Politicians praised the award from Coastal Communities funding award – adding the purpose-built tourist facility will help form a package of Helensburgh visitor attractions.

Brian Keating, founder and chairman of the Scottish Submarine Trust, told the Advertiser although the public may see little progress, things are moving forward behind the scenes.

He said: “It’s coming together – little by little. We are waiting for some paperwork to go through from the council and then we have contracts going out to tender for building work, perhaps later this week. We would like to be ready to go by summer, but we will open some point this year.” He added the trust is now a registered charity which will aid its continuous fundraising efforts. A volunteer recruitment campaign will also launch next month.

The museum will feature an X-51 submarine as its centrepiece and exhibits are also expected to include an interactive electronic memorial in remembrance of the 5,329 submariners who have given their lives in the Royal Navy Submarine Service. The theme of the museum will be Lest We Forget.

Making the UK funding announcement on Monday, Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “I created the Coastal Communities Fund because, as someone who grew up on a small island, I know how much difference targeted investment can make to people’s lives.

“Projects benefiting from the latest round of funding include redeveloping Rothesay Pavilion, creating a new Submarine Museum in Helensburgh, and restoring the harbour at Carbost in Skye.

“Overall, hundreds of communities across Scotland and the rest of the UK will benefit, creating jobs and making sure that some of our most remote and fragile communities share in the economic recovery.” The grant will contribute to exhibition infrastructure for the museum, which is expected to attract 25,000 visitors a year, and in so doing, ‘create employment, sustain jobs, regenerate the town centre, and educate visitors about the history of submarines’.

Councillor Ellen Morton, depute leader of the council and policy lead for special projects, said the award confirms the confidence the council placed in the project with £140,00 of local authority funding last year, as well as £200,000 from the Armed Forces Covenant.

She added that the museum will help form a package of attractions for the town centre along with the Hill House and improved infrastructure as part of CHORD, which is being promoted by the chamber of commerce, and local businesses.

Cllr Morton said: “At the moment the Hill House receives a high amount of footfall as bus loads of people visit the attraction, but projects such as the submarine museum and CHORD will ensure people come and visit the town centre and use the shops and visit the cafes. Tourists want two or three attractions to visit when they come for a day and this will help form a package of attractions.” Alan Reid, Argyll and Bute MP, said: “The extra job opportunities and the increased cultural and social activities created all make Argyll and Bute a more attractive place for people to live, and help halt our population decline.” He added: “Helensburgh is the natural home for the Scottish Submarine Museum; it would be inconceivable for it to be anywhere else and it will attract many visitors to the burgh.”