A GREENOCK councillor has branded a new £325,000 Port Glasgow shipbuilding sculpture a ‘waste of money’ – despite it receiving unanimous backing from his own party including his deputy leader.

The SNP’s Math Campbell-Sturgess has hit out at ‘The Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow’ artwork which will sit on top of the roundabout at the western entrance to the town by the spring next year.

He has labelled the artwork a ‘scandalous waste of money’ and accused the Labour administration of carrying out a ‘vanity’ project even though his deputy leader and Port councillor Jim MacLeod is in favour.

The development also received unanimous cross-party support at a previous meeting of the environment and regeneration committee - of which Cllr Campbell-Sturgess is a member - and also received huge support from the public, who chose the design.

But the ward three councillor is unhappy at Inverclyde Council’s investment of just over £200,000 in the project and a further spend of nearly £90,000 to upgrade toilets at the historic Municipal Buildings in Greenock.

In an online rant on his blog, the SNP’s Mr Campbell-Sturgess said: “It is quite staggering to me that these sums of money are being spent by Labour on vanity projects whilst we have such deep problems in Inverclyde.

“When I challenged the administration on this, council leader Cllr McCabe said it was a £200,000 investment for Port Glasgow. With shops closing all around us, one-in-four of our children in poverty, and serious matters like depopulation and a lack of local employment, I am baffled why Labour feel it is appropriate to spend almost £300,000 on a statue in the middle of a roundabout and two toilets in the council buildings.

“They are literally pouring money down the toilet.”

Council leader Mr McCabe hit back and said Cllr Campbell-Sturgess ‘must have been sleeping’ when the committee ‘unanimously approved’ both projects.

He has accused the Greenock councillor of ‘electioneering’ ahead of the Scottish Parliament poll on Thursday.

Labour’s Cllr McCabe said: “It’s election time so he’s electioneering.

“Cllr Campbell-Sturgess is perfectly entitled to the view that it’s a waste of money but I take the opposite view and think it’s a good use of public money.

“There was a long process of decision-making and public consultation before that statue was chosen and the cost has been reported to committee and as far as I recall, it was unanimously approved.

“The purpose is two-fold – as part of the ongoing regeneration of Port Glasgow to try and make it a more attractive place and encourage more visitors to the town centre but more importantly to recognise the huge contribution of shipbuilding in Port Glasgow and the men and women who worked there building some of the best ships in the world.”

SNP council group deputy leader Councillor MacLeod is also in favour of the project.

He said: “The sculpture plan was approved unanimously at the time from what I can remember.

“I sit on the Port Glasgow Town Centre Regeneration Forum and there certainly hasn’t been any complaints.

“Individual councillors are entitled to their opinion and if that’s what he thinks that’s what he thinks.

“We are not whipped into line about everything. Sometimes it’s good and democratic for us to disagree about things.

“I think it will be a good thing and that’s my view.”