The white hotel building of Inverclyde Sports Centre is expected to be demolished in March, the ‘News’ understands.

It is making way for an innovative £9m parasports facility which will be the first of its kind in the UK, and the sports hall alongside may closed on a temporary basis during the construction.

The new state-of-the-art building will sustain a fully-inclusive and accessible world-class sporting facility with 60 fully adapted residential rooms, believed to be the first of its kind in the UK and will be open in November 2016.

However, Sportscotland have said that provision has been made for the possibility of a temporary closure of the sports hall across from the new facility as it is being built.

A spokesman for sportscotland said: “The whole complex will not close during the construction phase. The indoor Weir Pavilion 3G pitch, the outdoor synthetic pitches and the community football pitches shall remain open and available for use throughout the development process.

“Included within the construction tender document is a provision for a temporary closure of the sports hall if challenges around utilities arise during the construction period, such as heating, lighting, and the availability of water and toilets.

“There is an evaluation criteria contained within the tender document to determine whether a period of closure is required and, if so, how we restrict that period of time to a minimum. Throughout this period, people’s safety and wellbeing will continue to be of vital importance.

“The tender process is currently underway with contractors being invited to submit their design solutions. The new building shall require planning permission and the successful design will form the basis of the planning application. There will be a public meeting as part of the planning process to ensure the local community is fully involved and informed. Our expectation is that the detailed planning application will be submitted in the autumn of this year.

“We do not propose to have an auction of fixtures and fittings as contained within the tendering process for the demolition contract is a salvage element, which aims to recoup some value for various items. An open tender process is currently underway for the demolition. In addition, any furniture or other items which could be reused across the other sportscotland sites has already been relocated.” The Inverclyde Sports Centre was formerly Burnside House, and the mansion was built circa 1860, and the architect was David Cousin.

It was first the home of Robert Sinclair Scott of the Greenock shipbuilding firm, and about 1920, it was bought by Robert Barr, and he formed a company which ran the house as Hills Hotel.

During the war the hotel was taken over by the Government and it became the headquarters of the First Army.

After the war, the building re-opened as the Hills Hotel and in the 1050s the house and grounds were bought by the Scottish Council for Physical Recreation, Inverclyde was opened by the Queen on 7 August 1958, and got its name because Lord Inverclyde had been chairman fo the Scottish Council for Physical Recreation, but he died before the building opened.