A £5 MILLION project to build new houses in Port Glasgow as part of a wider plan to re-home residents of rundown Clune Park is set to get underway on Monday.

Developer Persimmon will begin work on the 46-property Lower Mary Street site, pictured, as Inverclyde Council continues to fight a huge legal battle over its controversial plans to demolish the privately-owned estate.

Local authority leader Stephen McCabe today confirmed that contractors will be on site from 1 December to start ground preparation work.

He said: “It is anticipated that the new houses will be built by October next year.” Councillor McCabe declined to discuss the ongoing court proceedings brought by Clune Park property owners who say that the council’s case to bulldoze the scheme is not valid.

He said: “The legal process is in the hands of the court and will be dealt with.

“We remain focused on our Clune Park strategy, and that is what we will seek to achieve.” Plans for the Lower Mary Street new builds — part of a joint partnership between Persimmon and the Link Housing Association — were lodged with the council a year ago.

The 46 new properties will be made up of flats plus semi-detached and terraced houses.

Fifty car parking spaces also form part of the project, along with landscaping work and new access roads.

The Telegraph told last year how the Scottish Government was providing £2.8m of funding for the project through its Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

The development will feature a mixture of 28 properties for social rent and 18 for sale.

Councillor McCabe hopes that the Clune Park site could be used for further new housing should the council win the right to flatten it.

He said: “That may be a few years away, but that is what I personally would like to see.

“Hopefully the site can be developed and a community can be established and flourish in that area.” More than 260 legal challenges have been lodged against council demolition notices in Clune Park.

The local authority, which has commissioned four structural reports, says the entire estate is below tolerable standard and must be torn down.

But Clune Park owner occupiers and landlords have rival evidence which they say contradicts the council’s position.

The next court hearing on the matter is due to be heard in January.