West Dunbartonshire is back in business with shops, pubs, restaurants, beauty salons and gyms throwing open their doors for the first time this year.
Yesterday (Monday) was a long awaited day for many with some reporting queues outside their shops as they welcomed eager customers back.
It’s also been a long four months for those dreaming of a pub-pulled pint but the wait was finally over with beer gardens quickly filling up, allowing friends and families to reunite again.
Restaurants, bars and cafes can also now open indoors until 8pm but are not allowed to sell alcohol.
And tourist attractions reopened, with Sweeney’s Cruises in Balloch welcoming customers to their first sailing of the year.
And gyms, beauty parlours, swimming pools and libraries are back in business as West Dunbartonshire, along with the entire country, moves into tier three.
However there were some concerns from business owners in Alexandria as town centre works got underway yesterday, which are expected to last for four weeks.
The first stage of repairing the Smollett Fountain has started and the works will include changes to the junction and possible temporary road closures.
Susan Smillie runs Susie’s Wool Shop in Gilmour Street with her mum Jennifer and they said they were delighted to open their doors but were disappointed to find out about the works.
Susan said: “We didn’t know anything about it until seeing it on the Vale of Leven Trust’s Facebook page.
“We’ve been closed for all these months so the timing is really disappointing.
“But we are really happy to be open and we had a queue outside this morning which was great to see.
“It’s really encouraging that people are coming back to the local area and supporting local businesses.”
Allan Wright, who runs Wright For Pets in Main Street, said he also hadn’t heard anything about the works and said the timing could have been better.
He said: “Works have to happen but these seem to be incredibly bad timing.
“The shops are now open and we don’t want people to avoid the town because of them.
“I didn’t know they were going ahead until I saw the diversion signs this morning.”
A council spokeswoman told the Lennox Herald local businesses “in the vicinity” were notified of the works on April 16.
They are the first stage of a project to repair and restore the B-listed fountain and give it greater prominence.
The works include changes to the road junction with a temporary surface treatment on the carriageway, relocation of pedestrian crossings, creation of new kerb lines and changes to traffic signalling. The changes to the junction are being trialled before any permanent changes are introduced.
Elsewhere, businesses in Dumbarton High Street were thrilled to welcome customers again, with a steady stream of shoppers in the town centre.
Tattoo artist Dean Miller, works at Tattoo Avenue in Dumbarton’s Bell Centre alongside wife Laura, who does body piercings and welcomed his first customer of the year yesterday. Lockdowns have been challenging for all businesses but Dean told how the time away allowed the couple to spend precious time with their newborn baby boy.
He said: “I’ve still been working on designs while we’ve been closed, just not on skin, and the time away has actually been quite good for us as we’ve been able to spend time with him.
“It’s great being back open again though. We’ve got plenty of bookings over the next few weeks and have a lot of clients who we had to reschedule.”
Council leader Jonathan McColl welcomed the relaxation of restrictions but urged everyone to continue to be vigilant.
He said: “The relaxation of lockdown measures over the past weeks has been welcomed and businesses will be looking forward to reopening in a safe way this week.
“We’re starting down the road to a return to more normality, but we must all continue to be sensible; wash our hands,keep our distance from folk, wear masks and stick to the rules.
“Recently our seven-day positive test rates per 100k came down to 13.5, but today (Monday), we’re almost back up at 30. We must take care not to relax too much or we’ll find ourselves back in another full lockdown, which would do immense harm to the businesses that provide the goods, services and jobs we rely on.
“I had my first vaccination a couple of weeks ago and I keep having to remind myself that it doesn’t make me invulnerable and I can still carry the virus without knowing and pass it on to others.
“It’s difficult, but we’re definitely getting there and there’s lots to be positive about.”
Travel restrictions have also been eased, allowing trips to other parts of the UK for non-essential reasons.
And everyone in Scotland can also now access rapid Covid testing, even if they have no symptoms. Free lateral flow home test kits will be available to pick up without an appointment from many local walk-in or drive-through test sites from 3.30pm each day, or by ordering online or by phone, for people to test themselves twice a week.
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