The owners of three food and drink venues in a Derbyshire town centre say they will lose thousands of pounds due to roadworks blocking their front doors.
Kerrie and Michael Thompson own Buddy’s Smokehouse & BBQ Joint, jacket potato shop Spuddy’s and pub the Remarkable Hare – all next to each other in Dale Road, Matlock.
On Wednesday, June 7, the husband and wife duo say that the entrance to Buddy’s was barricaded with roadworks fencing, with a small digger starting works to excavate the pavement – leaving them “absolutely fuming” and customers and staff “trapped” inside.
This led to the popular BBQ restaurant, launched last March by Masterchef finalist Luke Rhodes, having to close and send customers and staff home, with eight customers having to be escorted out through the kitchen and out via one of their neighbouring businesses.
Mrs Thompson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she and her husband had not received any notice about the works and had not been consulted about how they might affect their businesses.
Their frustrations had been directed at Derbyshire County Council in social media posts about the roadworks.
The works being carried out are for a service connection installation from internet provider Gigaclear, permitted by the county council and due to last from June 6-16.
These works will move down the road impacting each of access points to the couple’s businesses and with a big weekend of trade ahead due to the local market.
The impact of the works will already mean that Buddy’s will be closed on all four of the days it is open each week (Thursday through Sunday).
This will mean a loss of £12,000-£15,000 in income and a more thorough loss of produce which had already been ordered, some of which will not keep – with the venue spending more than £4,000 on produce in an average week.
Staff will also lose out on wages, the couple said, with four staff having to be sent home part way through their shift on Wednesday.
The impact of the Remarkable Hare’s closure, which will have its entrance blocked from today (Friday, June 9), the couple are told, will cause even further financial losses for the business, and cancelled shifts for around 10 staff.
A spokesperson for the county council says it is not their duty to consult and communicate with businesses or properties about roadworks, but that of the applicant.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Gigaclear, which specialises in providing broadband in rural areas, apologised for the venue’s experience, said letters had been sent to businesses in advance and is working to improve how remaining works are carried out.
Mrs Thompson told the LDRS: “It was just a bit of a shock. We had customers in the restaurant and they literally blocked the door off.
“We should have been contacted and someone should have come to see us.
“We had to take the customers through the kitchen and out of our neighbouring business. They had already ordered so they could stay and finish and then we led them out, and we had to send the staff home.
“We had no notice, we didn’t know anything about it. It is not fair on the workers and not fair on us and we should have been told and then we could have planned for it at least – but we got blocked off and will now be closed on our busiest days.
“We could have not ordered the produce and had staff take days off.
“It is hard enough right now to run a business with energy costs and prices going up and nobody seems to care and there has been no apology and no communication.
“It shouldn’t be allowed.”
Mrs Thompson said their site manager had to refuse to allow Gigaclear to put barriers in front of The Remarkable Hare today (June 9) so that it could remain open, with the firm reportedly saying it would carry out the works there on Monday and Tuesday instead.
A county council spokesperson said: “As part of the works permit, it is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure they have informed affected residents and businesses in advance of work taking place along Dale Road and to put measures in place to minimise any disruption.
“We are aware of the issues being raised and have since been in touch with Gigaclear to ensure a similar situation is avoided in the future and to seek assurances that adequate arrangements will be put in place to ensure customers can get into and out of premises while work is taking place in the evenings.”
The county council was asked if it could or should be displaying posters as part of the roadworks applications, as is the case with planning applications.
A spokesperson replied: “There is no requirement to put up notices in this case. The contractor is required to obtain a street works permit from us and we required Gigaclear to send letters to all affected businesses and residents.”
A spokesperson for Gigaclear said: “We were very sorry to learn of the access issue experienced by Buddy’s on Wednesday.
“We can confirm that letters were delivered to businesses prior to work starting to lay full fibre broadband along Dale Road.
“As soon as the access issue at Buddy’s was brought to our attention, we took measures to quickly resolve the situation and have since agreed with them how best to complete the remaining works.
“We’ve also visited a number of other businesses in Dale Road to reassure them of the work being carried out and their overall response has been positive.”
Buddy’s, which opened in March 2022, specialises in BBQ food, with skilled pit barbecue operators providing loaded meaty platters, hot dogs and burgers, along with loaded fries, pancakes and waffles – it has become a popular attraction for foodies.
Spuddy’s, which opened in February, specialises in all things potatoes, with baked potatoes served with a wide range of toppings, including barbecued meat from Buddy’s.
The Remarkable Hare pub opened in August 2019, serving hearty homemade food including pub classics, burgers, pizzas, sandwiches and tapas along with cask and keg beers from local smaller breweries and cocktails.
