INVERCLYDE MP Ronnie Cowan has welcomed a £250m investment in peatland restoration - and says Inverclyde should benefit from some of that funding.

The Scottish Government has pledged to support the restoration of peatland over the next decade, with a target of restoring 250,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2030.

In 2021-22, five organisations including NatureScot and Scottish Water will get a share of £22m to deliver a range of new and existing restoration projects across Scotland.

Mr Cowan has been in talks with NatureScot, the Yearnstane Project and Inverclyde Council about the restoration of peatland at Duchal Moor.

He says that Inverclyde now has to 'push itself to the front of the queue' to capitalise on the funding available.

Mr Cowan said restoring peatland will help to stave off the 'crisis facing our planet after years of neglect and pollution'.

The MP added: "We need viable restoration projects and I believe in Inverclyde is well-placed to be in the driving seat.

"We can’t drag our feet on this.

"While I welcome all peatland restoration, I appreciate that it can’t all happen at the same time.

"We need to lead, otherwise other local authorities will get there before us.

"We could find ourselves either out of the picture or at the end of a long queue."

A spokesperson for Inverclyde Council said that the council was liaising with NatureScot’s Peatland Action project to understand the potential for peatland restoration on council-owned land.

A feasibility study will be commissioned later this year.