It was the triangle of land that was supposed to deliver the big jobs legacy from Commonwealth Games.

But a year after Glasgow's big 2014 showcase, the Parkhead site of a much-mooted shopping and hotel complex remains derelict and fenced-off.

This city block, right next to the still shiny velodrome and Emirates Arena, is stuck in a legal limbo amid ongoing court wrangling between its would-de developers and Glasgow City Council over contamination at the site.

The result? Vital community services, 400 jobs and an hotel remain firmly on hold for at least another year. In fact, even if the current dispute ends one way or another, it looks certain to take years for the site to be developed.

That, stresses local MP Alison Thewliss, means that there isn't even anywhere in the newly regenerated Dalmarnock where you can buy a pint of milk.

She said: "This is very disappointing particularly for the people who are living in the area. There is a real lack of facilities, including local shops. "Some of the people have to go up to to Parkhead or cross the river from Dalmarnock just to do their shopping.

"And that is partly to do with this ongoing dispute and there being nothing on that site."

It was supposed to be very different. Back in the heady days before the Commonwealth Games, the four-acre patch of scrubland was earmarked for commercial development.

A developer, PIP Asset Management, won the rights to buy the plot with dramatic plans for a £44m hotel, community and shopping complex employing 400 people.

This asset, to be opened before the Games, would have ensured the long-term competitiveness of the sports facilities, by having an on-site place for competitors to stay. Tulip Inn had expressed an interest in running the facility.

It didn't happen. PIP AM - or rather one of its affiliates PIP - didn't make a down payment after discovering that toxic waste from the velodrome and Emirates site had been stored on its patch.

Details are disputed but PIP, a vehicle for developers Charles Price and Kevin Fawcett, said they were not kept informed of such storage and argued waste had leached in to the ground where it was stored.

This, they said, meant they did not have the environmental documents they needed to reassure their investors. Cue court action.

This week PIP lost the first part of its legal case, with a judge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruling that their £15m claim was excessive. Instead, the company can no only claim for "abortive costs", damages incurred by not going ahead with the scheme.

But that cause could go on for another year. Locals are distraught. Partly hidden behind a black fence right next to the new facilities, the ground is quickly becoming overgrown, a symbol of failure to deliver a jobs legacy for the games.

One woman, Ann, 33, who asked not give her full name, said: "The Games were great when they were on but what exactly have we got out of them here?

"I would jump at the chance for a job in a hotel near my home...I work in one in the city centre now but I have to walk there and back to save money.

"I have never even been in the arena or the velodrome and I certainly would never get one of the few jobs there. But a hotel or shops with real jobs for local people? That is what we thought we would get."

Kevin Fawcett of PIP said he did not know if the site could now be developed. He said: "If it was clean, this plot would be ideal for a hotel, nothing fancy, three, stars, to support the new infrastructure and provide essential services for the community. But we don't know how contaminated it is."

Court documents confirmed that 34,000 tonnes of spoil were stored on the site. The council eventually removed nearly 57,000 tonnes, nearly 19,000 tonnes of it described as "hazardous". This included 60cm skimmed from under the dumped material.

Council sources are relieved that their potential costs are relatively low but continue to feel frustration that the site is not being regenerated.

The land, if released, could earn a seven-figure sum for the city in straightened times.

A spokesman said: “It is inappropriate to comment on the case while the legal process is ongoing.

“This is a very important site for the east of the city and everyone wants to see it brought into productive use as soon as possible.”