DEFIANT Inverclyde Council leader Stephen McCabe today questioned a brace of court rulings which spelled defeat for the local authority over its legal arguments to demolish Clune Park.

Mr McCabe – head of the Labour administration at the Municipal Buildings – told of his ‘surprise’ at the judgements of Sheriff Derek Hamilton, who described the evidence of a council-appointed expert as ‘flawed’, ‘inadequate’ and ‘tainted’.

Councillor McCabe did not refer in any detail to the sheriff’s findings, but declared in a broad statement that the case for bulldozing the dilapidated private Port Glasgow housing scheme, pictured, remains ‘very strong’.

The leader’s intervention comes in the wake of a behind-closed-doors meeting of the council’s communities committee at which officials were questioned about the current state of the costly Clune Park saga.

Mr McCabe said: “I am naturally very disappointed by the outcome of the court case and surprised by the sheriff’s decision.

“The council had – and continues to have – a very strong case for the course of action we are pursuing.”

He also took a swipe at SNP group leader Chris McEleny and Conservative David Wilson, who have criticised the council’s adopted strategy for Clune Park.

Mr Wilson had said that he was ‘not totally surprised’ by the court rulings, and urged the council to enter into discussions with landlords who own properties at the estate.

Councillor McEleny, meanwhile, said the local authority had ‘lost badly’ and that he had been advocating a ‘Plan B for Clune Park for years’.

Cllr McCabe said: “The strategy of the council has never been formally challenged by any member of the council, despite what two of them are now saying publicly.

“My disappointment and surprise was shared by all members of the education and communities committee, although admittedly councillors Wilson and McEleny were not present at the meeting to voice any views to the contrary.”

In his latest ruling, issued on November 15, Sheriff Hamilton said that ‘there was nothing before the court to support the defender’s [council’s] decision to serve demolition orders initially, or to have them remain in place’.

The sheriff added: “There was no evidence to replace the discredited evidence.”

But Councillor McCabe stressed: “The committee agreed unanimously, on a cross-party basis, to continue with our plan to secure the demolition of the [Clune Park] area as soon as possible.”

It has been claimed that the council’s final overall bill over its approach to the Clune Park matter will top £1 million – a figure that has not been refuted by the local authority under questioning from the Telegraph.

Councillor McCabe said: “We have also agreed to approach the Scottish Government once again for support.

“Hopefully they will be of more help than they were on previous occasions.

“Clune Park is a slum and an affront to our community.

“The area should be demolished and I will not rest until that objective is secured.”