AMBITIOUS plans to change the face of Greenock town centre are to be put forward for funding from the UK Government.

Inverclyde Council has confirmed that it is preparing to present two 'shovel ready' projects to the government's flagship Levelling Up fund worth £1.5bn.

Plans include the proposed demolition of the A78 flyover and eastern section of the Oak Mall, and the creation of a 'culture quarter', lying east from Ker Street and including the historic Glebe building.

In the first round of funding, £3.3bn from a total of £4.8bn has been allocated across the whole of the UK.

Inverclyde Council is planning to make an application for the second round of funding which will allocate the remaining £1.5bn from the first round.

Cllr Chris Curley of the SNP group has welcomed the bid, saying they have campaigned for the major regeneration of Greenock town centre since 2017.

Mr Curley says he hopes the demolition of part of the Mall and of the flyover will be a 'catalyst for a redesigned and reinvigorated' town centre and will make it a destination once again.

He added: "Greenock town centre suffered from development in the 1960s and early 1970s which destroyed Hamilton Street and Clyde Square and broke the connections to, from, and through the town centre.

"We want to fix as many 1960s mistakes in the town centre as we can and make this a more people-focused environment.

"The flyover splits up the town centre and creates a barrier to people moving around the town.

"There's nothing in this part of Greenock that would make people want to stay.

"We want to make it more attractive and to open up the streetscape again and make it an open public realm.

"These plans can help us take us back to what made this area a success in the past and we need to do it in consultation with the people of Inverclyde."

Inverclyde MP Ronnie Cowan says that the development of a cultural quarter near to the Aldi site in Greenock could become a focal point for the celebration of local heritage.

Mr Cowan added: "The development of a culture quarter would host allow us to host creative people from a range of disciplines alongside bars, restaurants, coffee shops and specialist retail outlets.

"It would be a fantastic attraction for the 150,000 cruise ship passengers who disembark at Ocean Terminal every year.

"By encouraging them to stay in the area we can increase the footfall throughout Greenock town centre.

"It could also be a facility for locals all year round to enjoy the heritage of this area while embracing and promoting the creative arts and culture that we have in abundance in Inverclyde.

"We have to make a go of it and have shovel-ready projects for which we can pursue funding."

Cllr Elizabeth Robertson said she wants to see a dedicated team set up to go forward with the ambitious plans.

She added: "In recent years, we've seen a lot of individual decisions made but a lot of them don't join up together.

"As a result, parts of the town centre just don't link up properly.

"We need a team in place to rethink decisions and to go forward with master-planning for Inverclyde."