Local authority extends multi-million pound loan to Buxton Crescent Thermal Spa development

Derbyshire County Council announced that it is extending a multi-million pound loan to developers for the completion of

The Buxton Crescent and Thermal Spa in February.

Derbyshire County Council stepped in to save the delayed redevelopment of Buxton Crescent into a £35m (US$57.9m, €42m) luxury 79-room hotel and spa.

The exact sum of money being lent to developers – The Trevor Osborne Property Group, CP Holdings plus Danubius Hotels – has not been disclosed and the completion date for the development has been pushed back to 2016.

"The county council, High Peak Borough Council, English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund all share our determination that, after 10 years of working together, we must get contractors on site to restore the heart of Buxton in a way that the whole community deeply desires," said developer chair, Trevor Osborne.

Plans to transform Buxton Crescent – built between 1780 and 1789 – were first put forward more than 10 years ago but the project only received planning permission in September 2010.

Funding originated from a variety of sources including £15m (US$24.8m, €18m) from the developers, £12.4m (US$20.5m, €14.9m) from Heritage Lottery Fund, £500,000 (US$800,000 €600,000) from English Heritage plus £2m (US$3.3m, €2.4m) from joint owners Derbyshire County Council and High Peak Borough Council.

The project was initially delayed after the East Midlands Development Agency, which was due to provide £5m (€6m, US$8.3m), was disbanded in 2011.

After four unsuccessful bids to the Regional Growth Fund, Derbyshire County Council’s loan will allow the developers to finish the work which started in 2012.

The first phase of construction was completed in August 2013, including repairs to the Pump Room.