THE new Marks and Spencer Foodhall in Largs has won important access approval at this week's council planning summit.

Permission was granted for nearby Townhead Close to be altered - paving the way for construction to start on the new multi-million pound supermarket.

Cllr Ian Murdoch proposed that a 'stopping up' order to remove the close from the public road network and begin the works was accepted and this was voted through by committee members.

The 9,000sq ft store will be built on Main Street and will stock over five thousand food and drink products and bring 50 jobs to the town.

Speaking to the News, Councillor Murdoch said: "This is a huge step forward for the Marks and Spencer project.

"Hopefully now there are no other issues going forward and I expect to see work start on site very soon. Hopefully it will bring a number of economic benefits to Largs.

"It wasn't good having a derelict garage sitting in such a prime spot for months on end and the sooner the construction of M&S is underway the better."

The parking management plan has not yet been submitted, however, it is expected that the customer car park will be controlled through licence plate recognition of cars entering and leaving the car park. The maximum stay will likely be 90 minutes.

Residents of Townhead Close will be able to register to have their vehicles excluded from the scheme.