Buxton B&B set to become children's home if High Peak council approves plans

Griff House, on Compton Road, said goodbye to its final guests last week as owners Martin and Kathryn Gilson head into retirement after 11 years at the helm.

The detached three-storey Victorian building was put on the market as a going concern but with no buyer taking it on, a very different plan has emerged from its next prospective owners.

A council spokesperson said: “We have purchased the building subject to planning permission. The application has been submitted and we are awaiting a decision.”

The property was listed for sale at £700,000 in 2021, but the county council declined to give details of any financial commitments involved when questioned by the Advertiser.

The spokesperson went on to say that it has not yet been decided whether the home would replace or expand existing local provision for looked after children, but it would operate as a permanent home rather than temporary shelter.

In June, the council’s cabinet approved plans to purchase a house off the open market in Buxton at a cost of £700,000, with overall works totalling £1.3 million, with the expectation that it would serve as a replacement for the Solomon House home on College Road

At the same time, they approved plans to develop Spring Cottage children’s home on Grinlow Road, Buxton, at an estimated cost of £757,000.

The next stage of the process involves gaining approval from High Peak Borough Council to change the designated use of the building, with the application submitted in July.

Griff House was originally built in 1891 as a lodging house, and Martin and Kathryn have made extensive improvements including new wiring and plumbing to provide six en-suite rooms with all mod-cons..

If the children’s home plan comes to fruition, the council says it would require only “minor construction work” on site to provide four bedrooms, additional rooms for working with the children and outside space – described as “a home environment, non-institutional.”

An alternative proposal was submitted to High Peak in June which sought to convert the property into a single family home – but was ultimately ruled to be invalid.

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