Waitrose has objected to a £100m redevelopment of Buxton's Springs shopping centre, joining hundreds of local residents opposing plans by Manchester developer Capital & Centric. The scheme, backed by Labour-run High Peak Borough Council and taxpayer funding, would transform the 1980s shopping centre but cut the town's main public car park from 431 to 142 spaces, prompting Waitrose to warn this could deter shoppers and harm the wider town centre economy. The dispute is notable because Capital & Centric's co-founder Tim Heatley is a close ally of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, having attended Downing Street celebrations for Burnham's arrival.

Waitrose's agent submitted a 27-page objection stating the supermarket generates £10m a year for the local economy and acts as an anchor retailer supporting other businesses. The council has put £6.6m from the government's Future High Streets fund and £4.2m of its own money towards the scheme, which includes 332 new flats and 45,700 sq ft of commercial space; a proposed replacement 200-space car park at a former rail depot has not yet gone to planning. Over 600 people and organisations have commented on the application, with most objecting, while heritage campaigners have also criticised the plans for their modern, five-storey "urban-style" design in a town known for its Georgian architecture.