COUNCILLORS have supported a ‘risky’ £550,000 public art project following a heated meeting in the Municipal Buildings.

The Tele reported recently how the cost of the 36ft tall ‘Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow’ sculpture had more than doubled.

It was due to go on top of the roundabout at the western entrance to the town and should have been completed by spring this year.

But the project is behind schedule, significantly over budget and the location for the statue is being changed to Coronation Park.

At a meeting of the environment and regeneration committee, Port councillor Drew McKenzie expressed concern about the cost of the project amidst budget cuts.

Mr McKenzie said: “I’m very concerned about the negativity now around this project.

“I went to the community council meeting the other night and people were very concerned with the price.

“The Greenock Telegraph last week, through Facebook, asked for comments and it was 100 per cent negative.”

Mr McKenzie suggested that safeguards should be put in place to prevent the sculpture costing any more.

He added: “We should go very slowly with this project and take the public with it because at this time I don’t think it’s money well spent.”

Council leader Stephen McCabe responded angrily to Mr McKenzie’s remarks, stating that the councillor and the rest of the committee members had unanimously supported the increased cost of the sculpture at a private meeting.

He said: “We did have a detailed and frank discussion at the previous meeting of the committee.

“I laid it on the line to this committee that people would question the value for money. But the committee decided to proceed.”

Mr McKenzie replied that budget discussions had caused him to re-think the increased cost of the sculpture.

He added: “Since the last meeting we have all sat round the various groups and discussed budget cuts and that is the thing that brought it home more than anything.

“I think we have to be careful with this project as it’s a lot of money.”

But Mr McCabe warned that a lot of money had already been ‘committed’ to the project.

He said that councillors would have to decide whether or not to scrap the project. Mr McCabe added: “This is a risky, risky project – there is no doubt about it.

“So we either remove the risk by cancelling or we proceed.

“It’s a sculpture that could be there for generations and could be there for the next hundred years.”

At this point, the Tele and members of the public were asked to leave the meeting. After a private discussion between councillors, the meeting re-convened to the public and Mr McKenzie stated that the committee had agreed that the sculpture should go ahead at Coronation Park.

The decision is subject to approval by the Port Glasgow Regeneration Forum, which meets on September 18.