Ardrossan Harbour owners Peel Ports have said they are "deeply disappointed" that plans to upgrade the facility have been delayed.

But they said the decision was not theirs - and revealed they had already committed £2million to the long awaited project.

Their comments came after West of Scotland Labour MSP Katy Clark hit out at the company for the delays in her recent Herald column.

Last month, North Ayrshire Council was finally able to approve an agreement to kickstart the tendering process for work on the redevelopment of Ardrossan Harbour – a whole six years after the project was agreed to by then transport minister Humza Yousaf.

Construction work on the harbour is now hoped to be completed in the spring of 2026.

The Arran ferry service will have to use Troon as its mainland port while the redevelopment work is carried out.

Ms Clark said: "Despite receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds in grant funding towards design costs for the project from the Scottish Government, the port’s intransigent private owner Peel Ports has continually hindered movement by refusing to agree to realistic grant terms."

"Instead of recognising the harbour’s strategic importance and taking it into public ownership, ministers have dithered and delayed.

"Whilst belated progress to the procurement process is welcome, the unfortunate fact is these delays mean an opportunity has been missed to complete the most essential works ahead of the arrival of new fleet.

"Now, with the redevelopment not projected to be completed until at least 2026, even the MV Glen Sannox, the vessel for the Ardrossan-Brodick route still being fitted out at Ferguson Marine shipyard, may be completed before then."

Lewis McIntyre, of Peel Ports, responded: "Like Katy Clark, we are deeply disappointed by the news that we cannot proceed with the important project to upgrade Ardrossan Harbour as quickly as we would like.

"It is important for your readers to know that it is not our decision, although we do understand the circumstances behind it.

"Katy Clark says we have received hundreds of thousands of pounds in government funding.

"What she does not mention is that we have already committed over £2m, which is around 80 per cent of the funds required to progress the project up until this point.

"She also knows that our door is always open and we again invite her to spend some time with us to learn about the work we are doing."

He added: "The ferry route we support from Ardrossan is a lifeline service for many and we share the frustration of the residents and businesses of Arran at this difficult situation.

"We’ll continue to work with Transport Scotland and others on the procurement of this complex and specialist engineering project."