A CALL for a 'critical' cash injection to help ensure the survival of firms facing disruption due to the ongoing West Blackhall Street regeneration works has been made by the area’s MSP.

Stuart McMillan has penned a joint letter with Inverclyde’s Chamber of Commerce to Inverclyde Council’s chief executive Louise Long.

In his correspondence, the SNP politician raised concerns about the impact that works currently taking place on Greenock’s historic high street could have on local businesses.

READ MORE: Fresh closure fears for Greenock businesses as new works start on the high street

Parts of West Blackhall Street, Nicolson Street and Westburn Street will be closed for various periods of time over the course of the coming months as the second phase of a £3.2million project to redevelop the town’s traditional high street takes place.  

(Image: Newsquest)

Mr McMillan said in his letter that it was ‘critical’ for Inverclyde Council to make funding available to help support businesses, as they did during phase one of the works.

The letter read: “I am writing this joint letter with Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce to ask Inverclyde Council to consider making additional funding available to businesses affected by Phase 2 of the regeneration works in Greenock town centre.

“The former MP Ronnie Cowan and myself previously made representations to Inverclyde Council about this, and I appreciate that £100,000 was set aside to support businesses while these works were ongoing.

“However, the Chamber and I are concerned that Phase 2 will cause similar disruption, which is why we are advocating on behalf of the business community for further support to be made available.

“We recognise that finances are tight, but we believe that additional investment is worth it to ensure businesses and their customers can benefit from the improved paving and layout of West Blackhall Street.

“Even if it is a smaller amount, that extra help could be the difference between businesses surviving this project or having to close.

“Ultimately, we all want to see the local business community thrive. The Chamber and I are of the opinion that additional funding is therefore critical to ensure they have that opportunity once the project has concluded.”

Several Greenock town centre business owners told the Telegraph last week that they feared the latest phase of works would cause footfall to plummet and drive down their takings.

They called for the council to consider setting up another fund similar to the £100,000 resilience fund it created earlier this year to support firms affected by the cost-of-living crisis and the upheaval caused by the town centre roadworks.

(Image: George Munro)

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson confirmed the local authority had received the letter and that its chief executive would provide a response ‘in due course’.

They added: “We are committed to supporting businesses in and around West Blackhall Street and that’s precisely why we have secured millions of pounds of external funding to carry out the various improvement works in order to make the area a more vibrant, modern, and appealing place to live, work, visit and do business.

“It is worth bearing in mind that the original £100,000 business resilience fund was established as a one-off initiative to support small and medium sized businesses in the area affected by the cost-of-living crisis, as well as the improvement works on West Blackhall Street.

“We were only able to do this having received permission to reallocate UK Government funding and following approval by members of the council’s environment and regeneration committee to go ahead with this special intervention.

“Following discussions with local businesses and in respect of the unique circumstances, we have been able to increase the overall funding available so that all eligible businesses in the area would benefit from a one-off grant of £2,500.

“To date, 59 local businesses have received grants totalling £147,500.

“A further six businesses may also be eligible for a grant which would take the total level of support to £162,500 if relevant criteria is met.

“With the original allocation already increased, there is currently no scope to provide similar grant funding.

“We are working closely with the contractor to ensure works are concluded as quickly as possible and that disruption is kept to a minimum, which is why phase two is being carried out in several stages."