A NEW nine-hole golf course and accompanying facilities could soon be set for Irvine.

Developers hope to create the new golf course, including a putting green, reception building, starters hut, car parking, maintenance compound and offices to the north of Marine Drive.

An application for an Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] screening opinion on the plans was validated by North Ayrshire’s planning department last week.

Planning documents state: “Our client Kimber & Glen: International Golf Course Architects intends to apply for planning permission for development of a new 9-hole golf course facility at Irvine Bay, North Ayrshire

“The site is located to the southwest of Irvine in North Ayrshire on the coast, adjacent to the existing Irvine Beach Park and currently comprises 40ha of undeveloped and unmanaged land, accessible areas of which are currently used for informal recreation (i.e., walking, motocross, horse riding) by members of the public.

“The site is bounded to the north by Irvine Beach Park (a former industrial waste ground, now remediated), to the south by Western Gailes golf course, to the east by Marine Drive, the Ayrshire Coast railway and Irvine Industrial Estate and to the west by the beach and Clyde Estuary beyond.”

“Previous uses on the site include a former touring caravan park, remnants of which remain in the form of concrete ‘circles’ used for the parking of caravans in the north of the site. The southwest is more representative of natural links land, though has been damaged by ongoing motocross/quad bike use, with the southeast and eastern parts largely overgrown by gorse, rosa rugosa (a non-native species), plantation tree belts, self-seeded trees and shrubs.

“The proposed development will contribute positively to the wider aspirations of NAC by providing a new, world class visitor and tourist attraction, whilst also improving and restoring the landscape and enhancing local biodiversity.”