Saltcoats is still getting short changed by council chiefs, a councillor complained.

Independent Councillor Ronnie McNicol asked what financial interventions the council had made in its three major town’s of Irvine, Saltcoats and Largs since May 2017.

Councillors heard £865,000 was spent on improvements to Countess Street, completed in November 2017 with Saltcoats Training Station karate centre project receiving £400,000 including £50,000 from North Ayrshire’s Community Investment Fund and £150,000 from the Scottish Government.

In Irvine £8.6million was splashed on The Circuit at Quarry Road with £3.3million on similar paving works on the town’s High street.

Independent Cllr Ronnie McNicol said: “Without the cost of £865,000 for Countess Street only a quarter of a million was spent in Saltcoats, £560,000 was spent in Largs and £11.2million was again spent in Irvine – is there only one town in North Ayrshire that gets money spent on it?”

Council leader Joe Cullinane said that NAC was looking at a community wealth building strategy that will bring ‘important investments to communities’.