A ROAD at a new housing development in Port Glasgow could be named after an NHS worker who died from coronavirus.

Janice Graham became the first NHS staff member in Scotland to lose her life to Covid-19 back in April.

The 58-year-old, who worked at Port Glasgow Health Centre, died at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

But the ultimate tribute could be about to be paid to the former health care support worker and district nurse, as Graham Place has been pitched as a possible name for a road in the River Clyde Homes development on the site of the former St Stephen’s High School.

Glasgow Times:

Councillors will be considering a number of options next week at a meeting of the environment and regeneration committee, where they will decide what names to give to the six new internal roads which will be created at the Southfield Avenue plot.

Council officers have suggested one is named St Stephen’s Road after the school, with the rest named after Scottish islands, continuing the theme of the adjacent Park Farm area. Their other suggestions include Raasay Place, Benbecula Drive, Berneray Drive, Vatersay Place and Scalpay Square.

Ward councillors have also pitched ideas such as Coxon Place, MacLean Place, Morrison Drive, Parker Drive and Stanton Square, which all pay tribute to former elected members in the area.

The remaining suggestions from River Clyde Homes – which is developing 224 new flats and houses – include McCool Place and Oswald Place, which would memorialise former St Stephen’s teachers Brian McCool and Michael Oswald.

Elected members will also decide next week what roads in the development at the former Ravenscraig Hospital site in Greenock should be called.

Almost 200 homes are being built there and 13 new internal roads will be created.

The proposed names include Black Hill Drive, Bunston View, Canada Drive, Chestnut Road, Cockrobin Drive, Elm Drive, Kellie Road, Henge Road, Mar Drive, Niobe Drive, Smithston Road, Starforth Road and Sycamore Drive.

Suggestions came from ward councillors and Greenock Southwest Community Council, with many of them referencing geographical sites and the history of the area.

Smithston, for example, was the original name of the lands where the Ravenscraig hospital was built, while Black Hill, Cockrobin and Bunston are all names of hills situated in and around the site.

Starforth Road will pay tribute to John Starforth – the principal architect of the original hospital buildings – while Chestnut, Elm and Sycamore are the three main tree types in the area covered by the preservation order on the site.

Niobe and Canada hark back to when the hospital buildings were used by the Canadian navy during the Second World War as a ‘stone’ frigate – named HMCS Niobe – while Kellie and Mar reference the Earl of Mar and Kellie, who laid the foundation stone of the original hospital in 1876.

The environment and regeneration committee will meet over video conference on Thursday, August 27.