Clune Park Primary in Port Glasgow set for demolition

Council bosses want to bulldoze the B-listed Clune Park Primary and the historic Clune Park Church next to it, which is also B-listed.  

The school was engulfed in a massive inferno last August, causing large sections of its roof to collapse, rendering the already-derelict building even more hazardous.

READ MORE: Old Clune Park School in Port Glasgow gutted by huge fire

In a new report to the council’s environment and regeneration committee, officials have outlined three potential options for the site, which include their recommended choice to demolish the remaining structure and adjacent church.

The building, which was erected in 1890, has lain empty since the school closed down in June 2008.

Listed building consent would be required for the works.

Officials estimate that demolishing the school and nearby Clune Park Resource Centre would incur a one-off cost of £196k, while the cost of tearing down the church is said to be in the region of £70k.

Extensive work to make the building safe was carried out in the aftermath of last August’s blaze by specialist contractor Burnfield Demolition.  

This included the implementation of an ‘exclusion zone’ around the primary school and resource centre, with security cameras installed.

Sections of the building had to be removed or taken down and stabilisation measures were put in place to deal with hazards and the potential for further deterioration.

The measures undertaken to date have cost the public purse £398k and a further £30k worth of works are still to be completed.

The need to inspect the remaining structure on a monthly basis will continue to generate recurring costs to the council until further action is taken.

Councillors will decide whether to approve the demolition of the building or take another option at a meeting of the council’s environment and regeneration committee this Thursday.

A plan to retain the building’s historic façade and carry out a partial demolition is one of the other options for the site.

It is estimated these works would cost the council around £518k, but officials have warned that further costs are likely to be involved in keeping the building’s frontage intact due to the need to meet modern building standards.

They say that these costs could be in the region of £5.3m to £6.4m.

The final option councillors could choose is to monitor the situation and allow final stabilisation works to take place, as well as the planned demolition of Clune Park Resource Centre.

Councillors would also have to decide whether they wish to retain the building’s façade or not under this proposal.  

Council bosses believe that knocking down the remaining structures is the best course for the local authority to take.

Their report states that 'both properties are not economically viable to repair' and that 'demolition of the buildings will assist in the delivery of the wider Clune Park Masterplan which will realise significant benefits to economic growth and the wider community'.