A COMMUNITY activist is floating the ambitious idea of bringing an inflatable 'aqua park' to Greenock.

JB Houston came up with the suggestion after a visit to Dundee, which is now home to a new and popular floating attraction in the city's previously unused harbour area.

He believes a similar attraction at Greenock's Victoria Harbour has the potential to be a resounding success - and his idea has already won the backing of almost 500 local people.

The Vodafone engineer hopes that investors can now be found to take the plunge and work with Inverclyde Council to get the ball rolling.

He told the Tele: "During my recent visit to Dundee I noticed how successful their new popular inflatable water park was.

"There were zip-line operated wakeboards and donut courses that were being enjoyed by all ages.

"The only thing Inverclyde seems to be great at developing and delivering is excuses and missed opportunities for our communities.

"We could set this up, provide quality jobs, keep costs low and give local families something fun to do."

The activist has already been in touch with the owners of the Dundee 'Wild Shore' attraction, ADV, and is in the process of setting up a fact-finding meeting with them.

He has also received support from local councillor Drew McKenzie.

Councillor McKenzie said: "Wild Shore Dundee seems to have been an amazing success and Inverclyde would certainly be well suited for such a facility.

"It is though operated by a private company who have several such sites throughout the UK.

"I'm sure Inverclyde Council would do all it could to work with any party interested in bringing such a facility to this area.

"There is no doubt it would be very popular."

Mr Houston says he agrees.

He added: "There is such an appetite for something like this and I see no reason why we couldn't entice investors to the area and see how it goes.

"If it doesn't work, it's inflatable - it is hardly a permanent fixture.

"We must deliver something like this over more warm words or wasting money on arguably less important vanity projects."

Inverclyde Council today welcomed the idea but said private investment would be needed to get the project off the ground.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "We’re always pleased to hear ideas being floated that would enhance the area further and encourage more people to discover Inverclyde.

"A project like this would require private sector investment for it to be developed and sustained and we look forward to hearing progress in achieving that if it is pursued as a project."