In the second instalment of our feature on the history and future of Irvine harbourside, Local Democracy Reporter Stewart McConnell looks at the last major bids to revamp the area.

The latest grand plans for Irvine Harbour come just over five years after a hugely ambitious project which did not amount to anything.

In November 2018, the Irvine Times revealed Irvine Harbourside was set for a massive £200million investment – potentially creating over 2,000 new jobs.

The master plan for Irvine Harbourside and Ardeer Peninsula was unveiled in a blaze of publicity at the Big Idea Inventor Centre.

Chinese investors were set to help bring millions of pounds of private investment as part of the mammoth project which aimed to breathe new life into the Harbourside.

The scheme was in conjunction with the Ayrshire Growth Deal and could have seen the creation of Scotland’s largest climbing wall, a multi-million-pound energy station, a marina, luxury housing, a Centre Parcs-style holiday village, a water facility named the ‘Aqua Dome’ and an iconic road bridge between Ardeer and Irvine.

Plans were also afoot to redevelop the former Big Idea site itself which closed in 2003.

While the project got as far as a Chinese delegation paying a visit to the area - including Consul General Pan Xinchun - little more was heard of the project, which appears to have been quietly abandoned.

That blueprint came more than eight years after a £60m plan to create a stunning waterfront for Irvine was approved by North Ayrshire Council.

Irvine Bay Regeneration Company and Urban Splash received planning permission for the multi-million-pound plans to regenerate the 12-acre site at Irvine Harbour.

As the plans were for a site owned by the council, they also required the endorsement of the Scottish Government.

The development would see the creation of 360 new homes, 30,000 sq ft of cafes, restaurants, shops and offices and a hotel.

Plans were lodged following a successful and wide-ranging consultation.

Omar Elmi, commercial director at Irvine Bay Regeneration Company, said at the time: "The transformation of Irvine Harbour and the creation of a vibrant place with stunning views and a wonderful location is a key part of our plans for the area."

Patrick Sheridan of Urban Splash added at the time: "The development will create a fantastic place for people to live, and also as a place for people to enjoy leisure time, to work, and to visit.

"It is intended that the development will be phased over 10 years."

The scheme was set to be the first Urban Splash project in Scotland and would add to award-winning regeneration efforts across England. But the project soon stalled and the transformation never took place.

Irvine Bay Regeneration Company itself was finally wound down in 2017.