| Role: | Developer |
| Status: | Planning |
| Partners: | Birchall Properties, Chesterfield Borough Council, The Peak District National Park, University of Derby |
| Uses: | National Park Gateway; Retail; F&B; Hotel; Zero Carbon Travel Hub; Education & Learning |
In 2020 Milligan formed a joint venture with landowner Birchall Properties to develop the UK’s first National Park Gateway. Following a successful planning outcome in March 2024, the joint venture between Birchall and Milligan concluded. Milligan assisted Birchall in redefining the phasing of the existing planning approvals for the PEAK Gateway development and Birchall Properties have now engaged Colliers to approach the market and propose to deliver the planned resort in phases, earthworks for Phase One are now underway. Milligan remains fully committed to supporting Birchall in achieving their objectives and we are excited to witness the phased strategy for incremental development now taking shape.
The Gateway at PEAK is set to become an exemplar for sustainable tourism.
- The Gateway will comprise of a zero carbon travel hub enabling carless access to the Peak District National Park, a 165-room resort hotel, a variety of F&B outlets and spaces for experiential retail facilitating all types of outdoor pursuits and wellbeing activities.
- The Gateway will deliver 1,000 new FTE jobs and key strategic partnerships and heads of terms are being reached with several parties which will secure the Gateway’s proposition as a travel hub, in education and skills, experiential retail, leisure, hospitality and accommodation.
One of the key aims of the Gateway at PEAK is to manage visitors and access to the Park safely and in an environmentally friendly way, offering a zero carbon travel hub where visitors can book a day pass to park their car and travel into the park via EV or hydrogen bus reducing traffic and congestion.
The JV worked alongside strategic partners – Chesterfield Borough Council, The Peak District National Park Authority and The University of Derby among others. We also established many partnerships with brands that align with the Gateway’s values and vision, to integrate products, experiences and expertise into the delivery of a world-class visitor experience.
Milligan appointed a multi-disciplinary project team to work on the Gateway at PEAK. Stanton Williams, Cundall, DN Consultancy, RDS Global and Gillespies, worked with Milligan alongside the strategic partners to define this once in a lifetime project.
