Bid to turn old M&S into 47-room hotel

A PLANNING application to convert part of a former M&S store in a Derbyshire spa town into a hotel has been submitted to the local council.

The M&S in Buxton had operated for 85 years before being closed in April 2019 and has since remained empty.

New owners purchased the Spring Garden premises in September 2021, but plans had not been revealed until recently. If approved, the conversion would use the whole of the first and second floors, as well as a small section of the ground floor, with a new entrance for the hotel being created at the back, off Wye Street.

The 47-room hotel application was initially submitted in December last year, but was deemed invalid by High Peak Borough Council. Alongside plans for the hotel, four businesses are expected to open at the site.

These include Simpson Furniture, which had been running a pop-up shop in the Spring Gardens shopping centre. The business will take up a portion of the former store.

The current building was originally built in 1932 and had housed M&S since 1934. When the shop closed in 2019, locals petitioned for it to remain open but they were not successful.

Speaking on the application, High Peak MP Robert Largan said: “Whilst a new hotel in Buxton is to be welcomed and would help bring more tourism and money to the town centre, I am concerned about the pressure this might put on parking in the town centre.”

You can view full details of the application on the Council’s planning portal. If you want to make a comment, you can do so from the website or by emailing the Council at PlanningComments@highpeak.gov.uk