Gourock
Transport Interchange: Minister Calls Crisis Talks
Transport Minister, Tavish Scott, is to
hold a summit with Inverclyde Council and the company in charge of the Gourock
waterfront development to try and break the deadlock which is threatening the
entire project.
Speaking after meeting the
Minister this morning, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, said
swift action was needed if the project was not to be lost forever.
“I am deeply concerned that
Network Rail will use a perceived green light from the Minister to proceed with
refurbishment of Gourock station,” he said today. “That
would kill the transport interchange plan stone dead.
The plan requires the station to be moved and who would refurbish, then
move, a railway station? It would
be a total waste of public money.
“And I’m astounded by
Cllr Blair’s remarks that he is looking for an announcement from the
Executive, as if it’s somehow an Executive project.
This plan was in development before the Scottish Executive was even
set-up and it’s collapsing because, despite promises from Inverclyde Council
and the developer that the funding gap could be bridged, next to no progress has
been made. I completely understand
the Minister’s frustration at that.
“Over the past few weeks,
therefore, I have been working to make people aware of just how high the stakes
now are and, when I met the Minister this morning, I was delighted that he
offered to convene an early meeting with the main players.
“Although the Gourock
development is now hanging by a thread, there is still one last chance to pull
it off. The Executive’s money is
still on the table, as is funding from SPT. But the people on the ground need to
get their act together.”
ENDS
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