A BOTTLING company in Dumbarton has been granted a provisional licence by the council for an on-site shop for its staff.

Chivas Brothers, who recently completed work on its £50 million plant at Stirling Road, Kilmalid, is looking to close its operation in Paisley by the end of the year and move all staff to its Dumbarton site.

The company offered a dispatch point and duty paid store for staff in Paisley, which will now relocate to Kilmalid. The licence application was discussed via video conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Audrey Junner, the applicant’s representative, said: “We are seeking to licence a portacabin on the grounds of the site, located in the car park – not the entire site.

“This shop is for staff and invitees of the applicant only. It is not for the public and is a service which is already available for staff elsewhere.

“I’m sure most of you will be aware of the huge investment in Kilmalid over the past couple of years.

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“Work started in 2018 to create a third world class bottling plant. That is now completed, and the new bottling hall is operational.

“This expansion allowed the company to divert much of their production capabilities and staff from their Paisley site to Kilmalid where there are now about a thousand staff working.

“Paisley is still operational for now, but it is very much in the winding down stage as it becomes surplus to requirements.”

It suspected that Paisley will completely cease to operate towards the end of this year and at that point the remaining staff will move to Kilmalid. Taxis and buses will be provided to ensure employees can get to work.

Ms Junner added: “Until now, Paisley had acted as the dispatch point and shop for staff sales. This application would allow that function to be relocated.

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“This is a small piece of a much larger project. The portacabin would be operational until a larger warehouse is built on site which would be used as a permanent base.

“Chivas Brothers will continue to secure jobs for the long term.”

Ian Dickson, committee chairman and SNP councillor for Leven, praised the development. He said: “At this point, from what I’ve heard and from what I’ve read, I’m really happy with the proposals.”

The application was approved unanimously.