Councillors have approved a £4.15million road improvement plan for Inverkip.

The plan will support the development of 650 homes and commercial space at the former Inverkip power station site.

Inverclyde Council's environment and regeneration committee agreed to the proposals which will create access to the former Inverkip Power Station, earmarked for a housing development, as well as addressing road safety issues.

The project is the third of three Glasgow City Region City Deal projects being delivered by the council and has attracted £3.58million of external funding from the UK and Scottish governments.

The local authority will contribute the remaining £570,000.

The infrastructure project aims to unlock follow-on economic investment in the village through the development of the vacant Inverkip power station.

The council’s environment and regeneration committee agreed to proposals that would see the creation of signalised junctions on Main Street (North) and Harbourside (Kip Marina) on the A78.

There will also be a formation of a T-junction at Brueacre on the A78, enabling new access to the former Inverkip power station site.

Following committee approval, the plans will now be put to the City Deal Cabinet for final approval.

The updated report is available on the council's website at https://tinyurl.com/3ka72nyw.

Councillor Michael McCormick, convener of environment and regeneration at Inverclyde Council, said: “This is an important milestone in the delivery of the Inverkip City Deal project and I’m pleased fellow councillors backed these updated proposals to allow officers to proceed to the next stage and move a step closer to starting work and delivering positive change for the village, Inverclyde and the wider city region.

“We have already successfully delivered two of the three Inverclyde City Deal projects with the stunning new £20m Greenock Ocean Terminal and the £11m Inchgreen Marine Park.

"We are determined to deliver these important improvements and this is an exciting step forward."

The road infrastructure project will help pave the way for the redevelopment of the former Inverkip power station site, bringing major economic benefits and potentially delivering 400 construction jobs and 120 jobs in follow-on development.

If successful, the proposed construction work is due to start in late 2024/25 and be completed by autumn 2025/26.