Unclear how much leisure centre repairs will cost after Storm Eowyn destruction

Praise has been heaped upon workers and members of the community who assisted with the clear-up after part of Helensburgh Leisure Centre’s roof was blown off on Friday.

But there is currently no clarity over how long the facility will be closed for, or how big the repair bill will be.

The former provost of Argyll and Bute Council has expressed hope that the centre, which opened in September 2022, will return to service as soon as possible.

Dramatic video footage showed chunks of the roof flying off on Friday as Storm Eowyn wreaked havoc across Scotland.

Councillor Maurice Corry (Lomond North, Conservative) said: “It has been a tremendous amount of work being put in by officers in clear up the devastating situation at the leisure centre, and hopefully we can get things running as quickly as possible.

“It is such a valuable asset that we now have in Helensburgh, and has been enormously helpful. We know what a support the leisure centre is to armed forces and veterans and we would like to see services up and running as soon as we can.

“I know they are working very hard to do this and I commend the officers and contractors and everybody who came out over the weekend to start the clear-up.

“We are looking forward to a successful future and hopefully the repairs can be carried out as quickly as possible.

“It is very important, as so many people use it and it has been a marvellous benefit to our social and welfare sides of life.

“It has proven extremely popular, so we want it to be up and running as fast as we can.”

It is also understood that direct debits for membership of Helensburgh Leisure Centre will be frozen while the leisure centre remains closed.

A spokesperson for Live Argyll, which runs the leisure centre on behalf of the council, said: “We are working with the Council and its partners to ascertain the extent of damage to Helensburgh Leisure Centre. We are in the very early stages of this process.

“Argyll and Bute Council are working with its insurance partners in respect of repairs.

“It is extremely important that our leisure facilities are operational again as they play a crucial role in the health and wellbeing of our communities.

“We will seek to minimize disruption and offer alternative provision wherever possible. Members and the wider general public will be updated in due course.”

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: “The roof of Helensburgh Leisure Centre was damaged significantly, with parts of it either loosened or removed by the ferocity of Storm Eowyn. Metal, insulation and other softer materials were blown off and across the centre’s car park and beyond.

“We made progress quickly in clearing debris to re-open the wider area (West Clyde Street) on Saturday for safe use by the public. The leisure centre site and car park remain closed off to the public for their safety.

“The priority now is to make the building wind and watertight. Contractors and council staff have been on site since the weekend progressing that.

“We expect repairs to be needed to both the inside and outside of the building and are carrying out further assessments to identify what immediate and longer-term actions are needed.

“As would be expected we are liaising with our insurers as part of the recovery process.

“We would like to thank members of the community who assisted with clearing up debris from the wider area – this has been great community spirit in action and we appreciate it.

“The leisure centre is a popular, well-used facility. Live Argyll which runs it will advise over the next week about alternative service provision.”