The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has awarded £12.5m towards the Buxton Crescent and Thermal Spa project in Derbyshire, UK.

The £32.4m scheme will comprise a 79-bedroom spa hotel, the refurbishment of The Pump Room as a tea room, where the waters can be freely sampled, as well as a new visitor interpretation centre with integrated tourist information facilities for visitors to the Peak District.

The High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council appointed the Trevor Osborne Property Group to develop the site and CP Holdings to operate the hotel. The two companies have since formed a joint venture for the project called The Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa Company. Work on site is expected to start in 2007.

Cllr David Lomax, leader of High Peak Borough Council, said: “This project represents a major part of the heritage-led regeneration in Buxton which, including the Crescent, has now successfully secured over £50m investment in the town.

“The next milestone will be in August when we will hear from the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) and Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership (DDEP), who will make a decision on our funding bids for additional resources.

A spokesperson for The Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa Company added: “As the development partners for the council, we are delighted that our shared effort has resulted in the award of the HLF grant. This provides a clear signal for us to overcome the remaining technical issues and to begin work on the renovation.”

The Crescent was the centrepiece of the 5th Duke of Devonshire’s scheme to create a fashionable spa in north England. It was designed by John Carr of York and constructed from 1780–9 to provide an assembly room, two hotels and six lodges. It later became County Council offices and the town’s library in 1970 before being vacated in 1992.

The natural baths evolved over many centuries and occupy the site of the Roman Baths situated over the main mineral water spring.

The current building was constructed in 1853 to the design of Henry Curry but was altered in the 1920s. It was partly refurbished as a tourist information centre but the majority of the building has been empty since 1972.

The Pump Room was built for the 7th Duke of Devonshire by Henry Curry in 1894. It was last used to ‘take the waters’ in the 1970s. Details: www.hlf.org.uk or www.highpeak.gov.uk