A PROBLEM hit Inverclyde public art project has more than doubled in price to over £500,000 following a series of issues.

The 36-foot tall ‘Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow’ sculpture was originally supposed to cost £250,000 but Inverclyde Council officials now expect it to hit £555,000.

It was due to go on top of the roundabout at the western entrance to the town and should have been completed by spring this year.

But the project is behind schedule, over budget and the location for the statue is being changed.

According to a new report, urban regeneration company Riverside Inverclyde is stumping up £455,000 towards the cost of the statue with an extra £100,000 coming from ‘external funding’.

There will also be a fresh delay for artist John McKenna’s 11-metre high steel structure after regeneration chiefs revealed that its location is being changed to Coronation Park.

Scott Allan, the council’s director of environment and regeneration, says the relocation stems from a ‘desire to make the sculpture more accessible and strengthen the association with Port Glasgow’.

He added: “The current approved location, within the centre of a busy roundabout, prevents access to the structure and will incur future costs in respect of maintenance due to the need to manage traffic.”

The shipbuilders design topped a public poll back in 2013 and it is aimed at improving the look of the area while honouring the town’s rich shipbuilding past.

Four years on, people have yet to see a glimpse of it.

A total of 16 alternative locations were considered but officials have now settled on the eastern section of Coronation Park, in line with John Wood Street.

The changes will mean new design work, site investigation and the need for a new planning permission application.

Council official Mr Allan said: “Consideration has been given to visual impact, ease of access for pedestrians, ease of maintenance, reduction of future cost and potential to fulfil the role of an iconic association with Port Glasgow.”

Councillors will be asked to agree to the new plan at a meeting later this month.

If given the go-ahead, the plans will then be put to the Port Regeneration Forum for final approval next month.