EERIE photographs have captured the neglect of a housing estate dubbed “Britain’s Chernobyl” where homes sell for just £7,000.
The Clune Park estate in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, had been a thriving community of shipyard workers in the 1920s but is now derelict and virtually abandoned.
It’s thought just 20 residents still live in the 430-flat area.
The estate was once the cheapest place to buy property in Britain after one flat was sold at auction for a mere £7,000.
Now, urban explorer Kyle Urbex, 26, has detailed the extent of the dereliction in a series of eye-opening photos revealing just how bad the situation is.
The estate has also suffered from vandals and arsonists and some flats have been badly damaged by fire.
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Grim pictures show abandoned homes still full of possessions, as if the residents left as fast as they could.
A church and primary school on the estate have been boarded up and left to decay.
Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, said “it would remind you of somewhere like Chernobyl”.
Kyle said he felt uneasy as he explored the abandoned buildings and was shocked to discover people were still living there.
He told the Daily Record: “One of the things that struck me the most was that the majority of the flat blocks are abandoned and derelict but some people are still living there.
“Some flats still had lots of possessions in them, like someone had gone out for the day and never came back.
“Outside of the flats, it is surprising to see people still going about their normal lives and going into houses next to the estate when 80 per cent of it is derelict.
“It is sad in a way to see what would have once been a thriving community, where everyone knew each other, all falling into itself in a derelict state.”
As Kyle spent two hours exploring the 45 four-storey tenement buildings he could hear the small number of residents still living there as they moved around the estate.
In other photos, a mattress and carpet can be seen dumped in a communal hall.
Kitchens and bathrooms are shown having fallen apart and fire damage has led to structural damage and peeling walls.
The situation at Clune Park has created a long and bitter feud with private landlords on one hand refusing to sell up and Inverclyde Council who want to demolish the properties on the other.
Talks with two major landlords ended without success in January, the news outlet reports.
Julie Kane, 56, has lived on the estate for two-and-a-half years after moving from the Isle of Skye where she lived for more than 20 years.
She pays £250 a month for her one-bed flat and despite thinking the area was like a ‘mini Beirut’ when she moved in, she loves her home and finds the area ‘peaceful’.
Julie, originally from Yorkshire, said: “I’ve got connections in Glasgow through family and was going to move into Glasgow city centre but the rents were outrageous.
“Somebody said try over here and at first when I saw the place I thought ‘Oh my god, a mini Beirut’.
“At that point there was a lot of complaints from tenants about drug addicts and things but the flat was brilliant for the price so I thought I’d give it six months and I’ve been here ever since.
“I was like ‘my goodness, I can actually stay here and work’, and I have gone down to part-time because of my cheap rent.”
She wants to see the estate occupied by working people seeking affordable rents and believes money should be invested to bring the buildings up to scratch.
Julie said: “When I first moved in I was a bit wary, there were junkies and gangs on the street.
“There was open prostitution and drugs going on, but that’s all gone.
“I’ve no fear of walking around – it’s peaceful.”
Pensioner Marie Morrison, who has lived in the area for nearly 40 years, believes the warnings are justified but refuses to move regardless.
She said: “I don’t feel it’s safe to live around here.
“These houses are going on fire quite regularly, there was one the other week. A lot of people are saying it’s deliberate.”
Jim Cameron who has lived on the estate all his life, added: “All the houses were full when I stayed on Montgomery Street, then I got married and moved over the street.
“Maxwell Street used to be a good street but now it’s a dive.”
The local authority has bought 165 of the flats and issued ‘closing orders’ – meaning the homes cannot be inhabited – on another 90.
However private landlords own the remaining properties.
Councillor Michael McCormick, Convener of Inverclyde Council’s Environment and Regeneration Committee, previously said: “In the council’s opinion all of the flats on the estate are Below the Tolerable Standard (BTS) – they don’t meet the basic requirements to be classed as fit for people to live in.
“And the results of several, recent, independent surveys have done nothing to change this view.
“The poor physical and social conditions in the area, combined with the level of input required from Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue and Inverclyde Council, clearly shows that the private housing market has failed and that large-scale, planned intervention is urgently needed.
“Six buildings now have active Demolition Orders against them.
“The council is working towards demolishing all the buildings and clearing the site to allow this neglected part of Port Glasgow to be regenerated.
“A decade ago it was estimated that it would cost £36.5million to refurbish these buildings.
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“They have deteriorated even more since then. We are making steady progress in terms of acquiring these undesirable properties.
“But the remaining owners need to recognise that the only future for these homes is demolition and, frankly, the sooner the better.”
