Contractors have moved onto the site of the former St Ninian's Primary in Gourock to commence the first phase of works to transform the derelict land into a new community greenspace.

The improvement project at the Staffa Street location, adjacent to the current St Ninian's Primary, began today, Monday 7 April 2025, with site setup.

Currently inaccessible and uninviting, the vacant and derelict land will undergo a significant transformation managed by Green Action Trust in partnership with Inverclyde Council. Prior to the commencement of works, surveys and ground investigations were carried out to assess the site's condition and determine the best approach to make it safe and usable for the local community.

The initial phase of work, expected to last approximately 10 weeks, will involve:

• Earthworks to level the site, improving accessibility and ease of movement.

• Shaping new wetland areas in the south-east of the site to aid surface water management.

• Reprofiling existing soil mounds to create varied and accessible levels suitable for play.

• Installing a 0.3-metre soil cover system (0.15m clean subsoil and 0.15m clean topsoil) over the crushed material from the former school buildings.

Following these works, the site will be seeded, and a fence will be erected around the remediated mineshaft as a visual reminder of the site's history. A section of fencing along Kirn Drive will be temporarily removed to allow access for larger construction vehicles, with traffic management in place as needed.

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Councillor Michael McCormick, Inverclyde Council's convener of environment and regeneration, said: "This site is right at the heart of a vibrant community right next to St Ninian's Primary, Coppermine Community Centre, and surrounded by housing, with the Gourock Park and St Columba's High also close by so it's the perfect location to create a greenspace for the area. The greenspace will encourage outdoor learning, support wider community activities, and give local people somewhere they can escape to and reconnect with nature. It fits in perfectly with the council's net zero ambitions and ongoing promotion and development of biodiversity."

Once the initial phase is complete and the seeding has taken hold, the site will be accessible and safe for community use. Plans include space for recreation and social activities, with local scout groups able to utilise the area for outdoor pursuits and pupils from St Ninian's Primary gaining a safe environment to explore the outdoors beyond their school grounds. The new wetland area will also begin to manage surface water and create valuable habitats, with potential for connection to an outlet in future development stages.

This first phase will facilitate future stages of the project. A masterplan concept design, developed in consultation with the local community, will guide subsequent phases, subject to available funding, allowing the site to evolve alongside the community's needs.

Izzie Curnock, Development Officer at Green Action Trust, commented: "We see so much vacant and derelict land with untapped potential lying unused across Scotland. It's been rewarding working on this project, being able to turn this site from an eyesore into a welcoming greenspace for the local community."

The St Ninian's greenspace has a diverse history, having been a field in the late 1800s, part of a rifle range alongside copper mining operations in the early 1900s, and converted into urban recreation space in 1965. St Ninian's Primary School occupied the site from 1975 until its demolition in 2017, when it was relocated to a new £10 million campus immediately adjacent as part of Inverclyde Council's schools modernisation programme. A former copper mine shaft, now remediated, is located in the centre-south of the site. Local folklore also mentions a sea monster supposedly buried under the former school's playing fields after coming ashore in Gourock during World War Two. Plans are in development to create artwork in collaboration with school pupils to be displayed on the fencing at a later stage, sharing the site's unique story.