A new-build sports hall at Port Seton Community Centre is being forced to close after council officials confirmed it was not "retaining heat as expected".

Completed in July 2020, the extension was developed to increase sport and leisure capacity within the community at a cost of £1m.

However, the hall is not retaining heat as expected which East Lothian Council say is impacting on its use and remedial works are required resolve the issue.

The local authority has now confirmed that it will close for an 11-week period while these works take place, starting on Monday, June 19.

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Port Seton Community Centre entrance

The facility broke ground in 2019, and was viewed as an important investment of taxpayer money to realise the "long-held desire to expand" the footprint of the community centre.

An East Lothian Council spokesperson said: “We want all of our facilities to provide high quality spaces that benefit our community and that meet our climate change aspirations.

“We have taken feedback from the centre’s management committee, staff and users, as well as from our own professional teams, and have been working to determine the issues and to put in place a suitable resolution.

“We recognise and regret the disruption that this work will cause for regular users of the hall. We look forward to providing a facility that is more efficient and comfortable for all customers and in line with our original ambitions for the space.”

A spokesperson for Cockenzie and Port Seton Community Council said: "It is a shame that the closure will coincide with the summer school holidays but we are told that the works are essential and so the most important thing is that users are safe.

"We understand that centre staff are working hard with those groups who had planned to use the sports hall during this period to ensure facilities are available where possible."