SCOTLAND'S Auditor General has been asked to investigate a company whose directors include Inverclyde Council leader Stephen McCabe after public funds were used to secure land in Greenock which is now wholly owned by private firm Clydeport.
Money from the government-funded City Deal was used to acquire the former AP Jess plot in the town to expand the acreage of the new £11 million Inchgreen Marine Park.
The £600,000 purchase was paid for on a 50-50 basis between Inverclyde Council and Clydeport but the land is not owned by the company the two organisations jointly formed — Inchgreen Marine Park Ltd.
Clydeport is the sole owner of the AP Jess plot — as well as the entire marine park area — and leases it to the Inchgreen Marine Park joint venture as part of a 75-year deal.
It has also emerged that the council last year waived a £310,000 marine park dividend payment.
The local authority recently claimed this money back after a pressure group — which has questioned the exclusion of Inchgreen Dry Dock from the marine park — raised the matter.
Now the Campaign to Save Inchgreen Dry Dock has called for a full probe by Auditor General Stephen Boyle, and also the 'suspensions' of Councillor McCabe and his fellow marine park company director, Councillor Christopher Curley.
(Image: Archive)
Campaign Secretary Robert Buirds said: "The council applied for the use of City Deal funding of £300,000 towards the cost of purchasing the AP Jess land. The ultimate betrayal of the people of Inverclyde is that Clydeport Operations Ltd is now the registered owner of that land, which was purchased for £600,000.
"Nearly £11 million of public funds has been allocated to the refurbishment of Inchgreen...this generosity is excused with the promise of jam tomorrow by Inverclyde councillors who have miserably failed in their public duty to monitor and question Inchgreen Marine Park Limited directors.
"We have written to Auditor General Stephen Boyle asking for an investigation into Inchgreen Marine Park Ltd’s use of public funds.
"We have requested the suspension of the two Inverclyde councillors who are current board members of Inchgreen Marine Park Ltd while the investigation is ongoing."
Councillor McCabe dismissed the 'allegations of impropriety' as 'malicious and vexatious', adding that they are 'just another example of the Campaign to Save Inchgreen Dry Dock’s smearing of the council and Peel Ports'.
Mr McCabe said: "We have nothing to fear from an investigation by the Auditor General. All public funds invested in Inchgreen Marine Park to date have been properly accounted for and the council’s and the public’s interests protected.
"We will not let the campaign of harassment from Mr Buirds and his colleagues distract us from the job of attracting jobs and investment to Inchgreen, including investment in the dry dock.
"With their ongoing smears and attention seeking, however, the leaders of the campaign are undermining our efforts to bring companies to Inverclyde."
Councillor Curley said: "The former Jess site sits in the middle of the Inchgreen development and its acquisition, in my opinion, significantly improves the development potential of the remainder of the site.
"There is a saying that ‘perfection is the enemy of good’. The Inchgreen development will be by no means perfect, but it has the potential to be extremely good in regenerating the Inchgreen area, providing sustainable and long-term jobs, and creating income potential for wider investment throughout Inverclyde until 2097."
A Peel Ports Clydeport spokesperson said: “The reason for this ownership structure is that it provides the easiest way to unlock upcoming investment plans, and the incorporation of the AP Jess land allows for a wider range of potential tenants to be targeted.
“We are fully transparent about our relationship with Inverclyde Council, and we are happy to discuss this further if required.”
An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “The Inchgreen Marine Park joint venture is an exciting opportunity to breathe new life into an underused industrial site in a prime waterfront location to attract further inward investment and, crucially, create jobs for the area.
“Indeed a huge amount of work has already been completed, as reported by the Greenock Telegraph earlier this year, to make the site ready for tenants to move in and discussions are ongoing with a number of interested parties.
“The former Jess site had lain empty for several years and is a key strategic site. It was paid for jointly by the council and Clydeport through the joint venture with the council’s share met from City Deal funding.
“Clydeport is the registered owner of the site in keeping with its ownership of surrounding sites and buildings. The council retains a 50 per cent beneficial interest through its 50 per cent stake in the joint venture which has a lease for the whole marine park site, including the former Jess site.
“The annual accounts referred to, which are publicly available online, cover the period up to 31 March 2023 and at that time the council chose to waive its share of a dividend but the council has since taken its share of the dividend – just under £310,000 – and this will be reflected in the latest set of annual accounts when they are published in due course.
“We should be talking up this key Inverclyde site and we hope that others will share in our positive vision for unlocking its potential and helping to encourage job creation and further investment.”
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