing contribution should be reduced by a proportionate amount’.”

However, the plans received many objections during the consultation period.

Several of the comments cited over development, with one resident saying the plans were designed to ‘maximise profit for the developer, by maximising the number of properties that can be squeezed into the single plot of land. As a result, the plans are purely in the developer’s best interests, rather than the residents of Buxton.

Others said the additional properties would create an increase of traffic and on-road parking, while access issues for the nearby Buxton Medical Practice were raised.

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