A MULTI-million-pound project which aims to transform Greenock’s town centre is set to miss its completion deadline.  

Inverclyde Council has been given more than £20m of UK Government levelling up funding to revamp the town centre and improve road access into the area.

The project’s funding agreement required it to be finished by March 2026.

But officials from the local authority now say this cannot be achieved.

Inverclyde Council had hoped to start demolition works this year, but this has now been pushed back to early 2025.

However, members of the council’s environment and regeneration committee were told today that the UK government had confirmed they were open to an extension of the project’s timescales.

A new completion deadline of autumn 2026 is now being targeted by officials.  

Council leader Stephen McCabe said at today’s meeting he was ‘frustrated’ not to be further forward with the project.

He added: “This is a very important, very high profile project for the council and indeed for the community, and we really need to see this project delivered next year.”

The project includes plans to redesign the town centre’s roads by bringing the A78 flyover to ground level and removing the Bullring roundabout.

The council’s preference is to install a four-way signalised junction in place of the roundabout, and to replace the flyover with a road at ground level.

The plans would also involve the partial demolition of the Oak Mall shopping centre and of Hector McNeill House, which houses Inverclyde's health and social care partnership.

Officers are now aiming to have the detailed design and tender costs for the project ready to submit to councillors by January 2025, with the partial demolition of the Oak Mall and Hector McNeill House to take place next spring.

The work to flatten the A78 flyover is scheduled for completion by summer 2025, and all of the construction work is now expected to be wrapped up by late summer 2026.

The report states that the extended completion deadline is required to ensure that the demolition and construction programme is in line with THE governance requirements of the UK Government and the council.

Officials still believe that the project can be delivered on budget with some allowance for contingency.

Councillor Chris Curley echoed the council leader’s comments about the delay, but said he could also see positives in the new timescales.

He told Thursday's meeting: “I share the frustrations that we’ve not been able to progress and have some of the designs, but I can understand why that is.

“I think looking at the timescales that have now been put forward for the demolition and rebuild of the road in summer next year, which probably will fit in with trying to minimise disruption which probably makes sense.

“Not starting until after Christmas hopefully will maximise trade in the town centre up to Christmas as well, so there are benefits from it.”

Staff currently based at Hector McNeil House will be relocated to the nearby James Watt Building and the Banking Hall after its demolition.

The local authority estimates that bulldozing the building will save them £100,000,and that closing the public toilets on Hunter’s Place will result in a further saving of £6,000.

The council also anticipate the changes to the roundabout will result in a net cost of £3,000.