28/09/2009 - The Ministry of Defence planned to close Greenock’s Navy Buildings to save money — raising fears that the Coastguard could be forced out of Inverclyde along with their 60 jobs.

The Eldon Street building was set to shut in March 2011 and the site would possibly be sold for housing if the proposal goes ahead, also meaning that the Naval Reserve unit HMS Dalriada would need to find a new home.

Inverclyde MP David Cairns had sent a strongly worded letter to Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth, saying he was extremely concerned about the implications.

Mr Cairns demanded to know what plans were in place for future locations for the services and what contact the MoD had made with the Transport Department over the future of the coastguard services on the Clyde.

The MP stated: “There are around 60 local people employed here and I will strongly oppose any moves to re-locate these jobs out of Inverclyde, coming as it does in the immediate aftermath of the Treasury decision to close our historic Custom House with the loss of more than 100 local posts.

“The River Clyde continues to see high volumes of shipping traffic and Greenock is a busy port.

"It is also an ideal location from which to provide cover for a large geographical area covering much of the west of Scotland and has performed extremely well for many years.

“No decision to close Navy Buildings and re-locate this service should be considered until the implications for the safety of shipping on the Clyde have been thoroughly investigated.”

Mr Cairns said he appreciated the constraints on Government budgets as well as the desire to ensure defence spending is targeted towards front-line troops, but he was ‘extremely concerned’ about the implications of the decision to close the facility on a site which has been used for defence purposes for well over 100 years.

The news also came only days after the launch of a £2.5 million search and rescue centre at Greenock fire station which was staffed by coastguards as well as firefighters and police.

Local MSP Ross Finnie also slammed the decision, saying: “I am dismayed that yet again the Government is intent on closing down Government buildings in Inverclyde.

"First it was the Customs Building at Customhouse Quay and now we have the decision to close and sell the Navy Buildings in Greenock, after spending money to refurbishment these buildings just to close them down in 2011.

“The potential loss of jobs in Greenock is very concerning.”

A Royal Navy spokesman said the Navy Buildings was too expensive to run and was not as wind or watertight as it could be.

He said: “We will negotiate with the coastguards and HMS Dalriada to find alternative accommodation for them.”

He could not comment on speculation that the Coastguard would be moved to the Faslane naval base.