Community groups can now apply for funding for events in Irvine Harbor – Irvine Times

The Great Harbor Community Fund has been launched to complement ambitious £14m plans for the Harborside area.

To support the delivery of the Great Harbor Project, a special fund has been established offering small grants to local groups wishing to hold events at Harborside or Beach Park in Irvine.

The fund aims to support projects and activities that contribute to the transformation and regeneration of Irvine Harborside, with a specific focus on free community events to help increase visitor numbers and visitor spend.

We hope the fund will also contribute to promoting wellbeing, reducing inequalities, improving access to cultural and physical activities and promoting a sense of place and community ownership.

The Grand Harbor forms part of Ayrshire’s growth investment in tourism and TThe business case for the first phase of the Coastal Center project was approved late last year.

Plans for the Harborside project (Image: NAC) The works will include the development of a themed regional playplan and other leisure and landscaping facilities reflecting the coastal location, a new setting for the pilothouse, improved links between the beach park and the marina supporting active travel and the resurfacing of The Park on Beach Drive to increase capacity .

Contractor McLaughlin Construction has been appointed to carry out the works and the Playpark is expected to be completed in the autumn, weather and site conditions permitting.

Fund grants are available to community groups, organizations and non-profit clubs that are incorporated and hold an organizational bank account.

Proposed events must achieve at least one Group 1 objective and at least one Group 2 objective as detailed below:

Group 1: Harborside connection

• Promote Grand Harbor and Irvine Harborside as a tourist destination.
• A celebration of local art, culture or history related to Harborside’s heritage.
• Offering conservation or biodiversity activities focused on the dune system.
• Encouraging physical activity in the green and blue spaces of Harborside.
• Piloting a social enterprise initiative at Irvine Harborside or Beach Park.

Group 2: Community impact

• Spaces to test events along Irvine Harborside and collect measurable feedback.
• Promoting equality and fostering good relations between different groups.
• Foster collaboration with other organizations to increase impact.

Where the Fund Group determines that the application aligns with the objectives of the Grant, a Principle Award will be made to the successful Group in the first instance.

This will enable successful groups to apply for the necessary permits, consents and insurances. Applicants should allow up to 10 weeks to secure these permits. The panel will make a final award decision based on this information.

For more advice on planning your event, contact events@north-Ayrshire.gov.uk.

More details on the complete process can be found at

After the first phase, work will begin on the second phase of the project. The Maritime Mile, including the Maritime and Arts Centre, which will include new waterfront space to help support events, improved access to maritime facilities and the redevelopment of important heritage assets, subject to additional funding.

The third phase aims to create a maritime heritage hub. This will see the council partner with the Maritime Museum of Scotland and Crown Estate Scotland to improve and extend existing facilities around the Harborside, including the Puffers Café area. It is hoped that this will increase visitors and encourage increased participation in maritime heritage in the area.