A 'HYBRID' administrative mechanism to transfer the contaminated former Ravenscraig Hospital site to a private company for £1 was proposed in order to avoid 'red tape' after the land had been earmarked for social housing, the Telegraph can reveal.

Official emails, obtained as part of a Freedom of Information investigation into how Link Group Ltd acquired the polluted plot, point to an apparent desire by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde health board to fast track the process in a bid to find a 'solution'.

One uncovered message, emanating from the Scottish Government's property division and showing how the strategy was mooted, stated: "There is little merit in sticking to the letter of procedures..."

The email was referring to processes outlined in what is known as 'the trawl' — a mechanism used to advertise and dispose of publicly owned property within government departments.

A principal property adviser, who sent the email on August 28 in 2017, continues: "To come up with a 'hybrid' solution would seem eminently sensible."

The official adds: "Making this work will be of benefit to ministers so it would be a mistake to get tied up in 'red tape'!"

In an email written 11 days earlier, the health board's strategic disposals manager emphasised apparent importance on speeding up the transfer process.

The official wrote: "NHS GGC have been working with More Homes [a Scottish Government body] to encourage early entry rather than wait on a fully conditional/suspensive transaction 'back to back' with Link which was the original suggestion."

The so-called 'hybrid' solution, which was also outlined in the health board email of August 17 2017, fell 'between trawl guidelines and a fully traditional conditional contract'.

It allowed for More Homes to 'have comfort on major development risks' at Ravenscraig after a few months, once Link had carried out site investigations, to enable early entry, the email said.

A study commissioned by Link and signed off three months later identified 'multiple exceedances' of potentially harmful chemicals in the ground at the hospital site, including cadmium, mercury, arsenic and lead.

The land was transferred from the health board to More Homes and then to Link on March 29 2018, and the Scottish Government subsequently provided £22.8 million — 57 per cent of the total development costs — to the company in order to build 198 social rent homes there.

Link's date of entry to the site was the same day as the £1 transaction was completed.

The Scottish Government said: "The transfer of land was carried out in line with the SPFM [Scottish Public Finance Manual] guidance which was in place at the time."

The government added: "The valuation was carried out for NHS GGC and Scottish Government More Homes Division on the January 18 2018 in line with the procedures under the SPFM in place at the time.

"The valuation was informed by professional reports. The valuation concluded that there was a nil value/price attributable to the hospital site."

Link Group Ltd decided to use a 'capping layer' as a barrier between people and the pollutants at the Ravenscraig site.

World renowned contamination expert, Professor Andrew Watterson, said at the time: "The mitigation solution [capping] is offered and not the removal of hazards. This would de facto reflect a cost rather than public health assessment."

A Link spokesperson stated previously: "Like all our developments, we have followed robust, transparent, regulated, and statutory requirements at Ravenscraig."

The spokesperson added: "We are delighted to be handing these affordable homes on to people and families — the new development is proving very popular with the local community."

Police Scotland's economic crime unit launched an investigation into the Ravenscraig land transfer and concluded in 2021 that 'no evidence of criminality has been found'.