The new centre will replace the current building, which is 41 years old and will give residents in East Perthshire access to state-of-the-art facilities.

The new centre will comprise both a large four-court sports hall and a smaller two-court sports hall/gymnasium, a six-lane 25m swimming pool, fitness gym, studio space and changing facilities, as well as other ancillary spaces and an external all-weather pitch.

Perth and Kinross Council leader Councillor Grant Laing visited the site on Wednesday and said: “We want everyone in Perth and Kinross to live life well, enjoying healthy and active lifestyles.

“This long-awaited new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre (Live Active Blairgowrie) will provide the community with a range of top-class facilities that will encourage more people to get involved in sport and other fitness activities.

“It is also going to be built to Passivhaus standards, which means it will be incredibly energy efficient and better for the environment.

“Inflation is pushing up the price of all construction projects but we agreed additional funding in March to ensure the new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre goes ahead so it is fantastic to see work get underway.”

Councillor John Rebbeck, convenor of Perth and Kinross Council’s Learning and Families Committee, added: “Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the current facility no longer adequately meets the needs of Blairgowrie High School pupils.

“This new Blairgowrie Recreation Centre will make sure pupils here have access to excellent sports facilities.”

The new centre has been designed by architects Holmes Miller and is being delivered by BAM, who are also responsible for delivering the new, £26.5m Perth Museum.

It is expected the centre will open to the public in December next year with all exterior works completed the following year.

Yida Zhou, project architect at Holmes Miller, said: “Perth & Kinross Council have a clear vision of reaching carbon zero, and working on this project has been a brilliant opportunity to help them achieve that, through cutting-edge sustainable design.

“As Scotland’s first leisure centre designed to Passivhaus standards, hopefully this project will inspire more councils and investors to adopt this approach, given the significant carbon and revenue savings that it makes possible.”

Gary Bushnell, chief executive at hub East Central Scotland, which is manging the delivery of the project, added: “We have worked closely with Perth & Kinross Council throughout the development of this project and we look forward to delivering a high quality sport and leisure facility that will serve the community for many years to come.”

Paul Carle, construction director, BAM Construction – Scotland, commented: “We are proud to be working on this unique project with our partners which sees Passivhaus standards being utilised for one of the first swimming pools being built in this way in the UK and ultimately providing a net zero carbon building.

“BAM has a strong track record in Scotland and we are able to draw on considerable expertise in delivering high-quality, sustainable facilities which have a real benefit on local communities.”