February 11 2020

An application for planning in principle has been lodged for a significant mixed-use development on the site of a former IBM facility at Spango Valley, Greenock.

Led by Advance Construction the £100m masterplan has been drawn up by Barton Willmore with a view to providing up to 450 new homes together with complementary leisure, community and retail spaces.

Colin Lavety, planning director for Barton Willmore, said: “These proposals are a culmination of a huge amount of positive design and technical work undertaken by our project team, including a full Environmental Impact Assessment. 

“We are excited to be involved in such a high-profile project which will leave a genuine, lasting legacy on the surrounding area.  Not only will it deliver much needed new homes, but a range of complimentary uses which will transform the site into a high-quality, vibrant, attractive environment to live and work.  We look forward to further positive discussions with Inverclyde Council as we look to progress these proposals towards construction”.

The mothballed IBM rail halt will be reopened to the public as part of the works, with a network of parks and paths planned to improve the local environment.

13 Comments

#1 Posted by wonky on 11 Feb 2020 at 12:15 PM

Has anyone in Inverclyde council visited Greenock town centre recently? One hundred million would go some way to re-mediating the urban fissure that is the A78 that rips the town apart- the town needs urgent topographic repair. The east end of Greenock is a disaster zone in parts. The councils obsession with the riverside has left the likes of Blackhall Street & Stewart St totally neglected- and that horrific Oak Mill centre reinforces the urban disconnection started with the A78. Cathcart Street needs realigned with W Blackhall Street- even George Square is an urban disaster, despite the collection of very fine buildings clustered around it. Use the money to ban surface car parks in the town centre/use it for full pedestrianisation & regeneration of the tremendous assets Greenock already has in abundance. The town & wider area has TEN train stations- from Port Glasgow, Cartsdyke in the East to Greenock Central & West to Gourock & Branchton further West & South. Even Aberdeen, Edinburgh or Dundee can boast of that level of connectivity- for gods sake use it!

#2 Posted by Robin B's Discount on 11 Feb 2020 at 14:58 PM

Yeah, though that £100M identified for this project has been prepared for, eh, this project which is being led by a private company.

Perhaps your concerns should be raised with the local council....that would be a better idea.

What you are suggesting is the equivalent of someone moaning that their neighbour has bought a new couch despite the public road having a big pothole.

#3 Posted by alibi on 11 Feb 2020 at 16:54 PM

This fully serviced site - with its own railway station - is a national asset that should be held back until a multinational is prepared to bring 1000 good quality jobs to the country for it.

#4 Posted by _____ on 12 Feb 2020 at 01:04 AM

Maybe think about using that 100million in other parts of the town as Greenock town centre is the poorest part of the UK and looks that way too. The disaster that is the oak mall has to be taken away and restored to and outdoor mall with more modern buildings, the multi-story has to be reopened to allow the town centre to be pedestrianised. The town centre is dead because of the awful looking buildings. This £100 needs to be used to attract people back into Greenock town centre. Not only that but Port Glasgow town centre also needs a total rebuild, the town hall is an eye soar and should be moved to the library, the other surrounding ships could also be relocated to other parts of the town because of the many vacant lots, and the space left could be turned into new more modern shops or even a park, anything would be better than what is there now.

#5 Posted by Lfp on 12 Feb 2020 at 07:45 AM

Wonky, the one hundred million isn't council money. The land was sold and a private developer is proposing to build the housing etc. You're right about the town though and I believe ethe council are hoping for some more funding from the Scottish government to try and regenerate the town centre. If you ask me I think it's had its day. I don't think I've walked through the mall in 5 years and I've heard its worse since then. The town and its infrastructure have been poorly managed for years, so bad that even one hundred million will hardly make a dent.

#6 Posted by engineerjim on 12 Feb 2020 at 08:11 AM

build up geez.

No to pedestrianization unless you replace the lost capacity else where.

#7 Posted by Robin B's Discount on 12 Feb 2020 at 11:53 AM

@#4. Nae bother. I'm sure the creation of these two new town centres is a realistic and deliverable proposal.

Can you do us a favour though.....could you start telling the owners of the "surrounding ships (sic) could also be relocated to other parts of the town because of the many vacant lots." I'm sure they'll relish your spiffing idea.

#8 Posted by Mellie moo on 12 Feb 2020 at 12:56 PM

I'm all for the proposals IF a new bypass from the IBM Road/flatterton Road junction is directed up behind the town to take traffic out of the current thoroughfair and construction started prior to any groundworks on the site
Failing that then it's not an edequate or particularly appealing proposal for the current infrastructure, public and road safety or general movement of commuters through inverclyde as It currently stands

#9 Posted by Pollyanna on 12 Feb 2020 at 19:41 PM

I agree with Mellie moo. As it currently stands the road layout and capacity in and around this new site is in no way equipped to cope with the additional traffic that would come from a development of this size. This coupled with the proposed housing development on the old Inverkip Power Station site would make travel from one side of Inverclyde to the other disastrous!

#10 Posted by Robin B's Discount on 13 Feb 2020 at 09:30 AM

Yeah, lets kaibosh this massive project because Mellie and Polly will have another 5 minutes on their commute!

This will generate significant additional Council Tax, which you would hope can go some way to regenerating the local area. The status quo is grim, so we should be supportive of all investment in the area. Moaning about the slight negatives rather than focussing on the numerous positives is a depressing way to look at life.

#11 Posted by Chris on 13 Feb 2020 at 09:39 AM

Honestly they should just flatten the Oak Mall, redirect the traffic and landscape the whole area.

Greenock is just too far gone to have any kind of renaissance. Too much of its historic fabric is gone.

#12 Posted by Pete Pedant on 14 Feb 2020 at 10:07 AM

The 'mothballed' IBM rail halt might be the least of their worries. I've heard that there're loads of wasps' nests all over the site, or least they have appeared over the last 6-12 months.

#13 Posted by Robin B's Discount on 14 Feb 2020 at 10:27 AM

Man, have we started protecting wasps the same way as bats...

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