On 15 March 2024, High Peak Borough Council reported that the Home Office had confirmed that High Peak Halls in Buxton would not be used to accommodate asylum seekers and that activity to secure the premises for that purpose had stopped.

The University of Derby had applied in 2023 for a certificate of lawful development concerning the former student accommodation. The council said the intended use was asylum accommodation. The university withdrew the application on 7 August 2023, before the planning committee considered it; officers had recommended refusal. A certificate application and a planning permission application are different processes.

The proposal drew objections as well as some support. A committee update recorded 1,902 objections and 17 comments in support by 7 August. Derbyshire Police had said the area was not appropriate for a dispersal centre, while the university had referred to the humanitarian case for housing vulnerable people.

Council leader Anthony McKeown welcomed the 2024 Home Office clarification and said the council and its partners had considered the location unsuitable. The council’s 2023 letter explains its role in the application.

In January 2026, a separate hotel proposal for the site was reported. Its later planning outcome has not been confirmed here.