TENANTS are being sought to take over the running of Hermitage Park’s brand new pavilion, which is due to open in a matter of weeks.

The chance to run the new facility at the refurbished Helensburgh park is on offer for an annual rental of £25,000.

Argyll and Bute Council has asked that would-be occupants are able to undertake a 10-year term at the pavilion, which has a Passivhaus design.

The building was situated at the Sinclair Street park as part of a £3.6m restoration project which started in February 2017.

Councillor Ellen Morton, the authority’s policy lead for infrastructure, said: “I would hope there will be reasonable demand for the franchise.

"There are a number of existing Helensburgh businesses who might be interested in doing something to expand their own business.

"I had heard from council officers who had done some research that there was some interest, but that was a while back.

"It is similar to the proposed waterfront development, if the plans for that go ahead.

"The plans for that include a cafe and a franchise would be available for that - or a local business could run it.

"Helensburgh seems to have an insatiable appetite for cafes,"

Prospective tenants for the pavilion are also asked to take responsibility for the maintenance of the public toilets from 8am to 6pm in summer and 9pm to 4pm in winter.

But they have the option of whether to man the kiosk themselves, or to delegate it to somebody else via a separate lease.

Fiona Baker, Chairwoman of the Friends of Hermitage Park Association, said: “We are very excited that the pavilion is progressing along, and hopefully there will be lots of interest in taking over the franchise.

“The community room is not part of the let, and it will be in local use for all sorts of activities at various times.

“But the important thing that everybody would like to know is that the toilets will be open at the same time as the café is open.

“I know there have already been quite a few people approaching before the position was advertised, so I would imagine they will all apply.

“Community benefit is an important part of it all, so we would hope that whoever takes over the franchise will be amenable to that.

“The Friends will want to hold fundraising events in the pavilion and we want to provide food from the kitchen garden.

“I don’t know if it is essential that the person comes from here, but hopefully community benefit will be given consideration by those who apply.”

Any parties interested in applying to run the pavilion are asked to contact the estates office at Argyll and Bute Council, which is based at Helensburgh Civic Centre. They can also be emailed at estates@argyll-bute.gov.uk