ARDROSSAN residents have the sympathy of politicians involved with the regeneration of Ardrossan Harbour but asked for patience a year on from the announcement that the ferry would be staying in the town.

The commitment to invest in the harbour came from North Ayrshire Council and Peel Ports and with last week’s plans given the green light, it seems that moves will be made a full 12 months later.

Former Councillor John Hunter said: “I think the ferry being committed to Ardrossan is key and pivotal, without that, nothing is going to happen.

“Peel Ports, and I believe them, say that they are willing to invest heavily in Ardrossan.”

Jamie Greene MSP said: “I share the concerns of restless locals and agree wholeheartedly that there is a lot of warm words coming from the Scottish Government on what was promised at Ardrossan Harbour but we have seen very little progress and it is not just the government, Peel Ports have a responsibility in this as well.”

Kenneth Gibson MSP added: “I fully understand that situation, we had a very high profile and intense campaign to ensure that the ferry remained Ardrossan to Brodick.

"After the intensity of that, obviously people hope for momentum to continue but the difficulty is that once you have won the war, you have to win the peace and what that means that you have to settle down and say ‘the agreement is that it is going to be from Ardrossan to Brodick.

"What kind of harbour are we going to have? How big is it going to be? How much investment is it going to need? What is the design going to be like? How is it going to fit with the vessels that are going to be servicing it?”

Patricia Gibson MP added: “Even though people may not be aware of work going on in the background, the ferry is still in Ardrossan, the negative consequences that everyone anticipated from losing the ferry, like the future of Asda, that hasn’t materialised, and people know even though they don’t see it, the sustainability of Scotland’s largest ferry port does require investment and I would hope they know that is coming and they can be reassured as it has already been invested in Brodick so the next bit would have to be Ardrossan."