CAMPAIGNERS fighting to breathe fresh industrial life into Greenock's dormant Inchgreen Dry Dock have secured a milestone victory at the Scottish Parliament.
A petition calling for the 'jewel' in Inverclyde's marine industrial infrastructure - which has lain unused for 20 years - to be brought into public ownership has been welcomed by a Holyrood committee.
MSP Paul Sweeney - who has a background in Clyde shipbuilding - said that the petition from the Campaign to Save Inchgreen Dry Dock 'makes some serious and valid points'.
Campaign secretary Robert Buirds launched the petition in June following a failure by Inchgreen owner, Clydeport - part of the Peel Ports Group - to bring any industrial redevelopment to what is Scotland's largest dry dock.
A plan hailed by local politicians in 2021 to turn Inchgreen into a ship scrappage facility and create 100 skilled jobs came to nought after the fledgling company behind the project failed to being a single ship to Greenock.
The petition calls on the Scottish Government to revoke Peel Ports Group’s status as the harbour authority for the River Clyde and its estuary, and establish a municipal port authority in Clydeport’s place.
Campaigners are also seeking the compulsory purchase of Inchgreen Dry Dock for the benefit of the Inverclyde community.
The petition satates: “The Peel Ports Group owns Clydeport, which operates as the harbour authority for 450 square miles along the River Clyde.
“They have anchorages near residential areas and continually fail to engage with communities.
“The dry dock has lain empty for 20 years with many broken promises to maintain and return it to a fully operational marine facility.”
The Scottish Government has said it 'has no plans to explore compulsorily purchasing, revoking the powers of, or nationalising Clydeport'.
But MSP Mr Sweeney said: “I think there’s a general long standing concern that the Clyde has been in a pattern of managed decline and disinvestment over many years.
“We’ve seen recently the publication of statistics on population and the west of Scotland is in long term decline.
“There is a broader issue here that the Government really needs to pay more attention to. We need to have a serious ports policy.
“I also think it would be good if Peel Group would respond to some of this.
“I think it’s important that they justify their position and set out their plans for investment on the Clyde.
“No one is, per se, against Peel, what we’re concerned about is the lack of clear operational ambition for the Clyde as an asset.
“If they were to rise to that challenge I think people would be more relaxed about their stewardship of the river.”
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Mr Sweeney advised that the committee should consider reaching out to ‘major industrial companies’ on the Clyde, such as BAE Systems and Malin Group – as well as Maritime UK and other trade bodies.
Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, recommended that the committee write to the British Ports Association, CMAL, CalMac Ferries and councils in Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and Glasgow.
Convenor Jackson Carlaw said: “Very happy to take all these issues forward at this stage.
“We’ll obviously consider the petition further and decide what we might want to further do when we get the various responses.”
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