BUSINESSMEN Sandy and James Easdale have succeeded in their bid to increase the number of houses allowed as part of the £250 million redevelopment of the former IBM site at Greenock.
At a planning meeting held by Inverclyde Council this afternoon, councillors voted in favour of lifting the existing cap from 270 dwellings to 450.
The brothers, former directors at football club Rangers, had originally applied for 450 houses to be permitted as part of a mixed-use development which will include retail, leisure and commercial units. In March 2022, councillors gave the go-ahead for the scheme but with a reduction in the number of houses applied.
The Easdales noted that, "following extensive dialogue with council officials and an independent report indicating that a 270-unit development would leave the whole project unviable", the council “has moved to increase the upper limit to 450 houses”.
READ MORE: SNP Prestwick Airport backing pays off, with critics quieter
Sandy Easdale said: “The redevelopment of the former IBM Greenock site will be transformational for Inverclyde and we’re pleased that the council has chosen to increase the number of dwellings allowed.
“The reduction rendered the £250 million plan financially unviable and we would have lost the opportunity to attract new families to the area as well as the economic and jobs boost that will come from the development."
He added: “When IBM closed, it created not only an unemployment shock for the region but also a visible property scar with little hope of regeneration. Thankfully, the potential now exists to heal that wound by unlocking substantial investment and in turn, creating new long-term prosperity for the area.”
READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Don't be fooled – Tory Brexit disaster is nowhere near 'finished'
James Easdale said: “Whilst we have lost a year since the original planning decision was made, the council has engaged and listened to the evidence provided and to their credit, has now come to the correct decision.
“The independent report makes clear that it will take determination from us to make the project work, even at the 450 unit level, but we are resolute in our purpose to see the site revitalised for future generations."
READ MORE: Yes Minister doesn't have look-in as off-script Brexit stride is short
He added: "Inverclyde is a great place to live and work and by creating quality homes, we can attract more people to the region. We look forward to getting started in the months ahead.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article