Residents have expressed outrage after another bid from a discount supermarket giant was snubbed which would bring improvements to Stanecastle.

An application for an environmental impact assessment screening opinion into a proposed foodstore was validated by planning officers on October 6 – with plans including improvements to the Stanecastle roundabout and creation of a shared pedestrian and cycleway path.

However, Lidl bosses have since been told the plans will not be accepted – with the council telling the Times they consider the proposals to be a “repeat application”.

Violet Hillis Paterson said: “Typical council they don’t know that they would help people get jobs.”

Sammy Taggart said: “Don’t the council want to create jobs In Irvine? Beggars belief in this current climate”, while Ross Keenan added: “This is a disgrace”.

Alana Lusby said: “Madness, a supermarket people could walk to from various new builds around, large vacant area for a car park and much needed jobs for the town, at a loss who runs this show ?”

Ross Weeks said: “This from the council that keeps telling us what a wonderful job there doing. How many companies and new jobs have they attracted to the area? Not a lot.”

Michael Ferrara said: “I would love to see the traffic impact stats. Bearing in mind it won’t create additional traffic, it will move it from the other end of town.”

Billy Frew added: “Absolute joke of a council, if there for the local people why don’t one or two of them come on here and explain to the people who vote them in.”

Lesley Bovaird said: “Surely when North Ayrshire Council is so concerned with environmental impact and the fact that so many new houses have been and are being built in the surrounding area the planners would jump at the chance to provide its community with a supermarket it did not need to travel too. Or possibly environmental credentials only apply when it suits NAC’s case?”

We previously reported Lidl still hoped to build a new store in Irvine when the chain published its annual list of areas across Scotland where it is interested in acquiring sites.

The previous bid was thrown out after an appeal was heard by the council’s Local Review Body on January 8. Planning officers previously refused due to the chain not taking a ‘town centre-first’ approach and said the discount giant had shown “no will” to deliver a site other than Stanecastle.

Issues with the roundabout, poor maintenance of paths and residents having to cross the A78 footbridge were also highlighted.