LARGS Police Station will be bulldozed to make way for a new three-floor flat development - with priority given to those in 'greatest housing need' in the district.

The council acquired the building from Police Scotland in March 2020 for a fee of £175,000.

The proposals for the site include 12 amenity flats over three floors.

Largs councillor Tom Marshall has welcomed the move.

He said: "It was unfortunate that the existing police station building has to be demolished, but it would probably have cost more to alter it. "The council moved to have a housing register for the whole of North Ayrshire, and the council and the housing associations have their list of people who wish to be re-housed. The allocation is carried out on a strict basis of need. The whole thing is very fair and will probably result in the majority of housing going to people with Largs connections, although not exclusively."

These will be a mix of one and two bedroom properties with a communal entrance and lift providing access to the upper floors.

The building is not suitable for conversion to provide amenity housing and plans have therefore been developed to demolish the existing building and rebuild on the site. There will be four parking spaces for residents and visitors, as well as five public ones.

Exact timescales will be confirmed once the main contractor is appointed, but it is anticipated that works will commence in early 2022 and complete in the first part of 2023.