Inverclyde Council’s redevelopment of Rankin Park has been marred by delays but now there are claims the project is in disarray due to drainage and turfing problems.

Local authority SNP group leader Chris McEleny says he has received a number of reports from people that the £1.5m complex is a ‘disaster’ and he has pressed officials for an explanation at a meeting of the education and communities committee on Wednesday.

Construction work is still to be completed on site and council officers have admitted there are a ‘number of issues’, but they say it should be ready for amateur teams for the next football season.

Despite assurances that ‘turfing’ the pitch would create a better end product instead of ‘seeding’ it, Cllr McEleny says he has been told that large areas of the park are dying from disease already and that the park is badly flooded with newly installed drainage at fault.

He said: “I’ve had reports that the drainage just isn’t working and the turfing of the new pitch has been a disaster.

“I have requested a site visit with council officials so that we can ascertain if reactive measures are indeed required as feared.

“To be perfectly blunt I think people are getting fed up of public money being spent on facilities only to see more money required to fix problems that shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

“You only need to look at the upgraded Gourock Pool, which was opened with changing rooms that had no drainage, to find a recent example.” Council officials say they will set up the site visit.

The Rankin Park project has been dogged by setbacks since contractors started on site two years ago.

A new grass football pitch was due to be laid in summer 2013 but problems with pipework meant it was delayed by 12 months.

The changing pavilion was due to be completed by the end of October 2013 but this work also ran on.

John Arthur, the council’s head of safer and inclusive communities, said: “There are a number of issues still to be resolved on site.” But Mr Arthur added that the facility should still be ready for the start of the new football season in the summer and said that officials were keeping a close eye on the work.

He said: “I know there were meetings in the last few weeks where I am informed the grass is taking as expected, and drainage is working.” But Cllr McEleny remains unconvinced.

He said: “Rankin Park has been an expensive project. I personally raised concerns at the time before construction that £1.5m for a car park, a changing room and a new grass park was not value for money in these times of budget pressures. I want to make sure that after paying such a price we are left with a fit for purpose facility.”