A LARGS man has called for the brakes to be put on a plan to turn Barrfields Putting Green into a car park.

David Allardice, 83, claims the facility at Vikingar! is already barely used and says the facts and figures being used to make the case for the redevelopment don't stack up.

Residents of Millennium Court, where the pensioner lives, have come forward with a 200 name strong petition opposing the plan, while all four Largs councillors say it is needed to help with the overspill from the town centre.

The retired crane designer said: "On Saturday I went to Irvine and the traffic was very busy there and back.

"The seafront carpark was full and side streets were also busy. Meanwhile, the current car park at Barrfields is hardly being used and this is normal throughout the year.

"In 2019 there was only one day when it was full, that being on Easter Monday. So why do we need this new, larger car park?

"Visitors are not interested in parking here and walking into the town centre. This evidence should give the people of Largs a different side to the supposed necessity for additional spaces.

"Maybe shopkeepers and staff should start using Barrfields car park if they believe in what they are saying, or maybe they don't fancy the walk into town either.

"If motorists are not using the current car park then why do they need another one at the same site?"

David called on the town's councillors to speak to him and have a rethink.

He added: "They want it to go ahead to help traders but they really need to take into account the views of the public as well as shopkeepers."

Councillors have agreed to cost the plan to half the putting green, creating additional spaces at the south side in a bid to solve the ongoing issue of town centre parking.

The process, which is in the early stages, will see officers look at the legalities of the ground being used and how many spaces could be created.

The move comes following the council's decision to rubber-stamp decriminalised parking in Largs, which will come in to effect next year and will see cars only able to stop under a one hour, no return policy, in the Main Street.

Businesses set up their own petition for a car park on the Barrfields site, which they believe would provide over 200 'vital' new spaces.

The man behind it, Deli Il Cardo owner John Corrigan, said: "With more people being encouraged to do 'staycations' we need to get car park built as soon as possible to cope with demand. "People may be less inclined now to go to indoor shopping malls, and Largs has an opportunity to capitalise.

"When things return to normal, we can't return to massive queues into Largs and car parks all full, meaning that all the businesses are suffering and missing out.

"It is vital that a car park is built at Barrfields to aid the economic recovery."