'Britain's Chernobyl' with 430 rotting flats set to finally disappear

An abandoned housing estate in dubbed 'Britain's ' is set to be finally demolished.

Work is underway this week after the buildings in the Clune Park estate, in Port Glasgow, were deemed to be dangerous. The , photographers and others over recent years, forcing council chiefs to issue a warning of the dangers of the area and increase security around it.

But the buildings within the estate are now set to be bulldozed with Inverclyde Council saying that "work to demolish parts of the Clune Park estate in Port Glasgow is due to begin".

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A school within the area was gutted by a fire in 2023, leaving it beyond repair, and a nearby church, which is crumbling, was also deemed to be structurally unsafe, reports the

The council said: "Contractors on behalf of Inverclyde Council have moved on site to prepare for the demolition of the former school and church buildings within the estate within the next couple of weeks."

And "an initial 138 properties across 15 tenement blocks" will then be bulldozed, as part of "the first phase of demolition at Clune Park" which is home to around 430 properties spread over 45 tenement blocks.

The council added: "These works are being carried out in the interests of safety after dangerous buildings notices were served following extensive investigations by council building standards officers and external surveyors.

"Work will be carried out by Greenock-based company Caskie Limited following certification that all utilities are disconnected. The contractors have moved on site to get set up and clear the area in preparation for the demolition works."

The work is expected to take around six months to complete. And Inverclyde Council Leader Stephen McCabe said it is the right decision. "It's important to remember that the former school and church buildings and the residential properties are being demolished in the interests of safety based on professional advice following extensive investigations," he said.

"The council has a duty to ensure public safety across Inverclyde and take action where necessary to protect the public from dangerous buildings and that's the position we find ourselves in with Clune Park.

"With the demolition due to commence, this is a historic moment and progress towards the ultimate goal of regenerating this prominent area of Port Glasgow. There is still a long way to go to realise our ambition of redeveloping Clune Park.

"But this is a significant step in the right direction and one I'm sure the people of Port Glasgow and wider Inverclyde will welcome." The council added it "has been proactively acquiring properties in Clune Park for a number of years".

And it said it "now owns over half the estate ". The body said: "The residential blocks, former school and the old church buildings have all been badly affected by deliberate fires and anti-social behaviour in recent times.

"That has contributed to the deterioration of the condition of the properties". The council has also warned people to stay away from the area while the demolition work is ongoing, telling them to "take heed of the safety warnings during demolition phases".

In November 2023, the council approved new plans for the area, which sees up to 165 new, affordable homes for social rent being built after the demolition. The city of Pripyat, in the Soviet Union, was abandoned in 1986 after the nuclear disaster.