With the long running saga of the Thermae Bath Spa continuing to bubble away (its new owners are now predicting an April 2006 opening) we turn our attentions instead to the Peak District town of Buxton.
Buxton is famous for its water which has been bubbling from the ground at 27.5 degrees for several thousand years and is the drink of choice for Wimbledon's tennis champions.
Now the Trevor Osborne Property Group have partnered with the High Peak Borough and Derbyshire County Councils to reconstruct a derelict building in the heart of the city centre and return it to its original glory. "The waters have curative qualities," explained Group Chairman Trevor Osborne, "and it was the Romans who first realised Buxton's spa potential in 70AD, calling their settlement Aquae Arnametiae ("the waters of the goddess of the grove"). In the late 18th Century the Duke of Devonshire built the Crescent, Assembley Rooms and spa as Britain's first destination hotel." Adamant that Buxton Spa should focus on the medical properties of the water rather than merely the beauty/relaxation market, Osborne sealed the partnership with CP Holdings, parent company of renowned Hungarian wellness spa operator Danubius, who have been brought on board to run the venture when it opens in 2008.
Meanwhile DA Architecture LLP is transforming the site into "an 87 room hotel with 16 treatment rooms and 8 retail units opening onto the colonnade," explained partner David Archer. "There will be a ballroom and we are creating a new public square that will link the historical centre of Buxton with its commercial areas." The Heritage Lottery Fund also provided some £500 000 to restore the Grade I Listed buildings. "The brief was to maintain, repair and restore," commented Archer, "and the completed project will retain much historic detail as well as offering both traditional and contemporary treatments."
