Refurbishment work at a Royal Navy community centre in Helensburgh are due to be finished in January 2019 the Advertiser can reveal.

It was previously reported that local councillors had been told the work on the Drumfork Centre would be complete by the end of the summer but this was delayed by issues in the construction work which the contractors are working to tackle.

A spokesman for the Royal Navy told the Advertiser: “We now anticipate that the construction work will be completed around late October this year, after which the facility will be fitted-out, furnished and equipped for an anticipated opening in January.”

One of the most visible improvements to the building in Churchill has been the construction of a new pitched roof.

And when the revamp is finished, work is expected to start on making the facility available to the wider community, rather than just Navy families.

Commander Jim Hayle from HM Naval Base Clyde previously attended a meeting of the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee to update them on the progress of the centre.

He said: “We are looking to form a partnership with an organisation that can provide nursery space and ‘wrap-around’ childcare at the centre, and that will not be exclusively for naval families.

Commander Hayle added that he was “delighted” the work was being carried out by a local firm, Helensburgh-based Stewart and Shields.

He also explained that he was keen to work with the council on other housing opportunities in the area to ensure people moving to the area feel settled at Faslane and in the wider community.

“We want to integrate our sailors into the community and the community with the sailors,” he said, “as part of that any spare capacity within our existing properties will be offered out to the wider community.”