A NEW town centre action plan which will tackle persistent problems in Gourock is to be unveiled by council officials, the Tele can reveal.

Town councillor Martin McCluskey has welcomed progress on addressing issues he has been highlighting for the last few years, such as the regeneration of Shore Street and dealing with the eyesore derelict former Queen’s Hotel building at Ashburn Gate.

The Gourock action plan will be one of a trio of schemes taken forward by the local authority, with similar plans being drawn up for Greenock and Port Glasgow.

Labour's Mr McCluskey tabled a request to the council’s environment and regeneration committee back around two years ago which asked officials to bring forward a practical solution for dealing with rundown buildings on Shore Street and elsewhere in the town.

He has now been told by Municipal Buildings bosses that the problems will be considered as part of the regeneration roadmap they are currently working on.

Councillor McCluskey said: “When I ran for the council, I said that pushing forward the regeneration of Shore Street would be one of my priorities.

“I'm glad to see that the request I made to the council is being addressed as part of the new Gourock Town Centre action plan, and the council has confirmed this will report in the summer.

"I have also met with the consultants who are working on the action plan to communicate directly the issues that constituents have raised with me about the regeneration of Gourock, including Shore Street and the old Queen's Hotel, which has been lying derelict for too long.

"The building at the corner of John Street and Shore Street continues to be an issue that people raise with me.

“The council has offered on multiple occasions to open up the council's missing share scheme to flat owners in the building, if they come forward with a plan to repair the building, but no plan has been forthcoming.”

The crumbling corner tenement has been the subject of a catalogue of complaints over the years and is in a state of serious disrepair.

Mr McCluskey's initial request, which was tabled in June 2022, asked officers to investigate the possibility of securing funding from Historic Scotland or other groups which could be used to revamp the neighbourhood and the surrounding area.

He added: "There are very few quick fixes when it comes to regeneration, but my hope is that the new town centre action plan can provide us with a blueprint for Gourock town centre - building on the great success of the Kempock Street regeneration - which can allow us to bring in funding to support the continuing regeneration of our town.

“I look forward to continuing to work with residents and traders on this."