Caithness Chamber Of Commerce Reinvigorated With £150,000

14th October 2008

The Caithness Chamber of Commerce has been reinvigorated thanks to a cash injection from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).

The funding will be supporting a new Chamber which now plans to appoint a Chief Executive to lead the Chamber forward to ensure a single voice for the Caithness business community and bring individual groups together under one umbrella organisation.

Following an options study, funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and HIE, which considered a range of possible options the Chamber members submitted a funding business case to HIE which has now been approved.

The funding package is for £150,000 over a three year period.

John Banister, President of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce said "We are delighted with the support from local businesses to re-invigorate the Chamber. With the rundown of the Dounreay site it is more important than ever to have a strong, single business voice for the area. With the funding made available from HIE we can now start the process of recruiting a Chief Executive whose job will be to bring all the local businesses together and to market and provide the many services that a strong Chamber can offer."

George Bruce, involved with the Caithness Chamber for over 27 years, added "The work of the Chamber to date has relied on the goodwill and time of various individuals within the business community. By creating a full time post the new Chief Executive can concentrate on strengthening the membership and add value for the whole business community. The services and networking opportunities that the Chamber can provide should not be under-estimated."

Annemarie Monteforte, head of Growing Businesses, HIE added "We are delighted to be able to provide funding to get the new Chamber up and running and look forward to seeing the Chamber go from strength to strength. This builds on the hard work and dedication of those involved in the existing Chamber who gave up their time freely to ensure that it continued to exist when others were disbanding."

A new Board will be appointed and recruitment of the Chief Executive is already underway.

John Banister added "The majority of members of the existing Board feel it is time to step back and allow the younger members to come through and take the lead in what can be seen as an exciting time for the area. It will be important that those individuals with a vested interest in the area drive the Chamber into the future and ensure that the business community is united in support of the regeneration initiatives for Caithness."

More About Caithness Chamber Of Commerce

1. The Caithness Chamber of Commerce was established in 1970.

2. Currently the Chamber has 42 business members. Efforts will be to increase membership to 120 by 2011.

3. The role of the Chamber will be to complement the efforts of the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership.

4. Further information on the chamber can be found on www.caithnesschamber.com.

For further information contact:
John Henderson Tel: 01847 893601
Email: henderson.scrabster[AT]btinternet.com

Peter Body Tel: 01847 851638
Email: pb[AT]braemara.com