Distillery 'in serious trouble' after road closure

The owner of a whisky and gin distillery in the Peak District says a road closure is putting the future of his business at risk.

Derbyshire County Council has started work to resurface and improve drainage on a section of the Cat and Fiddle - which runs between Buxton and Macclesfield - in a bid to make it safer.

Karl Bond, who owns the Forest Distillery at the Cat and Fiddle pub, said all their bookings for August had been cancelled.

Owners of a pub and convenience store near Buxton also said the closure had damaged their trade.

The Cat and Fiddle is made up of two roads, the A54 and A537, which are maintained by different councils.

Derbyshire County Council is resurfacing a 1.7km section of the A54 on the Buxton side in two phases, the first of which started in July and is due to run until October.

A second phase is due to start in spring 2027, lasting for 12 weeks.

The closure means visitors can get to Forest Distillery, which sits off the A537, as normal from the Macclesfield side but a lengthy diversion is needed to get there from the Buxton side.

Bond, who took over the business in 2019 with his wife Lindsay, said: "It is devastating and we thought we could potentially lose our business over this, and we still could if people stop coming.

"We are in serious, serious trouble. We employ staff here and they've all got lives and families.

"It's all on the line. So it's still a huge worry every morning when we wake up."

Bec Higgins, who runs The Duke pub in Burbage, near Buxton, said her takings had been down by nearly a third since the work started in late July.

"We're very lucky, we've got a really good local community but we're definitely noticing that the car park's a little empty here which is meaning we're not getting that stop-through," she said.

Carl Mycock, runs the Burbage Village Store next door to the pub and said his business had also taken a hit, with fewer lorry drivers stopping for food and drink.

"We're down quite considerably lately, since the road's been closed, we've noticed the difference straight away, he said.

Derbyshire County Council leader Alan Graves said: "The Cat and Fiddle is one of Derbyshire's most important routes, but its exposed location means it faces significant challenges from severe weather and heavy use.

"This first phase of works is essential as we invest heavily in its long-term resilience and make vital improvements to make the road safer, more resilient and better prepared for winter conditions.

"Whilst these works are carried out, we're using our new fence to fence approach to carry out additional maintenance works such as drainage improvements and vegetation removal to avoid any further unnecessary road closures."

He added that subject to weather conditions the council would try to finish the work ahead of schedule.

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