The building project for West Dunbartonshire Council’s new offices in Dumbarton town centre began last week.

The council plans to relocate 500 staff currently based at Garshake to the offices at the site of the former Dumbarton Academy building in Church Street. The design will retain the A-listed facade of the historic building and construct new offices at the rear.

To make way for the new development, the annexe behind the current façade and a section of the boundary wall are being demolished and the site cleared. The car park at the site has been closed since June 15, to allow work to commence.

The council said residents and businesses in the area are being contacted to advise them of the work which is expected to take four weeks.

Councillor Patrick McGlinchey, convener of Infrastructure, Regeneration, and Economic Development, said: “It’s fantastic to see our plans to regenerate Dumbarton town centre beginning to take shape. This is the first step towards creating new council offices in the town and restoring a landmark building.

“The demolition will last for just four weeks and will be taking place Monday to Friday during business hours to minimise the impact on neighbouring properties.” According to the council, the new office will cost approximately £16.4million but save £300,000 per year over the lifetime of the building compared to maintaining the current Garshake offices.

The move to Dumbarton will also provide a catalyst for further regeneration activities in Dumbarton town centre.

Further works to prepare the site for development are scheduled to begin in late autumn.

The new building is expected to open in spring 2017.