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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Kaitlin Easton

Inside abandoned housing estate dubbed 'Scotland's Chernobyl' where 20 people still live

An abandoned housing estate dubbed 'Scotland's Chernobyl' is still home to 20 residents. Eerie photographs taken by urban explorer Kyle Urbex, detail the extent of the derelict conditions inside the Clune Park estate in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde.

Despite the area once being a thriving community of shipyard workers in the 1920s, the estate has since been abandoned with less than 10 per cent of residents believed to be living in the 430-flat estate.

The site was once the cheapest place to buy property in Britain after one flat sold for just £7,000 at auction.

The derelict scheme has been plagued by vandals and arsonists, with the inside of some flats extensively damaged by fire. A church and primary school on the estate are also boarded up and abandoned. The leader of Inverclyde Council, Stephen McCabe, said "it would remind you of somewhere like Chernobyl".

Photographs from inside Clune Park show abandoned homes full of possessions as if residents left their homes in a rush.

Kyle Urbex, 26, felt uneasy as he explored the abandoned buildings and was in disbelief when he spotted people still living there.

He told the 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."

While Kyle spent two-hours exploring the 45 four-storey tenement buildings, he could hear a handful of residents who remain on the estate moving around in occupied flats.

In one photograph, a mattress and carpet can be seen in a communal hall. Another shows a letter addressed to a previous tenant has been left untouched. Kitchens and bathrooms inside the estate have fallen apart and extensive fire damage has led to peeling walls and structural damage.

The demolition of Clune Park has resulted in a long and bitter feud between private landlords who won't sell up and Inverclyde Council, who want to demolish the eyesore building.

Talks with two major landlords ended without success in January.

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