NORTH Ayrshire could soon play host to major events thanks to a new multi-million pound development – including a ‘superdome’.

Racing giants Red Bull and Land Rover are amongst the companies reportedly interested in bringing motor events to the Nobel Race Park in Ardeer after owners Irvine Bay Events Ltd were granted an events licence.

But the area, based at the former ICI site off Lundholm Road, will not be exclusive to racing.

A ‘superdome’ has also been tipped to become a new alternative for major indoor events in North Ayrshire - as a replacement for the outgoing Magnum Leisure Centre.

Co-founded by Irvine businessman Jim Watson, Irvine Bay Events are aiming to bring some of the biggest events in racing and entertainment to North Ayrshire.

And several major companies are already eyeing up the site.

Last week, North Ayrshire Council’s Licensing Committee granted Irvine Bay Events a temporary licence permitting them to only operate within 28 days over the next year.

Irvine Times:

This means they can only hold events between Fridays and Sundays (10am-10pm).

Car racing, motorbike shows, truck events, stunt shows and more are in the works to be hosted at the multi-purpose site which will boast a race track, driver testing area, grandstands and more.

Community groups such as Coastwatch and Irvine Beat FM could also benefit with additional facilities at the development.

But regardless of the licensing restrictions, Jim is delighted with the outcome and claims universally recognised companies are queuing up to get involved.

Speaking exclusively to the Times, he said: “What we’re trying to do is turn this into a permanent events area.

“We only have a temporary 28 day licence to hold events which we’re hoping to get overturned but its not just about car racing.

“The area has lay derelict for about 15-20 years, it’s a big development and we’ve got the right people involved in the project.

“There’s a lot of people wanting to bring these events to the area, car cruises, stunt events and even wind surfing for the beach because they often have problems at Troon and Ayr because it’s too small.”

Mr Watson added: “We’re hoping to get a ‘superdome’, which we can purchase and that will be used to bring indoor events.

“It takes about four days to blow it up but that would be bigger than the Magnum.

"Red Bull do an inside stunt show, the caravan and camping show can only go to Glasgow at the moment, so we can easily bring these events to the area if that’s up and running.

"What we have in mind would be a purpose-built area, that means we wouldn’t have to go back and forward to the council for more applications.

"The next stage now is to get some money spent on bringing the events here. At the moment, we could hold events in the next six months.

"The infrastructure is there and the beach is a terrific site too we need to get things down there.

"We’ve been approached by everybody, Land Rover, Bentley, they all want events on there."

Concerns had previously been raised about the safety of the ICI site considering its history of explosives manufacturing.

But Jim insists that there are no traces of explosives remaining after testing and decontamination was carried out on the site.