Argyll and Bute Council has said plans to renovate Rothesay Pavilion are progressing well following recent developments.

In recent weeks, the local authority has submitted funding applications for the project, as well as received planning approval. Business plans and developed designs are also in place for the £8m development.

Essential structural repairs will be carried out at the pavilion from the spring of 2015, focusing on the northern elevation and the north end of the eastern elevation. The pavilion will then close during the summer of next year, to allow time for surveys and the removal of furniture and attachments, before construction work begins in January 2016.

When completed the venue will become a hub for culture, tourism and sport, and will be able to host festivals and events, indoor sports, exhibitions, weddings, parties and conferences as well as providing a range of facilities for community use.

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The new pavilion will be operated by the Rothesay Pavilion Charity, who will lease it from the council on an ongoing basis.

Pippa Milne, Argyll and Bute Council's Executive Director for Development and Infrastructure, said: "I am delighted to see the project moving forward at pace. Things are really coming together, with a fantastic design and robust business plan we have a strong framework within which to move forward.

"We are confident that our funding applications meet with the various criteria and are very hopeful of success. Once the funding is in place it'll be all systems go as we move towards the construction phase.

"I'm also pleased that we have established such a strong working relationship with the charity who will be taking over the day-to-day running of the newly renovated pavilion once it re-opens in 2017."

Nick Merriman, Chair of the Rothesay Pavilion Charity, added: "Progress is now rapid on the pavilion project, with new developments almost on a weekly basis. The pavilion trust is very encouraged by the positive news on planning permission, which will be a further boost to the various funding applications totalling £700,000 which the trust itself has recently submitted."

(JP/MH)