The Maynard: Peak District hotel owner says Grindleford Bridge closure is costing business £2,500 a day

Main Road was closed to traffic at Grindleford Bridge on Monday, October 3 so repairs could be carried out, and it is due to remain shut until Sunday, October 16.

Rob Hattersley, owner of The Maynard hotel in Grindleford, says the closure is having a dramatic impact on trade, with the number of daily covers at the hotel restaurant falling by more than two thirds overnight as visitors face a four-mile detour.

Why is Grindleford Bridge closed and when will it reopen?

He claims his business and others affected should be entitled to compensation, and he is also calling for better signage to inform drivers the hotel remains open and how best to get there.

“We had one table in on Monday lunchtime, which for a business which employs 50 members of staff is simply not viable,” he said.

“On Monday last week we had 68 covers in total, compared with just 20 on Monday this week. That’s a loss of £2,500 in one day and I don’t even want to think about what will happen as we get closer to the weekend.

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“I appreciate the work needs to be done but where’s the support for businesses like ours which are being affected?”

Mr Hattersley said he had contacted Derbyshire County Council asking for compensation and for new signs, directing people from Hathersage and the rest of the Hope Valley to his hotel via Surprise View and Fox House, but the council seemed ‘entirely unempathetic’.

Derbyshire Dales District Councillor Peter O’Brien said the closure was having a ‘dramatic and potentially damaging impact’ on The Maynard and other businesses but he had spent three weeks ‘imploring’ the county council to put up new signs, to no avail.

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What has Derbyshire County Council said about the road closure?

A Derbyshire County Council spokesperson said: “We need to carry out maintenance work on the bridge and local businesses were informed of the closure, which is scheduled for two weeks.

“We apologise for any inconvenience while the work is carried out, but there are clear diversion signs in place, and we would only add signs for individual businesses in exceptional circumstances where they were to be affected by longer term roadworks.

“We have been in contact with this business and explained that we would not offer compensation in cases like this.”