PLANS are afoot to give Largs its biggest ever Christmas tree in a bid to bring some festive cheer to the town.

Largs Events chairman Ian Murdoch says he hopes the proposals will be the perfect antidote to months of misery brought on by the coronavirus lockdown.

Planning for the festivities are already underway and Mr Murdoch says he hopes locals will enjoy an improved display for 2020.

In recent years, the tree has come in for focused criticism from locals who says it has looked sparse and been poorly decorated. It was left to local groups to rally round and spruce it up in recent years.

Comparisons are been made with the large, impressive Christmas tree in Kilbirnie - and Mr Murdoch hopes this year that the Largs' one will be as much of a talking point.

He said: "We asked for a large tree last year and I was told we would get one. But when it arrived I didn't think it was substantial enough or well enough presented.

"Because of the pandemic, it has been a tough year for everybody and ideally we would like to put a smile on people's faces this year with the festive display.

"We have made it perfectly clear to the council that we want a bigger, better tree. We are hoping to have it powered from the bottom up as we have had problems with the lighting in recent years too as the cable goes to the top of it and it has occasionally blow over in the wind.

"The Kilbirnie tree is great and everyone does complain about the size of the Largs one in comparison, but the Kilbirnie tree is donated by a commercial business.

"If a business in Largs wanted to do likewise, we would love to hear from them."

Largs Events is involved with also working with council bosses to plan street illuminations. Last year there were difficulties with new lighting, with the old lights having to be scrapped for safety reasons.

Extra strong wiring and a more suitable infrastructure is going to be put in place to allow the lighting to be better installed this year says Mr Murdoch.

Largs Events is also co-ordinating the Christmas-themed markets after having to cancel the traditional Yuletide night for the first time in 30 years.

Mr Murdoch added said: "Due to all the restrictions in place, Christmas is going to be very different this year for everybody but we still hope to make it special for the Largs community. Watch this space."