CONCERNS have been raised about the hazardous condition of another Greenock town centre building.

Local businessman Ken McArthur, pictured, is fearful about the state of the former social club on Dalrymple Street.

It is next to the old Emporium Outlet, which is also in a perilous condition as was recently highlighted in the Tele, and Mr McArthur is growing increasingly concerned about the impact it is having on surrounding shops — including the one he owns on West Blackhall Street.

The property is believed to have been a former jazz club and was once the social club for local SMT buses staff.

It is thought to have been empty for as long as 20 years and has fallen into a state of disrepair, with a number of large cracks on the walls, several smashed windows and broken or blocked drains.

Mr McArthur is worried that the blockages will lead to rainwater gathering on the roof of his and neighbouring shops and eventually flood them.

The businessman believes the building may also contain potentially dangerous asbestos and said that the poor state of the property is attracting vermin and pigeons.

He told the Tele: “Everything just falls down onto our building.

“My issue is it’s choking the gutters and the rain water is going to flood my shop and the electronics place next door as well.

“It would be safe to assume buildings of that age, more often than not, contain asbestos.

“The bottom line is that it’s dangerous.”

Mr McArthur, who is from Greenock, has called on local authority building standards officials to step in and put pressure on the the owner of the building to keep on top of maintenance.

He said: “I have been communicating with the council for 12 years in regard to the hazard this building poses.

“I’ve been told on many occasions the council is dealing with the issues, however, there is never any action and we are left to clean up the mess on a bi-weekly basis to keep our building wind and watertight.

“We’ve done all this but we really shouldn’t have to.”

An Inverclyde Council spokesman says efforts are being made to address the situation.

He said: “We have been speaking to the owner about ensuring public safety.”