Urban regeneration company, Riverside Inverclyde, has appointed an interim Chair and an interim Chief Executive following the recent departures of the Chair and Chief Executive.

Inverclyde's Depute Provost Councillor David Wilson will take over as board Chair from Alf Young, who resigned last month, and Inverclyde Council Corporate Director Aubrey Fawcett will replace Bill Nicol as acting Chief Executive.

Councillor Wilson, who has been a director of Riverside Inverclyde for more than six years, said: "Alf Young made a significant contribution to the regeneration of Inverclyde over the past seven years which proved to be a period of unprecedented economic uncertainty and extremely challenging. I would like to thank him for his dedication and commitment delivering key projects and wish him well for the future.

"I am honoured to be appointed Chair, albeit on an interim basis, and I am looking forward to playing my part in the future of Riverside Inverclyde, working towards securing the prosperity of Inverclyde and its people. You only need to drive through Inverclyde to see all of the good developments that Riverside Inverclyde has delivered."

-- Advertisement --

The appointments follow a mid-term review of the urban regeneration company's 10-year project, which is designed to deliver regeneration and business development projects across Inverclyde.

The review by independent external consultants highlighted some good progress to date, but also identified room for improvement.

Areas of particular strength included the upgrading of the A8 corridor and river front, the development of Clydeview Business Park, improvements to Greenock and Port Glasgow town centres as well as enhancements to the appearance of James Watt Dock.

New interim Chief Executive Aubrey Fawcett added: "The report recognised there has been a lack of economic return in terms of new jobs and wealth into the area although the recession and its impact on the economy were highlighted as key factors in this.

"But set against that backdrop Riverside Inverclyde has secured hundreds of jobs with locally based companies that might have been lost to the area and established an environment to encourage investment and economic prosperity."

The mid-term review report will be made public once all partners – Riverside Inverclyde, Inverclyde Council, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government – have completed their internal reviews of the report. This is expected to be within the next two weeks.

Riverside Inverclyde will also be advertising for a permanent chairperson and new directors in the coming weeks.

(JP/MH)