A new flagship project designed to promote the West of Scotland and the surrounding areas as a world-class sailing destination has secured some £150,000 of European funding for Campbeltown

The money, which will be matched by £50,000 from Argyll and Bute Council, will fund a full technical feasibility study in respect of a redeveloped marina in Campbeltown.

The £7.8million Sail West partnership project was formally launched on Friday, in Donegal, Ireland.

Its aim is to promote the West of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to the global sailing fraternity, and to encourage greater sailing traffic between the three regions.

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Councillor Donnie MacMillan, chair of the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee, said: "Sail West clearly has the potential to have a major impact on the local area and economy, and I’m delighted that one of its first successes is to secure this substantial European grant support for a feasibility study into Campbeltown Marina.

"A redeveloped marina in Campbeltown would be of tremendous benefit to the yachting public, who are increasingly recognising the coast of Argyll as one of the prime sailing locations not just in the UK but in the world.

"Having such a strong partnership between Councils and other agencies in the West of Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland can only be of benefit in our ongoing bid to attract inward investment and external funding."

The flagship Sail West project has been approved for intervention funding from the European regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INTERREG IVA programme.

(GK)