Reshaping North Ayrshire for the next 20 years

Feb 5 2010 by Lex Brown, Irvine Herald

UP TO 10,000 new homes are planned for North Ayrshire over the next 20 years.

The new home build is one of the top priorities in a new local development plan to shape future planning.

Irvine, Kilwinning and Stevenston would account for almost 6000 of the new houses.

Other priorities are the redevelopment of the Rivergate Shopping Centre in Irvine and a replacement for the Magnum.

Ambitious plans for the redevelopment of the Irvine Harbour area and beachfront will attract tourism to the town.

North Ayrshire Council are drafting a new local development plan setting out which areas can be regenerated and which should be protected from development over the next two decades.

The new plan’s vision is to encourage improvement by creating more jobs, providing an attractive place in which to live and work and boost tourism.

As part of the process the council are organising five planning forums to gauge public opinion.

The Irvine forum, which will also cover Kilwinning, Dreghorn and Springside, will be held in the Vineburgh Community Centre in Quarry Road on Wednesday, March 3, between 6pm and 8pm.