Police probe blaze at church
Russell Steele • Published 9 Nov 2009 14:00
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A DERELICT church in Greenock's east end will have to be demolished after a massive blaze tore through it.
The former Cartsdyke Parish Church, in John Street, was gutted by a massive inferno which started around 10pm on Saturday night - and now the building has been declared unsafe.
Fire crews from Greenock and Port Glasgow battled the blaze, which is not being treated as deliberate at this stage.
Police today said it was possible a stray firework had hit the building and started the fire.
DS Scott McCallum, of Greenock CID, said: "At the moment there is no evidence from either the fire service or our inquiries to say this was a wilful act.
"There was a lot of firework debris around the church and it may have been a misdirected firework."
Building services officials have inspected the church and it is now set to be bulldozed.
DS McCallum said: "My information is that building control have said it is unsafe.
"Fencing has been put up around the building and it will require to be demolished."
The old church was persistently targeted by vandals last summer, with youths repeatedly trying to set fire to it.
At the time, police chiefs warned the vandals were putting lives at risk and the building was branded 'a deathtrap'.
The stricken church has been unoccupied for some time and was the subject of a successful planning application in June 2005.
A London-based businessman got permission to convert it into 14 loft-style apartments - but the development never went ahead.
This article appeared in Greenock Telegraph 09 Nov 09
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