ASBESTOS has been found at a major Greenock regeneration site - and council officials say the cost of removing it could be ‘significant’.

Preparations are being made by the council and Riverside Inverclyde for a £3 million project to realign the top of Baker’s Brae, right, and create a new enterprise hub.

Old industrial buildings will have to be demolished during the work, which is scheduled to begin in November, but early tests have shown there is serious land contamination.

A council report says the regeneration team ‘has been alerted to a significant risk following receipt of the contamination report on test piles taken throughout the site’.

It says: “The report identified the presence of asbestos in a number of the trial pits and, depending on the amount discovered once on site, costs relating to its removal and remediation could be significant and may not be contained within the budget allowance for the project. 

“The consultants recommend, and the Corporate Director Environment, Regeneration and Resources is in favour of, tendering on the worst possible case - treatment of the full ‘cut and fill area’ from Baker’s Brae corner down to Ingleston Street.”

And the report adds: “Firm costs based on tender rates will be brought back to committee following the tender process.”