RESIDENTS in Greenock say they have hit a brick wall over the design of 20 new houses in their community.

Some people living in Mallard Crescent are unhappy at the plans for the new properties, claiming that officials from River Clyde Homes have ‘gone back on their word’ over how they will look.

Locals fear the £2.6m development will stick out like a sore thumb because the new houses will have a red brick finish instead of dark wood, like throughout the rest of the estate.

Community activist Viny McNelis, who has lived in ‘The Valley’ since 1944, said: “Two years ago we were told that the houses would be wood cladded to coincide with the original houses.

“Now we’re told — and we were shown drawings of the houses — that they will be red brick.

“If they’re going to make them brick then they should paint them dark to blend in with the area.”

Work on the new houses is expected to start today.
Chrissy Boyle has lived in the area for more than 50 years and was one of the first tenants in the existing timber-clad properties.

She said: “I was told the new ones were going to be timber as well.

“That’s what I thought was going to happen.”

John Cooke, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 31 years, argues that residents were not properly consulted about the plans.

He says they raised the issue of the new-builds’ red brick facade with RCH officials at a public meeting a fortnight ago.

He said: “They just shrugged it off.

“The consultation has been a laugh.”

RCH were granted planning permission for the development in June this year.

It will consist of a mixture of two and three-bed terraced and semi-detached properties for social rent with 24 parking spaces.

The homes will be built on land in the middle of ‘The Valley’ between Mallard Crescent and Merlin Lane, where four blocks of flats used to stand.

No comment was available from River Clyde Homes.