PLANS for a proposed new garden centre and restaurant have received a boost - after getting the green light from a neighbouring bowling club.

Developers RDK Construction have submitted a new development proposal after planners controversially threw out the initial application last year.

The new 'scaled down' complex - which has been 20 years in the planning - is over a reduced footprint while a landscape buffer involving the planting of trees has also been included.

The centre and restaurant will be run by David Castelvecchi and wife Abbie who manage Haylie Stores in Largs and the Rowan Tree restaurant and garden centre in Seamill.

Fairlie Bowling Club and president Jim Munro, pictured, have now thrown their weight behind the revised proposal after submitting a letter of support to council chiefs.

A Fairlie Bowling Club spokesperson said: "We are pleased to report that the applicant’s agent positively engaged with the committee of Fairlie Bowling Club and revised the original proposals to address the operational and safety issues previously raised by the club to its satisfaction.

"In the opinion of our club, they have proposed sensible and visually acceptable resolutions.

"The reduction of the site area, towards the north, and the downsizing of the building footprint are both particularly welcomed

"Fairlie Bowling Club believes that the proposals, as they now stand, introduce a suitable use of the ground and would be a positive addition to the village.

"In physical terms, the development will create a clear and defensible boundary to the northern perimeter of the village, along the west edge of the trunk road, and will be suitably screened through landscaping.

"The project will also create much needed economic stimulus to the area and provide local employment, both in terms of the construction phase and the ongoing running of the facility.

"Fairlie Bowling Club is content to offer support to this application."

The previous planning rejection in September sparked an outcry, leading to a community petition calling for the garden centre to be rubber-stamped by council planners.

The new plan will see the garden centre moved 25 metres south to be outwith the boundary of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, with less car parking.

The overall development will reduce from 950sqm to 789sqm, broken down into 529sqm for the garden centre and 260sqm for the restaurant/cafe.

The venture will still create 30 new jobs in a number of fields and developer Billy Kirkwood previously told the News he had been working for two decades to make his vision a reality.

The matter is due for consideration by North Ayrshire Council planners in the coming weeks.