A GOUROCK scrapyard which has served the town for over six decades is facing oblivion after Inverclyde Council ordered them to quit their current site – with the firm’s shocked owners slamming the local authority's ‘cloak and dagger’ approach.

Gourock Waste Metals’ owners Nicholas and Hans Stetz believe their family business is heading for complete collapse after they were informed that their lease for its Cardwell Road site will not be renewed beyond this September.

They have warned that the hundreds of thousands of pounds which would have to be forked out to move to a new location would be an insurmountable hurdle for the firm.

Greenock Telegraph: Gourock Waste Metals facing closure after council decides not to renew lease.

The pair had been holding discussions with the council about signing a new 10-year lease and had even been sent a draft agreement when they were suddenly told of the shock decision.

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Yard manager Nicholas told the Tele: “It came out the blue with no consultation. We’ve been here near enough 40 years and it’s 64 years in total we’ve been in Gourock.

“The first question we asked was why, but what they said was it was a decision taken by the corporate management team and they didn’t have to give a reason.

“Surely after all these years the very least we’re owed is an explanation?

“They told us they would come back to us with something on Friday or Monday, but we still haven’t heard anything.

“We’re trying to find out if there’s anywhere we can go, why we’re having to go and if they’re going to take the business off us and handing it to another motor trade.

“They’d basically be stealing business off us without any thought for what good we do in the area and the people we help out.

“Their treatment of us has been appalling, there’s no empathy and no consultation.

“It’s all been cloak and dagger, that wall of silence just makes it so suspicious.”

Nicholas said that neither he or his uncle Hans had been given a reason for the decision and has hit out at what he called the local authority’s ‘bullying tactics’.

The 38-year-old believes customers will lose out if the business disappears and has highlighted the work the company does in helping to cheaply recycle waste and white goods.

Greenock Telegraph: Gourock Waste Metals facing closure after council decides not to renew lease.

As well as freely recycling certain goods for locals and collecting scrap, the business also gives out spare parts and unused items to local schools and youth groups and has taken on four apprentices in recent years.

Nicholas added: “The current lease is going to run out in September, and we don’t know if we’re going to be put out on that day or if there’ll be any other arrangement. We know nothing at this stage.

“Our business doesn’t have hundreds of thousands for a new site, we’re operating at the lower end of the scale helping out the people who don’t have the money to pay the council fees to uplift a fridge or a washing machine.

“The big businesses will charge for recycling while we’re doing things like that for free. It’s not a huge profit-making site, it keeps Hans and I in a living and gives the youngsters we bring in a chance.

“We recycle these things properly too and strip them down into constituent parts, it does a lot to stop fly-tipping being a bigger problem here.

“We’re heavily regulated because of the work we do, you’ve got things like SEPA and the DVLA to comply with, it’d be about £100,000 to £200,000 to prep the next site.

“We could also end up in a situation where we fork out money to investigate a site only to lose the money when we find out it’s not viable.

“They’re going to put us out of business if they go-ahead with this.”

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Closure would bring an end to the business's 64-year history in Gourock, which started in 1960 when Nicholas's grandfather Rudi opened a yard at Craigmuschat Quarry

In a bid to convince the council to change course, the firm has launched a petition online and is asking for locals to show their support for keeping it open.

Those who wish to sign the petition can do so at https://tinyurl.com/bpbyfanf.

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “We do not want to see any local business fail and we met with the owners in person to explain the reasons why the current location is no longer suitable and to provide support, including looking at alternative locations.

“The lease has operated on a 10-year basis so it has been almost a decade since there was an opportunity to review the terms of the lease.

“Management within the environment and regeneration service reviewed whether the lease should be renewed and concluded that it should not.

“The current location of the scrapyard is no longer considered to be appropriate as it in the middle of a residential area and is next to a busy junction with poor sight lines.

“Officers met with the owners on 16 May to advise of the intention not to renew the lease at 1-3 Cardwell Road, Gourock.

“This was carried out in person out of courtesy and to provide support to the company.

“A notice to quit will be served in due course, well ahead of any requirement to do so.

“We are still keen to work with the owners to find an alternative location and offered to do so in the meeting of 16 May.”