A Bradley Stoke accountancy firm has been honoured with a ‘Best in the South West’ accolade at a national awards ceremony.

The nation’s top accountants gathered and celebrated in style on 25th September at the British Accountancy Awards in London. This prestigious event recognises innovative business practices and celebrates professional excellence within the world of accountancy.

This year, Dunkley’s Chartered Accountants (based in Woodlands Lane) were nominated for three awards: ‘Independent Firm of the Year: South-West, England’, ‘Outstanding Advisory’ and ‘Best Employer’.

Directors Lisa White and Matthew Dobbins, alongside client partner Natasha Miller, attended the ceremony held at the Grosvenor Hotel and, with three nominations hopes were high.

The Dunkley’s party were delighted when their company was declared the winner of the ‘Independent Firm of the Year: South-West, England’ award.

Lisa White explains what winning this award means for the business:

“Winning such a prestigious award is a perfect time to thank every one of our employees for the commitment and hard work they give to the firm every day, without which none of this would be possible.”

“We as a firm are continually striving to improve process and aim to always provide excellent client service. For this to be acknowledged at a national level is quite something and a reinforcement that the team are doing all the right things. We should all be very proud of what has been achieved.”

More: Award is "a real testament to the team’s constant hard work" »

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By Jack Lopresti, MP for Filton and Bradley Stoke.

The most powerful and impactful things in the world can often be traced to their local roots. Behind all of the worthiest projects are dedicated people whose efforts stand invisibly behind to create something spectacular. This is particularly true of our new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, the largest warships the Royal Navy has ever built, as well as the various other ships that would escort them on exercise and operations.

I had the privilege of visiting HMS Prince of Wales at Rosyth in Scotland, to see for myself the fruits of the hard work of people across our local area. Of course, as many of you will know, the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment and Support body (DE&S) is based at Abbey Wood and played a central role in delivering this vessel, including procuring the various sensors and systems on the ships and the aircraft that will fly from them.

The mighty MT30 gas turbine engine which powers the ships was designed and built by Rolls-Royce and was tested and will be serviced from their site in Patchway. Rolls-Royce in Patchway employs staff from right across our area and I am proud to say that we are quite literally the driving force behind Britain’s largest warship.

Thales, based in Stoke Gifford, designed and delivered the FLYCO control tower on HMS Prince of Wales. Acting like an airport’s air traffic control tower, this oversees the operations of all aircraft using the carrier, including landing and take-off.

BAE Systems, the lead member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance which built the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers, used its networked visualisation suite in Filton to bring together the Ministry of Defence and other partners working together on the ships for design reviews and approvals. Many of the key decisions that shaped the final delivery of this spectacular project were taken right here in our local area.

L3 MAPPS, based out of the Aztec West Business Park near Bradley Stoke, provided the marine control systems – the IT and electronics which underpin the aircraft carrier and allow it to move.

Babcock pulled together the wider designs and delivered the ship assembly process, and have produced critical components, including delivering more than 10,000 tonnes of materials to Rosyth for construction. They have offices in Bristol, as well as Stoke Gifford and Patchway.

More: "Thank you to the workers, loved ones, and wider communities" »

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Bradley Stoke accountancy firm Dunkley’s, well known locally for its support of the Wallace and Gromit sculpture trails, has been named ‘Marketing Innovation Firm of the Year’ in a competition organised by a leading supplier of accountancy software.

On Tuesday 9th October, the crème de la crème of IRIS Accounting Solutions’ customers gathered and celebrated the inaugural IRIS Customer Awards in London.

Dunkley’s were nominated for the ‘Marketing Innovation Firm of the Year’ award, which recognises “the creative thinking and skilful marketing that has enabled a practice to make a market impression, gain new clients and stand out from the crowd”.

Dunkley’s have developed a unique approach to marketing, which includes Gorillas, Gromits, Shauns and T-Rexs, and with this creative twist included in their application, hopes were high. Managing director Mike Dunkley and marketing manager Nicole Crompton attended the ceremony, held in the members’ lounge at Twickenham Stadium, and were delighted to be announced as the winners!

Lisa White, one of the directors at Dunkley’s, described the achievement as “a reflection of all the effort put in by our marketing manager, Nicole.” She added: “Her ideas, energy and enthusiasm are refreshing. Her commitment to the campaigns undertaken is inspirational! Winning the award is a real testament to her constant hard work.”

Mike Dunkley commented: “We live in a snowstorm of information and Nicole always ensures our message stands out as a beacon of enlightenment.”

This article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal magazine (on page 22). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH (except August), to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.

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Local hotel and restaurant DoubleTree by Hilton Bristol North, located in Woodlands Lane, Bradley Stoke, has created a fantastic new alfresco social and dining space in part of a previously under-utilised grassed area in the centre of the complex.

Known as ‘The Courtyard’ and accessed from the rear of the existing public lounge area, the pergoda-style structure (a hybrid between a pergola and pagoda) offers a sheltered dining space with built-in heaters and mood lighting.

The roof is of a transparent polycarbonate design that allows full natural daylight to permeate and this sits atop an oak-framed structure which the hotel says was designed and constructed by local businesses and contractors.

The capacity of The Courtyard for alfresco dining is 45 covers, however, it can hold more people for social gatherings and when use is made of the opportunity to extend onto the grassed area.

The new flexible outside space will also allow the hotel to cater for a multitude of other guest experiences, including pre-arrival banqueting drinks, wedding ceremonies and corporate BBQ events.

Bradley Stoke mayor Andy Ward was invited to officially open the new pergoda at a special launch event held on Thursday 19th April, at which local business people, supporters and stakeholders were treated to an arrival drink (sponsored by Thatchers), canapés and a barbecue-themed buffet.

Representatives of the hotel’s two local charities, The Grand Appeal and Avon Autistic, also joined in the fun and everyone enjoyed the beautifully sunny weather that blessed the occasion.

More: Concept was two years in the making, says general manager »

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