CALLS have been made to save the St Peter’s Seminary site after the company leading its renovation project announced it will close.

Plans to rescue the ruined Cardross site have been thrown into major doubt after arts organisation NVA said it will cease operations in September.

This includes abandoning the initiative to restore the seminary, with a statement claiming that the organisation had “no choice” but to close the project.

Councillor Ellen Morton, whose ward includes the village, is seeking an “acceptable future” for the site.

She told the Reporter: “I knew there had been issues around the proposal so I am not totally surprised, but there are now major questions around the project.

“What has happened does leave a big question mark over not just the project, but the whole site, because we have had difficulty with it for some time.

“The project would really have been wonderful if it had worked, with international recognition. But what is more concerning to me is how we secure an acceptable future.

“The site is very important to Cardross and it is important that something acceptable is done with it.”

The NVA statement, issued on Tuesday, said that its trustees had decided to withdraw funding from St Peter’s in September due to “increasing risks, both financial and physical”.

It added: “NVA’s original plan for St Peter’s was universally acknowledged as bold, with creative ambition at its heart.

“It was also recognised as a high risk venture for a small independent arts organisation.

“Despite our best efforts we were unable to guarantee the viable future for the St Peter’s Seminary that we had imagined and hoped for.

“In the end, we had no choice but to bring the capital project to an end.”

Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie expressed a willingness to work to save the old seminary site.

Ms Baillie said: “Their plans for St Peter’s Seminary were bold and exciting and their closure will leave questions about the future of the site.

“It is disappointing that an organisation which has been involved in iconic works across Scotland for more than two decades has not received the support from Creative Scotland that they deserve, putting them in a position where they have had to announce their closure.”

Ms Baillie has written to the Scottish Government to ask about potential support.