A COMMUNITY campaigner has raised questions over the full cost of a Port Glasgow town centre regeneration scheme.

Alastair Laing, who is the chair of Slaemuir Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, has hit out at both the new spur road off the A8 and changes to Shore Street, which has been shut for several weeks as part of a big revamp.

Mr Laing, speaking in a personal capacity as a resident of the town, feels the spur road — which is aimed at bringing trunk road traffic into the town — is a waste of money.

He says the people in charge of the project must also confirm if delays to the work in Shore Street will result in additional expenditure. 

He said: “This is my own personal opinion.

“I think the delay to regeneration work in Shore Street is to get us used to using the spur road instead of going past the town clock.”

Contractors working on the Shore Street project have been hit with delays after discovering that power cables were nearer to the surface than previously thought.

The hold-up is angering traders, who say it is hitting them in the pocket.

It is not known how long it will take for the road to re-open but a traffic regulation order is in effect until February 16.

Mr Laing said: “I want to know what costs this has added.

“It was 2017 when these cables were discovered.

“Surely they could have used modern technology to find out how far under the ground these cables were?”

The Tele asked urban regeneration company Riverside Inverclyde, which is delivering the project on behalf of the council, if any extra money would be required due to the delays.

A spokesman for the regeneration company said: “We don’t have this detail yet given the works are still ongoing.”

The spokesman added that he did ‘not know’ if there would be any additional costs.

A site meeting is due to be held tomorrow when more information on a completion date and costs will be available.