MP David Mundell , Scottish Secretary, officially opened a new training facility at The Tower Arts Centre and Digital Academy during a visit to the Burgh on Monday.

Mr Mundell cut the ribbon on three new rooms at the centre, all of them named after entertainment figures with a connection to the Helensburgh area.

The Jack Buchanan Dance Studio, combining a dance facility with the smaller of the centre’s two cinemas, commemorates the Burgh-born dancer, actor, producer and director who was known as Britain’s Fred Astaire.

The Ken Buchanan Studio, meanwhile, is named in memory of the sound engineer, film-maker and founder of production company Anvil Films and provides state-of-the-art digital video production equipment for experts and novices alike.

The last of the three rooms opened by Mr Mundell is home to cutting-edge 4G video editing and production equipment and is named after playwright, novelist and poet Oscar Wilde, who visited Helensburgh in the 1880s and is thought to have spoken in the building in its previous guise as St Columba’s Church.

Mr Mundell and his Scotland Office colleague, junior minister Lord Dunlop also took a peek at the Scottish Submarine Centre, which is presently under construction next door to the Tower.

Mr Mundell said: “This is a great facility for anywhere, so it’s a real bonus for Helensburgh to have it. Not only is it an entertainment facility, through the two cinemas, but it’s a cultural facility and an education facility, combined in a really fun an innovative environment.”

Mr Mundell praised the community’s efforts in contributing to the plans for the regeneration of the town and denied that the town’s strong military connection had placed it at the front of the queue for financial support.

“If people have plans, then they get support for them,” he continued. “That’s what’s happened here in Helensburgh – there’s a clear plan to do something about the swimming pool, there’s been a clear plan to regenerate Colquhoun Square, and there’s been a plan with the digital centre and the submarine museum"

The Jack Buchanan Dance Studio is used during the day by Argyll College UHI to run dance, drama and technical theatre courses, and by night doubles up as a 38-seater cinema

Brian Keating, the centre’s founder, said: “The Tower’s journey started 18 months ago, but we’ve been on the journey towards the submarine museum for four years, and I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has been involved.”