Residents in West Kilbride have been urged to call for a special hearing when plans for an eco holiday park near the village are lodged.

Proposals by Bothwell Land and Development Ltd are back on the table after its original submission was withdrawn last year following a dispute over land and an administration error.

Community consultations have been taking place in West Kilbride and Ardrossan for the 228 static chalets at the site of the former Montfode oil storage depot.

As well as chalets, the 27-acre site would have its own clubhouse, swimming pool, hairdresser, shop and bowling green.

The application is now set to be resubmitted in full, and councillor Tom Marshall told a meeting of West Kilbride Community Council to ask for a special hearing on the matter.

He explained: “There is no point commenting at this stage, you are better waiting until a planning application comes in.

“There are a lot of hurdles and you can only comment on planning issues, rather than general comments about how you don’t want a holiday park there.

“I would suggest that the councillors who can all write a joint letter to the council asking for a hearing.

“A bit like the solar farm application on Cumbrae, this would allow the community to be heard when the time came.”

Fellow councillor Todd Ferguson admitted that the public consultation had failed to change his mind on the plans.

He said: “Personally I still see the same issues surrounding access to the land, ownership rights and stretched services across the area.

“Nothing has changed dramatically since the original application was put in and the consultations provided no new information.”

Councillor Eleanor Collier added: “One thing that surprised me was learning that the chalets would not be bought, but would be rented out on a weekly basis.

“That makes a huge difference to us as a community because that could be over 1,000 new people coming to the area each week rather than semi-permanent residents.

“As a community we feel like we are being developed left, right and centre, and we need to fight to make sure it’s in the best interests of West Kilbride.”

The proposed location sits to the east of the existing A78 road and the western boundary of the site hugs the existing railway line.

Access to the site would be from a road just to the north of the roundabout at the north end of Ardrossan, and would travel under the railway to the southern end of the park.

The proposals would include improvements along the length of the access road running between the A78 and the site, including widening of the road and upgrades to pedestrian footpaths.

The proposed holiday homes would consist of two bedrooms, a bathroom, lounge and an elevated terrace containing a BBQ and a hot tub.

The central village hub would include a restaurant and bar with open terrace, swimming pool and soft play room on the first floor, with a gymnasium upstairs.