The £11 million Largs masterplan must not put too much focus on the town centre while ignoring the promenade, a councillor has warned.

The masterplan is a series of ‘off the shelf’ projects which can be developed as and when money becomes available. However this means that individual projects will be ‘cherry picked’ as a when funding becomes available.

North Coast Committee chair, Councillor Alex Gallagher, asked for reassurances that this policy would not result in the town centre monopolising funding to the detriment of the prom. The only part of the masterplan which has secured funding is Gallowgate Square. As well as setting aside over £400,000, the council this week submitted an application for additional finance.

George Hunter, North Ayrshire Council’s town centre regeneration manager, assured the committee that this extra money is not vital to the project, but would enable them to do more to improve the area.

During the discussion, Cllr Gallagher stated his hope that the ‘cherry picking’ approach would not focus too many resources on the town centre, to the detriment of the promenade.

He said: “In 2012, after the storm, parts of the prom were practically destroyed and I sought to move forward to improve it.

“The prom is important to tourism and we need to prioritise the improvements there. “ Mr Hunter said that further detailed design work would be required for other aspects of the masterplan.

We reported that the long-awaited plan identified a significant number of projects across the town including the transformation of Aubery Park from a little used fringe attraction into an iconic ‘game changer’ which welcomes visitors to the town.

It highlights potential investment in the town centre, in and around the railway station and Tron Place, the ferry terminal and surrounding area and the north and south section of the prom and Aubery.

As well as the redevelopment of Gallowgate Square, complete with underground bin storage, and Aubery, there are also plans for the creation of attractive ‘plazas’ at Gallowgate Square, Tron Place, along the prom and at Aubery. The ambitious plans for Aubery, estimated at almost £2.6m include a redesign of the pond, a new multi-use pavilion, skatepark and an ‘iconic’ eyecatching sculpture.