COUNCIL chiefs are pushing for the demolition of the former Greenock Academy to take place as soon as possible — as costs spiral to £230,000.

The Madeira Street building has been lying empty since last May when the Waterloo Road drama was axed by BBC bosses and filming stopped on the site.

The cost of securing the building and the significant amount of asbestos inside it have both been blamed for pushing the bill up.

Now council chief executive John Mundell has used emergency powers to speed up the demolition process.

Originally the council set aside £164,000 to cover the cost of demolition.

But a total of £71,000 from that pot of cash has been spent on securing the site since the departure of the Waterloo Road production team.

This has resulted in a shortfall in the budget to cover the demolition, which will now cost £230,000.

Council bosses will have to identify money from other budgets to fund the demolition, which will be carried out by Reigart Contracts.

The former Greenock Academy site was used by Shed Productions for two years to film the BBC TV drama before it was shelved.

In a report written by Municipal Buildings officials, councillors on the education committee have been told: “It should be noted that the lease of the building to Shed Media resulted in considerable economic benefit and promotion of the Inverclyde area through employment and business opportunities for local people and companies.” Once cleared, the prime land in the west end will be sold off by the council, with housing developers likely to be interested.

Greenock Academy shut in 2011 as the school was merged with Gourock High to form Clydeview Academy at a brand new £27 million campus at Bayhill in Gourock.

The final episodes of Waterloo Road are currently being broadcast on BBC One on Monday evenings.