NORTH Ayrshire Council has been successful in securing £35,000 of funding from Sustrans for a feasibility study into Stevenston’s level crossing.

The funding bid was submitted following lobbying by Labour Councillor Joe Cullinane who stood as Labour’s candidate for Cunninghame South at this year's Scottish Parliament election.

The bid was supported by Stevenston Councillors Alan Munro and Jim Montgomerie who have campaigned for improvements to the level crossing for foot passengers for years.

The Council will provide match funding for the £70,000 feasibility study after the Cabinet approved the project on Tuesday, June 21.

Labour Councillor’s Joe Cullinane, Alan Munro and Jim Montgomerie issued a joint statement welcoming the successful bid: "Labour representatives have campaigned for improvements to the level crossing for decades and we are delighted that funding has finally been secured for a feasibility study. This is a Labour victory for the people of Stevenston.

"The feasibility study will be important in scoping out what options are available and how much each will cost. The one thing that we can promise the people of Stevenston is that their Labour representatives will continue to campaign for improvements to the level crossing and we therefore look forward to analysing the findings of the feasibility study."