The market town of Buxton in Derbyshire (also one of our two Roman spa towns, Aqua Sulis and Aqua Arnemetiae), is the lucky recipient of several million pounds of funding under the Buxton Heritage Action Zone Project (HAZ). 

Buxton was and still is an architectural gem, but many of the assets that made it truly unique as a spa town have been stripped away over the years, including most of the metalwork/colonnading around what is now the Cavendish Arcade, Spring Gardens and the Quadrant (all areas that fall inside the HAZ scheme map). We recently discovered that this colonnading is still in storage in the town under the care of the council.

The proposal is to use some of the HAZ funding to restore the old colonnades, starting with those around the Cavendish Arcade if possible. This would be a huge boost for the town, a talking point from a marketing position (especially as the Crescent next door has just reopened after 35 years), would draw in visitors and create interest, helping the regeneration of the town centre, and also provide more much-needed outdoor shelter in what one of our supporters described as the rainiest town in Britain! Local authorities are usually invested in building new, but Buxton's unique selling point is both its hot springs and all the interesting architecture that was developed around them, so we think this petition is very pertinent in light of the funding that has been obtained.

So please give us your support for restoring the beautiful old colonnades, and helping Buxton regain yet more of its former magnificence. We propose to take a look at what is left of the colonnades and get a quote from a few local firms for repairing, repainting and erecting them. That's the next step - you can help us by signing and sharing this ambitious petition - thank you!!