STREETS In New Port Glasgow Housing Estate To Be Named After Former Civic Leaders
PORT Glasgow councillors have voted to name most of the streets in a housing development after politicians and not community figures such teachers and a health worker who died from Covid-19.
A variety of suggestions had been proposed for six internal roads at the former St Stephen’s High School site, between Southfield Avenue and Kilmacolm Road, where River Clyde Homes is building 224 new flats and houses.
The decision was left in the hands of local councillors Stephen McCabe, David Wilson and Christopher Curley.
All three were in favour of High School Road and councillors McCabe and Wilson voted for the other five to be named in memory of former provosts and councillors as follows:
• Coxon Drive –- after the late Claude Coxon, former councillor for Port Glasgow Town Council and Inverclyde District Council
• MacLean Place -– after the late Alex MacLean, former Strathclyde Regional councillor and Port Glasgow Provost
• Morrison Drive -– after the late Dan and Margaret Morrison, former councillors for both Inverclyde District Council and Inverclyde Council
• Parker Drive -– after the late Tom Parker, former councillor for Inverclyde District Council
• Stanton Square –- after Tom Stanton, former Port Glasgow Provost.
Names proposed by River Clyde Homes had included McCool Place (after Brian McCool, a former teacher at St Stephen’s High); Graham Place (after Janice Graham, a local district nurse who became the first NHS worker in Scotland to die from coronavirus); and Oswald Place (after Michael Oswald, a former deputy head teacher at St Stephen’s High School).
Council officials had proposed naming most of the roads after Scottish islands, — Benbecula Drive, Berneray Drive, Raasay Place, Scalpay Square and Vatersay Place — continuing the theme of the adjacent Park Farm area.
Inverclyde Council had previously said it did not normally name streets after individuals but it made an exception in 2018 in the case of former Morton chairman Douglas Rae, in October 2019 for former council leader Robert Jackson and for politician couple Dr Norman and Trish Godman earlier this year.
St Stephen’s High is now part of the joint school campus in Kilmacolm Road which opened several years ago. The old building was knocked down last year.
It took on celebrity status when it was used by the production crew of movie Anna And The Apocalypse in 2017. (Not surprisingly, ‘Apocalypse Avenue’ wasn’t among the street name proposals.)
