Outgoing North Ayrshire Councillor Timothy Billings said he hopes the fight to improve the Arran ferry will continue - and believes he left a legacy during his six years as an elected member.

But the former Tory councillor, who has already re-located to  England, is bitterly disappointed with the uncertainty over the future of Ardrossan as the main port to the island.

Mr Billings, who was elected in 2017 and 2022, announced his plans to retire as a councillor just after the election and Wednesday this week was officially his last in the role.

Returning officer Craig Hatton has now confirmed that a by-election for the vacant seat will take place on Thursday, September 12.

Mr Billings said: “The council and all the other councillors know I am stepping down. It was an honour to serve and also a privilege, it has been a great experience.

“There are some wonderful people on Arran who are so dedicated to getting things right and volunteering and getting things moving and shifting without them it would have been impossible.”

For many years, Mr Billings has been campaigning to ensure the Scottish Government re-establish Ardrossan as the ferry port, although it is currently sharing services with Troon and many fear the battle will be lost.

He said: “The ferries have been a complete cock-up and so mismanaged as millions of pounds have been made available for them.

“The ferry service is not running as well as it should be, once in a while there would be a cancellation but now it happens more often.

“Ardrossan needs the ferry as it is a much more deprived area than Troon and I hope it is established as the port. That is in doubt because if it wasn’t, they would have made an announcement on it by now.

“Keeping the ferry there is very important to the area and the islanders but at least Troon has buses which tie in with the ferries although that was after I complained.

“It has all been worthwhile and I got to know Ardrossan as well as Arran and it is as much of a thriving community as anywhere else.”

He added: “Hopefully a Conservative will be elected and you will need someone who can work across all parties within the council on the ferries to make the best of what we actually have.”