The cycle lane row splitting a town centre

A cycle lane built as part of the £6m regeneration project to rejuvenate Greenock town centre and encourage active travel is facing calls to be scrapped just over a year after it was completed.

Almost 1,000 people have signed a petition against the two-way lane on West Blackhall Street, with some local businesses claiming the route has "decimated" trade.

Meanwhile, cyclists have told BBC Scotland the lane is frequently blocked by parked cars and they have faced hostility from motorists.

Inverclyde Council has acknowledged there have been "teething troubles" and said a review is underway.

Business owner Chris Jewell told BBC's Your Voice that the cycle lane has been "catastrophic" for his children's clothing shop Cradle Care, which has been on West Blackhall street for almost 30 years.

He started the petition, which currently has 975 signatures, in a bid to persuade the council to change tack.

He told BBC Scotland News: "The council said we want to make this the main shopping street in Greenock, the reverse has happened.

"It needs to be removed, we need to put parking back. On the same basis as it was, we'd be fine. If we don't, then the street will die."

He blames the reduction in free parking spaces for a 30% drop in trade since work began on the project two years ago and says he has had to let staff go.

Edwina Gilles, who owns a kilt hire shop on the street, said the cycle lane has been a "disaster" for her business and she's considering relocating shop to a unit with free parking.

She said: "A kilt outfit itself weighs roughly about 10kg (22lbs). Most wedding parties are at least three and above, so they're going to easier places that have got parking facilities where you can grab and go basically."

The cycle lane was completed in March 2025 and received more than £2m in funding from the active travel organisation the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust, formerly known as Sustrans, along with cash from Strathclyde Partnership for Transport and Inverclyde Council.

Those against the cycle lane claim very few people use it.

But cycling instructor Christine Allan, who runs Invercycles said the lane can be difficult to access due to cars and vans parked there illegally.

"It's a constant battle between drivers and cyclists along here," she said.

"I really don't know the answer to it. I wish people would respect it more. It's a shared space, it should be a space for all, it should be an active travel space. It's really hard to cycle on if there's cars parked along it.

"Unfortunately, some of the car drivers feel it's their right to take space away from other road users, there's not much that you can do about them. I obviously can't ask them legally to move their car. Some people can get aggressive."

Inverclyde Council have issued just over 304 parking fines on the street in the last year-and-a-half.

Councillor Jim Clocherty, Inverclyde Council's vice-convener of environment and regeneration and chair of the Greenock Town Centre Regeneration Forum, admits the lanes have caused "discontent" and said the council was listening to the concerns of local businesses.

He said: "I realise that every small shopkeeper is going through a really hard time throughout Scotland and throughout the UK.

"We gave grants of £160,000 to the area, which certainly alleviated the problem right away.

"The work itself was done in time and in phases in order to help small businesses. We've also tried our best to put on things like Christmas fairs in the area and try to get people to use West Blackhall Street as one of the main shopping areas in Inverclyde."

Clocherty said a number of options were being considered to help shopkeepers, including more local parking, but he doesnt' think removing the lane is the answer. .

He continued: "I know it's been requested. I do not think that's an option. I am sure the officers will look at that. But there's going to be the cost and the disruption of actually doing that."

The results of the review won't be shared until August at the earliest.

For now, the cycle lane remains, with opinion split down the middle of the road.

If there are issues you would like to see covered, you can get in touch via BBC Your Voice.