A MOVE to bulldoze part of the Oak Mall shopping centre and build more than 100 new flats has been backed by planning chiefs.

A decision was due to be made on the blueprint by councillors at a meeting this week, but bosses ended up cancelling it as the paperwork had not been issued to them early enough.

The plans are now set to be discussed at the next meeting of the planning board on November 3, when officers will ask councillors to give the application the green light.

The Mall’s owners want to knock down the part of the centre that goes beneath the A78 main road, right back along to the existing entrance at Clyde Square, with the current tenants being offered space within the scaled-down centre.

They then want to create a new glazed entrance to the truncated section –  similar to the existing one at Dalrymple Street – and form a paved area to link it with Hunter Place.

Beyond this, there are plans to landscape the area to the east of High Street, which would eventually become home to 119 one and two-bedroom flats.

The new entrance and the flatted development are to be connected by a new A78 underpass.

The flats would be spread across a five-storey block to the rear of the Central Library and a six-storey tower to the west of Hector McNeil House.

A community hub is also set to be incorporated into the ground floor of the five-storey building.

Back in 2019, a previous proposal to bulldoze part of the Mall was refused due to a lack of certainty surrounding the future use of the gap site that would be created.

Mall bosses then came back with a new plan.

The fresh application includes plans for landscaping and flats and council chiefs say the development would give the Oak Mall and town centre a more 'positive image'.

Stuart Jamieson, the local authority's interim service director of environment and economic recovery, said in a report: “A loss of retail floorspace was a source of concern and indeed one of the reasons for refusal of the previous proposal.

“In the interim, the retail environment has continued to deteriorate with an ever-increasing number of vacancies within the Oak Mall, particularly within the eastern part.

“Therefore, although the loss of retail floorspace was rejected in the previous planning application, it is appropriate to reconsider this matter.

“The large scale vacancy in the eastern part of the Oak Mall, in particular, presents a very negative image and adversely impacts on the centre’s overall vitality.

“I consider the proposal now presented will result in a more positive image of the Oak Mall which will benefit the vitality and viability of Greenock town centre.”

While parking provision cannot be made on the site, documents say 66 spaces will be made available for residents of the flats at the King Street car park and a former nearby service area at Smith Street.

Oak Mall bosses have said the centre has been hit hard by the general decline of high street retail and a shift to online shopping.

They have said it no longer functions as 'a proper retail destination' due to increasing vacancies and that the consolidation of functioning units will help protect the vibrancy of the mall.

Several units under the trunk road have also been hit by water ingress and are now unfit for businesses to move into.