Inside ‘Scotland’s Chernobyl’ and what’s about to happen to it

Sam Courtney-Guy

Published April 11, 2025 7:49pm Updated April 11, 2025 7:49pm

Clune Park estate in Port Glasgow which is almost deserted, with just a handful of residents left. See SWNS story SWLNestate. One of the last remaining residents of a derelict estate dubbed 'Britain's Chernobyl" says he won't leave - despite it being earmarked for demolition. Marshal Craig, 70, still lives in Clune Park, which has been virtually empty for years and looks like something from a post-apocalyptic film. Built in 1905 it is made up of 430 flats in 45 rotting tenement buildings as well as a rundown church - all covered in graffiti and litter. It was abandoned in 1997 and is now a ghost town and the target of arson attacks with some of the cheapest properties in Britain - in 2020 one flat sold for 6K. The estate in Port Glasgow in Inverclyde was privately owned but Inverclyde Council has bought more than half the properties and wants to demolish the lot. — Clune Park is entirely deserted except for a few tenancies on the edge of the estate (Picture: SWNS)

Dubbed ‘Scotland’s Chernobyl’, this derelict housing estate was once a bustling home to hundreds of families.

Just a handful of tenants now remain in Clune Park, in Port Glasgow, which has been deemed unsafe as around a third of buildings are at risk of collapsing.

Demolition crews are set to start taking them down within days, and it’s likely the rest will either follow suit or remain a ghost town indefinitely.

The decision has reignited criticism toward authorities for letting the estate end up in such a state.

Comparisons with the Ukrainian city of Pripyat, which was abandoned following the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, were first drawn years ago.

Built for the families of of shipyard workers shortly between Victorian times and the aftermath of World War One, Clyne Park’s architecture gives its desolation a uniquely eerie character.

Clune Park, Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, has been described as ghost town with a school, church, shops, and 100s of flats abandoned. See SWNS story SWSCclune. Meet the people dicing with death by living in one of Britain???s last ghost towns - dubbed ???mini Beirut??? and described as ???at risk of catastrophic collapse???. In the 1920s Clune Park estate in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, housed hundreds of shipyard workers during the area???s golden age of shipbuilding. But now the desolate area is home to only around 20 people living in a handful of the 430 flats. Property on the estate was once the cheapest in Britain, with one flat selling for just ??7,000 at auction - but it has been plagued by arsonists and vandals with shops, a primary school and church are all boarded up and abandoned. — Authorities have deemed the site at risk of ‘catastrophic collapse’ (Picture: SWNS)

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Its church, school and local shopfronts are still distinguishable despite the dirt, debris and overgrown vegetation around it.

But the similarities are aesthetic only: there was no catastrophic accident to force people out.

Instead, families gradually moved out over many years as the local shipbuilding industry steadily declined.

A steady fall in property values sped up when the area got a reputation for drug abuse and petty crime.

Former residents claim the state of Clyne Park was worsened by a lack of maintenance and investment.

Marshal Craig, one of the last remaining residents on Clune Park estate in Port Glasgow which is almost deserted. See SWNS story SWLNestate. One of the last remaining residents of a derelict estate dubbed 'Britain's Chernobyl" says he won't leave - despite it being earmarked for demolition. Marshal Craig, 70, still lives in Clune Park, which has been virtually empty for years and looks like something from a post-apocalyptic film. Built in 1905 it is made up of 430 flats in 45 rotting tenement buildings as well as a rundown church - all covered in graffiti and litter. It was abandoned in 1997 and is now a ghost town and the target of arson attacks with some of the cheapest properties in Britain - in 2020 one flat sold for 6K. The estate in Port Glasgow in Inverclyde was privately owned but Inverclyde Council has bought more than half the properties and wants to demolish the lot. — Marshal Craig, one of the last remaining residents, said he won’t leave (Picture: SWNS)

Some still remain living on the edge of the estate but have suffered problems such as arsonists starting fires in the abandoned buildings nearby.

Inverclyde Council has been buying up the properties and claims demolishing them will set the stage for ‘regenerating’ the area.

Scheduled for demolition are 138 properties across 15 blocks, including the B-listed school.

It was originally planned to keep its frontage for a new energy centre, but one of the fires left it too dangerous to repair.

Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, told Scottish Housing News: ‘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.

‘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.’

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