TWO prime sites in Greenock are on the verge of being sold, the Tele can reveal.

Inverclyde Council officials are locked in talks with potential buyers over the sale of the former registry office building in West Stewart Street and to offload the old Bogston petrol station site.

Both are 'under offer'.

Negotiations over the former registry office are at an advanced stage with local authority chiefs hopeful of concluding the sale 'soon'.

There is also an offer on the table for the Bogston site, although it will take longer to get a deal over the line.

The plot is listed as 'common good' land, meaning the council will have to launch a public consultation about the sale before it can be finalised.

A council spokesman said: "We are actively looking to market several sites across Inverclyde.

"For the West Stewart Street site we hope to complete the sale soon."

The former Esso petrol station, on the border between Greenock and Port Glasgow, shut in 2006 and the site was cleared three years ago to make it more attractive to potential suitors.

It is in a prominent position next to the busy A8 and has been the subject of several bids over the years but nothing has ever materialised.

Council officials are keen to sell the site as a development opportunity but will also listen to offers to lease the plot.

The former West Stewart Street registry building has been empty for almost a year.

The office block, which also housed the council's safer communities team, shut in October 2017.

Staff were transferred to the refurbished former education headquarters on William Street with marriage ceremonies moved to a new suite within Port Glasgow Town Hall.