The new Inverkip Community Centre will be an important gateway to the village when it opens early in the new year.

The council recently performed the official handover to the Inverkip Community Initiative who will be running the £1.8m building which includes a multi-purpose community hall, changing rooms, library, training centre and meeting room.

Communities Vice Convener of Inverclyde Council, Councillor Martin Brennan said: “We wanted the new centre to be a gateway to the village and a focal point for local people and I think we have certainly achieved that aim. We listened very closely to local people in coming up with the design brief and today marks the end of nearly six years of hard work by everyone involved in the project. I am delighted we can be here to mark the occasion and to formally handover the centre to the people who will make full use of it.”

Central to the design is the internal ‘street’ providing access to all areas but also acting as a meeting space.

The multi-function hall provides both sports and social recreation facilities and opens out onto the village green. An all-weather 3G 5-a-side synthetic pitch with floodlighting is included.

Local residents make up the Inverkip Community Initiative which was set up to work with the council in the design, construction and running of the new community centre.

Chairman Bill Stewart said: “Inverkip Community Initiative is delighted to take on the management of the new facility. We are very grateful to Inverclyde Council for providing the funding to enable the building of an excellent and much needed facility for the community.

"We are also grateful to a local member of the community who donated a substantial sum of money to allow us to install a retractable seating system and a first class sound and projection system. The building is now quite unique for its type and gives us a tremendous amount of flexibility in its potential use.

"We have a dedicated board of trustees who are determined to maximise the use of the new centre to help meet the needs of the community. We look forward to opening the facility to the public in early January 2017."