News and Events

A family of dedicated eye health professionals have stayed at their posts throughout the COVID-19 crisis not only to serve their West Dunbartonshire community but also to help key NHS workers carry on the fight against the virus.  Independent family-owned optician Wilkie & Rider, which has two outlets in Alexandria and Dumbarton, has been one of the few firms of eyecare spe ...

Temperature screening smartphones for a safer return to work, leisure and life. Columbus UK is delighted to announce that it is a supplier of the world’s first smartphone with integrated thermal imaging technology. More businesses including hospitality, retail, logistics and manufacturing are using EST (elevated skin temperature) detection as part of their programs to protect s ...

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel has been named Conference Hotel of the Year 2020 at the Scottish Hotel Awards. In a night of triple success, the four-star venue also picked up the Reception Team of the Year award with Scott Fraser being named Chef De Partie of the Year. The winners were announced on Facebook on Sunday 25 April after the physical ceremony had to be cancell ...

For most, using a pedestrian crossing is a simple process. Approach the crossing, press the button, wait for the signal and cross the road. But for people with mobility or visual impairments these crossings can be much more of a challenge and their use can be a cause of real anxiety. Over 10% of the UK population (approximately 6.5 million) have mobility impairments that could ...

Damon Scott, Chief Executive of the Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce responded to some of the announcements and advice coming from the Scottish and UK Governments this week: “We were encouraged by some of the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak’s, investment announcements in the Budget this week. Particularly welcome was the £5bn for broadband connectivity and the Coronavirus business in ...

Spring Budget Summary 2020 Martin, Aitken & Co. Thursday, 12 March 2020 “….get it done” was a recurrent phrase in the Budget speech of the new Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. It could equally have been “get it spent” or “get it borrowed” as Mr Sunak announced a raft of spending initiatives with few supporting tax increases. His performance did not follow the standard playb ...

Coronavirus advice and information for business Coronavirus and its potential impact on business and the economy is a developing situation on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Whilst it has not yet taken hold in a significant way the UK, incidences are on the increase and the Chamber and our membership are experiencing the cancellation of more and more business events whilst we ar ...

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel has been recognised by industry consortium Venues of Excellence and Green Tourism for its work to improve environmental sustainability. The award-winning four star hotel has been presented with the Venues of Excellence Green Tourism Award for Sustainability, following the roll-out of the site's ten-point sustainability plan in 2019 and a wide ...

Chamber expert Jason George at Columbus UK has been wanting to solve a challenge for many small and medium-sized enterprises that has been in existence for too long. Jason commented that, “Many businesses are held back by poor broadband availability. This has meant some businesses have been unable to embrace the latest cloud-based, communications and technology services ...

The Greenpower challenge uses the excitement of motorsport to inspire young people to excel in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).  As part of their course, the young people build on their interpersonal, employability and business skills. The young people also undertake their Level 4 SQA skills for work in Mechanics at West College Scotland. Greenpower Education ...