Communities like Largs should have more power and say in the way they are run, according to a letter sent by local government body COSLA to the UK Government.

COSLA - which represents the majority of Scottish councils, including North Ayrshire, and is headed by North Ayrshire councillor David O’Neill - wrote to William Hague, the UK Cabinet Committee chair seeking a meeting to put forward a case for greater devolution - both at local authority and neighbourhood levels. Councillor O’Neill, pictured, said he wants to ensure that the devolution debate following the independence referendum is not confined to the powers held by the UK and Scottish governments, but also to councils and communities themselves.

He suggests areas such as the delivery of some benefits would be better served at local government level.

The hierarchy of government in the UK would mean that Westminster would, in the main, require to discuss such plans with the Scottish Government and the potential for transferal of financial powers to Holyrood to allow greater scope at council level.

Councillor O’Neill has also sent the same message to the Smith Commission. Similar bodies elsewhere in the UK have co-signed the letter.

The letter calls on politicians to “take a bold step towards a new system of government” and transfer “power to the local level”. It also acknowledges that the result of the independence referendum had “shown that public trust in the old ways of central control has been shattered beyond repair”.

It also stresses that the review of powers is a unique opportunity to ‘refresh’ local democracy and empower communities like Largs and North Ayrshire, rather than simply focusing on the national picture.

Powers which could be passed down to local level include greater fiscal control and responsibility for funding to improve services, while becoming less reliant on the Scottish Government - which provides the vast majority of North Ayrshire Council’s £340 million revenue budget.