Campaigners in Inverclyde have written to Stephen Flynn, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, seeking his intervention to save the historic Inchgreen Dry Dock in Greenock.

They also want ministerial action on over £1.4m of public money spent on the refurbishment of the Platers’ Shed at the site and other allocated funds.

The campaign to save the dry dock, which was built as a national strategic asset in Scotland for Clyde shipbuilding and ship repair, has been rumbling on for nine years, with Inverclyde Council unable to resolve the impasse.

The dry dock is the biggest in Britain and owned by Liverpool based Peel Group, owners of Clydeport and the Clyde Harbour Authority.

This week Peel Group, owned by Isle of Man tycoon John Whittaker and his family, sold APCL, the parent group of Cammell Laird shipyard on Birkenhead, to Balaena, a company based in Cornwall. The sale includes APCL’s shipyards in Tyneside and Falmouth.

Campaigners say that Peel’s ownership of both Cammell Laird and the Greenock dry dock has prevented the use of this marine asset in Scotland.  It is capable of handling ships from ageing Caledonian MacBrayne fleet which are sent for repair to Cammell Laird. The purchase of Cammell Laird by Simon Gillett, of Cornish company, based in Delabole, could now open the doors for a possible future at Inchgreen.

The campaign has caused animosity within the local Labour Party group with councillors, including council leader Stephen McCabe, refusing to engage with the campaigners. He also is reported to have prevented any council debate on the campaigners’ Scottish Parliament Petition.

Furthermore, the creation of Inchgreen Marine Park Ltd, a 75-year joint venture between the council and Peel Ports, received £14.5m to refurbish Inchgreen with a further £20m allocated from the UK Treasury, is also being questioned.

The destruction of cranes at the dock by Peel and plans to fill in the site, turning it over for more housing next to the former Scott Lithgow yard in Greenock, sparked local anger from campaigners who want engineering jobs and ship maintenance repair work to be created in Scotland.

The Inchgreen leaders, Robert Buirds, the campaign secretary, and Jim McEleny, its chair, have raised numerous questions about Inverclyde Council receiving around £1.4m for the refurbishment of the Platers’ Shed on the dockside and a further £13m for other works. They have also requested a feasibility study for Inchgreen.

“The drydock creates the industry and the structure for ship repair on the Clyde and in Scotland. It is the jewel in the crown. But it is owned by Peel Ports who are a major shareholder in Cammel Laird, who have four drydocks on Merseyside, and they don’t want competition from the Clyde,” says Buirds.

Mr Buirds has campaigned for clarity and transparency from the council and the joint venture to understand what was refurbished and what the additional public funds were used for as no accounts have been published. 

“Our complaint concerns the refurbishment of the Platers’ Shed. The application was made by Inverclyde Council to Clyde Mission in assisting PED Ships leasing the Platers’ Shed. The shed was in poor condition and the company proposed to build steel hulled yachts.”

He said Stuart Jamieson, the chief executive of Inverclyde Council, approached the campaigners in 2020 to support the funding application on condition that the money would not go directly to Clydeport/ Peel Ports which Buirds says “failed to maintain the facility for two decades”.

Entrepreneur Jim McColl was involved with PED Ships with stated that the refurbishment of the shed was around £300,000, not the £1.4m requested by the council. Mr Buirds is seeking an investigation into the disappearance of remaining £1.1m.

Mr Jamieson and the council have been unable to explain the difference, says Buirds, who has now involved the Information Commissioner’s office who have allocated officer to investigated.

“As we supported the funding application, we need clarity of these costs and the actual amount spent on the refurbishment. We are very concerned that we were used to obtain the funding and the money was not spent as per our understanding of the application,” said Buirds.

“Inverclyde Council appears to have put a veil of secrecy around the Inchgreen refurbishment development by refusing to publish any details on the use of public funds,” he added. 

The Inchgreen Campaign has brought together major industrialists, marine and port experts, shipbuilding artisans, major Infrastructure preservation experts, politicians and community campaigners who are deeply concerned at the River Clyde’s deterioration as an industrial artery. 

The campaigners include: John Petticrew, former CEO and board member of Fergusdn Marine; Jim McColl, chairman Clyde Blowers Capital and former owner of Ferguson Marine; Malcolm Warr, chair of CNI Scotland; Stuart Ballantyne, chair, SEATRANSPORT corporation; Darren McQuillan, Bardex, global business development director; Prof Alf Baird, professor of maritime transport and global shipping and ports expert; Paul Sweeney, MSP;  Jackson Carlaw, former MSP; Maurice Golden, former MSP; John McMunagle, former Ferguson Marine GMB shop steward, and Chris McEleny, former Inverclyde Council SNP group leader.

They have produced a video highlighting their fight ‘Rise and Fall of the Clyde’.