Friday June 12th 2026
Councillor Jim Clocherty and Russell Thomson, from contractor Balfour Beatty, in front of the now demolished Hector McNeil House and the eastern section of the Oak Mall shopping centre, which will be demolished next as part of the £24m Central Greenock redevelopment project
Written by Glasgow View Reporter, Liam Eunson
The next stage of the £24 million Central Greenock transformation project is getting underway.
Following the demolition of Hector McNeil House, contractors are now turning their attention to knocking down the eastern section of the Oak Mall shopping centre.
The Central Greenock redevelopment, which is largely funded by the UK Government and is being led by Inverclyde Council, will also see the removal of the A78 flyover at High Street and Bullring Roundabout to be replaced with a low-level road and signalised junction.
A new shopping centre entrance will be built and greenspaces and public areas created as part of the project.
Main contractors Balfour Beatty are now beginning the demolition of the eastern wing of the Oak Mall, which is expected to last several months.
It follows on from the demolition of neighbouring Hector McNeil House, which started in March 2026 and was largely finished at the end of May, although contractors are continuing to work on site to sort and remove rubble and other materials.
During the works, the famous Charles Anderson murals on the exterior of the building were carefully removed and have been safely stored along with other internal artworks.
The Central Greenock redevelopment aims to remove ageing infrastructure, such as the A78 flyover and eastern section of the shopping centre, open up the town centre, and improve access to the waterfront.
Councillor Jim Clocherty, Inverclyde Council’s vice-convener of environment and regeneration and chair of the Greenock Town Centre Regeneration Forum, said: “A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes to get the Central Greenock project to the stage we’re at today where we’re seeing the physical transformation unfolding with the removal of Hector McNeil House.
“The start of demolition on the eastern section of the Oak Mall is another key milestone in the transformation of the town centre.
“This section of the mall and the flyover which goes over the top of it are in a poor condition and there have been no tenants in this area of the centre for quite some time.
“A more compact shopping centre with a new entrance, improved public spaces, and better access for pedestrians and vehicles to and from other parts of the town centre and waterfront will provide a much-improved retail offer for everyone and help make central Greenock fit for the 21st Century.”
The Oak Mall demolition works will be followed by the main roadworks element of the project later this summer.
Further updates will be provided in due course.
The Oak Mall remains open during the demolition works and access to the town centre will be maintained throughout the wider Central Greenock project.
There will be diversion routes in place during the roadworks and changes to the roads network have already been made in advance of the works, including the realignment of Ratho Street, a new pedestrian crossing on Dunlop Street at Notre Dame High, and mini-roundabouts on Dalrymple Street and Container Way either side of Laird Street.
More information about the Central Greenock project is available on the Inverclyde Council website at www.inverclyde.gov.uk/centralgreenockproject.
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