Press Release
19th January 2000
Flooding
MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, will today use a Members Debate in the Scottish Parliament to highlight the problem of flooding in Inverclyde.
He will lead the debate he tabled following the most recent series of floods and will be placing on the record the great strides Inverclyde has taken in recent years.
Mr McNeil will highlight the fact that the area is neither a dreary backwater nor a miserable shipbuilding town, but in fact the export capital of Scotland.
"In recent years, Inverclyde in General and Greenock in particular has pulled itself up by the bootstraps. We are working hard to reverse the damage done by the decline of traditional industries … and are now beginning to see the rewards.
"We used to build ships, we now build microchips. We are continuing to succeed in attracting major high-tech investment and large leisure developments. Derelict dockyards have been replaced with dynamic conference centres. Unemployment and degeneration replaced by new job jobs and fresh opportunities."
Mr McNeil will state that while he feels proud when he looks at these achievements, he is also apprehensive that flooding could undo all the good and threaten continued investment.
He will highlight the extent of this threat and mention the disruption and financial loss sustained by local business and services. The extra strain placed on the police, courts and the council, among others, will also be cited, as will the threat to every part of the constituency. The marina at Inverkip, the Oak Mall, Waterfront Complex, housing in Wemyss Bay, transport hub at Gourock and, of course, major electronics plants will all be highlighted as potential victims of the floods.
ENDS
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