IRVINE and Kilmarnock have each been chosen for a £20 million levelling up boost from the UK Government.

They have been named among seven Scottish towns to receive the latest round of levelling up funding.

Each town will receive £20million over 10 years as part of the scheme.

North Ayrshire Council Leader Marie Burns said: “We welcome this much-needed funding boost for Irvine and North Ayrshire.

“Irvine is a fantastic place with many assets, including its incredible coastline.

"While we have invested heavily in the area, with public realm works, housing projects and the development of the Portal and Townhouse, this significant further investment is welcomed to support the town centre, address local priorities and ensure it is an attractive place to work, visit and, of course, live.

“North Ayrshire has a great track record of working in partnership with communities and organisations to identify and deliver on local priorities as demonstrated by our Locality Partnership approach and Regeneration Delivery Plan.”

“We look forward to building on work to date to develop the long term plan so we can make significant change that will benefit residents, businesses, visitors and the whole area.”

The funding forms part of a £1.1billion levelling up investment covering 55 towns across the UK.

The seven Scottish towns receiving funding were selected using the Levelling Up Needs Index.

This considers metrics covering skills, pay, productivity and health alongside the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

This approach aims to ensure funding is directly award to the towns which will benefit most.

The funding will be allocated directly to local authorities through a 10 year endowment style fund to support the delivery of local priorities like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.

A new High Streets and Towns Task Force to be established by the UK Government, will also provide advice and support to each town.

Detailed guidance is awaited on the fund, which seeks to take a place based approach to maximise investment and opportunity.

This will be informed by engagement with local councils and the Scottish Government to determine how the fund will operate and towns will benefit from the funding.

The money will go to Greenock, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Coatbridge, Clydebank, Dumfries and Elgin.

The Scottish government said it welcomed all extra funding for Scotland, but added: "It would be much better if provided to the Scottish government via the Barnett Formula in the normal manner."