INVERCLYDE'S successful bid for £20m of levelling up funding should be the 'first step' towards major regeneration in the area, according to a pair of senior councillors.

The SNP's Chris Curley and Elizabeth Robertson believe the work which will be paid for by the area's share of the UK Government's flagship fund can be a catalyst towards turning Inverclyde's fortunes around.

The successful bid includes plans to remove the A78 flyover and Bullring roundabout, with the road brought down to ground level.

A large section of the Oak Mall is also earmarked for demolition to open up the heart of the town.

Councillor Robertson told the Telegraph it is vital that every chance to improve the area is seized upon.

She said: "There are people who don't think we should have bid for funding, or who don't think the project is the right thing.

"I'm never going to say that investment in Inverclyde is a bad thing.

"We need to get ahead of the chances and know what we want to do when funding appears.

"I firmly believe the best way to get improvement for Inverclyde is to take every chance to talk up the area.

"This will be a catalyst for more, it's only a starting point that we need to build on - it's the first step in a bigger process.

"It's about making the town centre workable and accessible for everybody, not just car users.

"Right now the road into Greenock says 'keep driving' - we need the town's message to be 'stop here'.

"This is a destination, it's not just somewhere to drive over."

The proposals also aim to free up space for a learning quarter, making way for a possible new college campus plus new flats in the heart of the town centre.

Councillor Curley praised the hard work of council staff in developing the project and said it was now time to press on with the plans.

He added: "There is a great opportunity for West College Scotland to partner with this project and develop a new campus in Inverclyde.

"Now we have the funds we should get to work not just on this project, but on developing further ones to regenerate Inverclyde.

"It is important to keep the momentum going and attract further investment.

"Within Greenock town centre the council are shortly expecting a study into housing-led regeneration, which will hopefully enable us to address some of the wider issues.

"This will enable more people to live in the town centre in better quality homes.

"We need to develop and sustain wide-ranging industries within Inverclyde and this could give us the opportunity to improve our historic industrial areas like Dellingburn and Ingleston.

"It could also help with the assets along our riverside and with the regeneration of Port Glasgow town centre.

"The key to the regeneration of the area will be the Inverclyde Taskforce and using it to make the special business case for additional funding for Inverclyde."