Distillery ‘in serious trouble’ after Cat and Fiddle closure

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.