FED-UP residents have hit out over their street being blocked for six months by 'temporary' fencing erected following a blaze which tore through a tenement.

The barrier cuts Highholm Street in half, which means people living in the lower part of it can't drive into their street or park outside their homes.

It was blocked up by the council for safety reasons in the wake of the blaze, but the fence also means that emergency services cannot get full access. 

People living in the adjacent close say council officials have told them that they are trying trace owners in the fire-damaged one, but in the meantime the fence remains in the way and is causing major inconvenience.

David McGee, 35, who lives in the street with his wife Jill and baby, said: "My daughter Evie was born on the Thursday before the fire and we had to stay with family for eight weeks.

"I have to park my car at Tesco and it's become difficult for me and my wife just to get Evie back home.

"Ambulances and fire engines also can't get access to our street.

"An ambulance came out four weeks ago because I have a heart condition due to Covid.

"The paramedics had to park at the other end of the street and it took them 10 minutes to walk up to my house.

"If I'd a heart attack I wouldn't have made it.

"We even asked the council if they could open up half of the road but they say they need to get insurance sorted out from the owners.

"I pay my council tax and cannot park my car at my own house because some folk have not got insurance."

Mr McGee believes the building should now be demolished.

He said: "It is not safe - kids have already broken in."

His neighbour Ben Withers, who lives in the same close, says he first contacted the council a month after the fire to ask when the fence would be removed and access restored.

Mr Withers said: "I was told by Building Standards that the council had not been able to contact all of the owners of the affected building.

"They said once all of the insurers had completed their investigations those owners would erect scaffolding that would allow partial reopening of the road."

Ben, 37, added: "We are now approaching the six month anniversary of the fire.

"For how long must the residents of the building immediately adjacent be subject to damp, mould and water damage every time the rain falls through the gaping wound left by the fire?

"How long must we wait to regain access to our own street?

"We are long past an acceptable timeframe to still be waiting for the property owners to act.

"If any of the members of our local council lived with us on this other side of our fence, it would have been dealt with months ago.

"We deserve better than this."

A woman from the street, who did not want to be named, said: "The building should be pulled down.

"There is nowhere to park, you can't get any deliveries to your house and the binmen empty the bins but abandon them on the street and don't bring them back."

The impasse could now be set to continue.

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “The building is in mixed ownership and it is ultimately a matter for the owners to repair and maintain the property.

“We put up a fence around the building following the fire to make the area secure and prevent access until it has been determined what the next steps are.

“We have engaged and will continue to engage with the owners to encourage a speedy resolution for all involved but unfortunately when there are several private owners and other factors at play this process can take time.”