Building contractor John Brown (Strone) has secured a £500,000 contract to deliver initial works on a regeneration project in Argyll and Bute.

Work to refurbish the Rothesay Pavilion is being funded through the Scottish Government's Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and the UK Government's Coastal Communities Fund.

Features involve removing all ceilings on the ground and first floors, removing redundant M&E systems, as well as survey and repair of the reinforced concrete frame of the building.

The council's executive director for development and infrastructure, Pippa Milne, said: "This is another key stage in our project to restore the pavilion to its former glory. We are very pleased to have awarded the contract, at a fair price, to an Argyll company with such a strong track record.

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"Following the closure of the building in September last year we were able to carry out some further detailed survey work which revealed that the building was in a much poorer condition than previously thought.

"The roof and external walls are suffering from severe water ingress; the existing (external) on-site drainage pipes are fractured and will need to be completely renewed; and, following the identification of poor subsoil conditions, the foundations will need to be significantly underpinned and reinforced in order to cope with the distribution of loads in the renovated facility.

"These works will help us slow the deterioration of the building and give us greater detail on its condition. By undertaking them as a separate contract we can gain a much better understanding of large areas of the building which are currently hidden and unseen."

The main contract works are expected to begin towards the end of this year.

(LM)