High Peak Borough Council

We're sparking things up in Buxton!✨ Bringing to life The Spring alongside High Peak Borough Council, we're transforming the '80s site into a modern-day goddess. New homes, workspaces, indie shops, bars, and cafés that match Buxton’s beauty. Plus, green spaces, river access, and slick links from the high street to the train station 🌿🚉. Check out the deets👇🏼 https://lnkd.in/eGra2KUi Anthony Mckeown Damien Greenhalgh John Moffat

Buxton town centre regeneration takes major step forward Ambitious plans to regenerate Buxton town centre have moved a significant step forward after High Peak Borough Council’s Executive agreed to appoint Capital&Centric as the development partner for Revitalising Buxton. It means work can now start in earnest on the £100 million plus scheme to redevelop The Springs shopping centre, Spring Gardens and Station Approach; a scheme that became possible after the Council received £6.6m of Future High Street Fund money from the Government it then used to buy the shopping centre in 2022. The Council has added £4m of its own funds to the scheme. Councillors made their decision following a rigorous selection process, and after hearing the results of a community engagement programme held earlier this year which showed a desire for a more resilient town centre with leisure, hospitality, public space, new venues and much-needed new homes. Capital&Centric plans to repurpose the 1980s indoor shopping centre into a vibrant mix of hundreds of new homes, workspaces and independent shops, bars and cafes. The vision is to give pedestrians easy access through the site from Spring Gardens up to the rail station, while also seeking to open up the River Wye, creating green public spaces for al fresco food, drinks and events. Capital&Centric will take forward the results of the community engagement and begin working up the scheme in advance of a planning application to be submitted in about 10 months’ time. The Manchester based developer will oversee the development and construction phases subject to the application being approved. Leader of the Council, Councillor Anthony McKeown said: “Over the last few years we have gathered hundreds of ideas from the local community for the future of this part of the town. In order to move these ideas to reality we are thrilled to announce the next steps for this transformational project for Buxton by announcing a development partner. “Capital&Centric has presented a confident vision, aligned with our aspirations for this site. We now want everyone to have the opportunity to help shape the proposals through further consultation and engagement next year.” Councillor Damien Greenhalgh, Deputy Leader and Executive Councillor for Regeneration, Tourism and Leisure said: “We promised to revitalise Buxton town centre and that’s what we’re doing. As regeneration projects go, this is huge for Buxton and presents an enormous opportunity to diversify what we have in the town centre, whilst at the same time ensuring what is proposed compliments the great assets we already have here that are cherished by residents and visitors alike. Read the full release at: https://lnkd.in/ge5k7ZDn

Best wishes to Helen Core FCIH, our former Head of Housing, and Matthew Trewartha FRICS, our former interim Head of Assets, as they both move on to new roles elsewhere. A warm welcome to Vicki BA Hons Assoc.RICS PIEMA MIWFM, our new Head of Assets, and Maggie N., our interim Head of Housing.

High Peak Borough Council has been awarded a consumer grading of C2 by the Regulator of Social Housing - one of the first Councils to receive a rating following the Regulator's powers coming into force on 1 April this year. The Regulator was created to ensure a viable, efficient and well-governed social housing sector able to deliver quality homes and services for current and future tenants by regulating landlords to drive improvements in how they operate. The Council was inspected against its customer service standards that state the outcomes landlords must deliver against. A C2 rating - the second highest available - means that the Council is delivering most of the requirements and identifies some areas where improvement is needed. The Regulator highlighted that outcomes across the main health and safety compliance areas are good and that an effective, efficient and timely repairs service that performs above our service standards consistently is being delivered. Council Leader, Councillor Anthony Mckeown, said: "This is a fantastic result for our first grading, especially given how recently the Regulator introduced the inspection regime to Councils. "It's reassuring that the investments we have been making to improve the quality and safety of homes, together with the improvements to our repairs service through the creation of Alliance Norse, has been recognised by the Regulator. "We are looking forward to working with the Regulator, our tenants and partners to demonstrate how we have made changes in areas where further improvements have been highlighted, along with continuing to improve and develop the service overall." Areas identified for improvement include improving and sustaining the recent investment the Council has made in tenant engagement by implementing the actions we have set in place. It also highlighted the need to ensure our complaint handling gives tenants sufficient opportunity to report complaints, and how the Council resolves and learns from the information provided. The Regulator recognised that work was already underway to improve these areas. Fiona Sloman, Executive Councillor for Housing, added: "This result is testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff and partner agencies in ensuring our homes and communities are managed proactively and effectively."

'Well managed' Council delivers 'high performing, low cost' services An independent review has found that High Peak Borough Council is a high-performing, performance-focused organisation that delivers low cost, value for money services. In February, the Council and its Strategic Alliance partner Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, invited a team of local government professionals to review its operations and performance as part of the Local Government Association's (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge process. This latest review took place two years after a previous review. Councillors and officers from the LGA joined forces to review both Councils, highlight areas of good practice, and identify areas for improvement and ongoing support. The report from this year's exercise has now been released. It reflects the previous conclusion that the Council has been well managed for many years and that the Alliance is 'impressive and continues to be effective'. It identifies the Council's strengths in financial management and governance. It finds that the Borough Plan clearly demonstrates the Council's ambitions and understanding of the challenges facing its communities. The report also praises the 'culture of delivering quality' and notes that when the Council 'does something, it does it well'. It also flags the potential for the Council and its partners to go on and achieve even more. Leader of the Council, Councillor Anthony Mckeown, said: "The Council wants to be able to improve how we can serve our residents and we are delighted with the review team's excellent findings from their February visit. "This latest review builds on the very positive findings of two years ago and, pleasingly, reports the strengths that they identified then remain strengths now. "We're always interested in hearing suggestions for improvement and learning, particularly from experienced peers and the LGA, and we've set out the actions that are already underway to address the review team's suggestions so that we use what we've learnt to the benefit of everybody in the High Peak. "I'd like to thank the review team, our councillors, staff and partners for giving their time to help us continue to deliver excellent services for all our communities." Other key findings highlighted in the report include: *Good working relationships with County, Town and Parish Councils and the Derbyshire Leaders Board - the Council is engaging well to bring about the best outcomes for its communities *The positive impact of council controlled companies - Alliance Environmental Services and Alliance Norse - on service delivery and on generating additional capacity and efficiencies *Strong, productive relationships between councillors and officers *Good understanding of the challenges faced and the decisions that must be made around growth and housing and the balance with the natural world Read the full report and the Council's action plan: https://lnkd.in/e9YYtpU5

🚨 #JOBALERT: Head of Assets - Staffordshire Moorlands District Council & High Peak Borough Council - You will manage and act as lead advisor on all asset management functions and will be instrumental in leading on the development of the Councils’ asset strategies, forging the development of effective internal and external networks. Please follow the link 👇 for more information and to Apply Now.  https://lnkd.in/eSJP3AvN

If you're looking for a new challenge post the bank holiday - you've still got time to apply for a number of roles we currently have. We are looking for a new Executive Director covering community services as detailed below, along with a head of assets and a principal policy officer dealing with communication issues - details for these are other roles are available at https://lnkd.in/eCFc5hn

Perfect weather to visit our Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) project at Buxton Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre with Simon Allaway and some of our Executive Cllrs, including Anthony Mckeown, Damien Greenhalgh Jean Todd. Excellent progress has been made with the PV installation and not too long before the air source heat pumps are installed. Impressive to see the modern PV’s contrast with the grade 2 listed Octagon Hall in the background…a great showcase of how old and new can coexist successfully. This project is funded by High Peak Borough Council and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme Salix, project management by Parkwood Project Management, with Leisure Energy as principal contractor. #leisure #transformation #decarbonisation #carbonneutral