Polphail

Polphail accommodation

Polphail was built during the early 1970s to provide accommodation for up to 500 workers at a nearby oil platform construction yard in Portavadie, but was never occupied because the yard was never went into production

There have been numerous proposals to create timeshare facilities on the site of the derelict village over the years, but all have failed to attract sponsors. A further proposal reviewed in 2006 projected a village which could rival Tighnabruaich in size, with a marina for up to 250 vessels.

Redevelopment announcement

In June 2009, the media carried a story that the ghost village of Polphail was finally to be demolished.^[1] ^[2] Site owner Alan Bradley said changes would be evident within a year, and demolition would clear the area for 270 new properties to be built over the next five to ten years.

Local photography project

Local photographer Philippa Elliott has documented the derelict site in a series of photographs, and her images include a rack of door keys hanging disused, and rusting washing machines abandoned on the site. She said some locals believed Polphail was actually built as a military base on a par with Faslane, but that other suggestions for what the site was to be used for differ "depending on who you talked to".

Agents of Change: Ghost Village Project

Ghost Village Project
� paul birrell

In October 2009, a group of six graffiti artists were granted permission to paint on walls within the derelict accommodation buildings of Polphail, prior to its imminent demolition.^[3]

The Agents of Change Ghost Village project at Polphail