PLANS for an £150,000 upgrade to a Speyside town have been put on ice amid a land wrangle between a whisky distillery and Moray Council.
The local authority wants to link a cycle route from Dufftown to the region’s popular tourist trails, via a small bridge by the Glenfiddich plant.
But councillors were “astounded” to learn this week that officers had failed to reach an agreement with the whisky firm for use of its land.
The council now faces losing £65,000 in charity funding which the initiative had been awarded, and has been forced to reallocate funds it had set aside for the scheme to other projects.
Glenfiddich management yesterday pledged to work with the council to determine a “satisfactory solution” to the current impasse.
And last night Moray tourism chiefs called said the plans were vital
to move forward because the area’s cycling routes are a key attraction for visitors to the region.
Speyside Glenlivet councillor Fiona Murdoch said she was “terribly disappointed” the scheme was not going ahead as planned.
She said: “I’m really surprised by this, as the distillery is usually very good at supporting things that the community wants.
“It seems extraordinary that we have not been able to pull this off.
“The cycle path is absolutely vital to Dufftown, for visitors as well as residents, and we must find another way of getting this to work.”
Plans for the shared cycle and footpath were approved by the council’s economic development and infrastructure services committee in April.
The local authority devoted £75,000 towards the project, which was matched by a grant from the Sustrans charity, which promotes safe walking and cycling routes.
The design incorporated the Maltkiln Bridge, which crosses a burn by the Glenfiddich distillery.
But it later emerged the proposal could not proceed, because officers had failed to gain permission to use the land owned by Glenfiddich.
The council’s senior traffic management engineer, Dave Malpas, explained the authority had run out of time this financial year to progress the plan.
He said: “The scheme has encountered snags with land issues, because it was being built on distillery land.
“We are still working on the walking and cycle route, albeit with this bridge link missing for the time being.”
Speyside Glenlivet councillor Mike McConnachie said he was “astounded” to learn that the Glenfiddich plant was the apparent cause for the delay.
The distillery’s site leader, Craig Canner, said he hoped the plans could proceed next year.
Mr Canner said: “We enjoy a strong working relationship with Moray Council, and we have been working with them and will continue to do so to find a satisfactory solution to the proposed path and cycle route near the distillery.
“We are sure we will reach an agreement in the new year and will continue to have an open conversation with the council on the best way to proceed.”
A spokeswoman for the Moray Speyside tourism group added: “Our cycling marketing campaign promotes the great range of cycling routes for all ages and abilities in the Moray Speyside area, and we therefore hope that an amicable decision can be made on this matter.”
In the meantime, councillors have reallocated the £65,000 set aside for the route towards a number of different projects.
And moves were made to progress an alternative cycle path through Dufftown by adapting existing pavements for the purpose.
The dual-purpose path will stretch from its central square along Balvenie Street to its old railway station.
A council spokesman explained the local authority would be free to re-apply for the charity funding, but there was no guarantee it would be awarded.