NOT so long ago, Largs was one of the most popular holiday destinations for residents in Renfrewshire.

Now the seaside town is set to join the likes of Johnstone, Kilbarchan, Elderslie, Lochwinnoch and Howwood in the same parliamentary constituency.

The move is part of a controversial shake-up planned by the Boundary Commission for Scotland.

Under the proposals, the two existing UK parliamentary constituencies of Paisley & Renfrewshire North and Paisley & Renfrewshire South would be torn three ways into Paisley, Renfrewshire West and Inverclyde & Erskine.

The Paisley constituency would incorporate Renfrew and areas of East Renfrewshire, such as Barrhead and Neilston.

Inverclyde & Erskine would see Erskine and Bishopton lumped in with places as far away as Wemyss Bay and Gourock.

And the Renfrewshire West constituency would see Johnstone, Kilbarchan, Elderslie, Lochwinnoch and Howwood join parts of North Ayrshire, such as Largs and West Kilbride.

The changes are part of the UK Parliament’s plan to reduce the number of constituencies from 650 to 600, with Scotland’s total cut from 59 to 53.

Johnstone resident Lainey Begley has described the proposals as “absolutely bizarre.”

She said: “Renfrewshire West will be a vast area and I think Johnstone will end up missing out on having a closeness with its MP.

“Johnstone is completely different to Largs and it seems silly to lump the two together.”

Gavin Newlands, MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire North, said the plans will “rip up communities.”

He added: “Local people will be dumbfounded by these proposals.

“This process – which has cost over £5million to date – proposes ripping up local communities, enlarging constituencies to ridiculous levels and making it harder for local people to engage directly with their MP.

“For example, local people will be deeply confused that Renfrew will be incorporated into a Paisley seat, losing its distinct identity, and that Cumbrae will be incorporated into a seat with Johnstone and Elderslie.”

The electorate in the Paisley constituency would be 75,648, Renfrewshire West would be 71,422 and Inverclyde & Erskine would be 77,184.

Mhairi Black, MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire South, said: “At a time when the whole country faces the huge threat of an extreme Brexit, drastic changes to the boundaries of MP’s constituencies is the last thing the UK government should be wasting its time on.”

A consultation on the proposals will now take place, with a report going to the Secretary of State for Scotland in September next year, so that the new constituencies can be considered for approval by parliament and be available for use in the General Election expected in May 2022.

Lord Matthews, deputy chair of the Boundary Commission for Scotland, said: “Where the legislation has allowed, we have tried to respond to the views expressed to us. However, in some areas, we have been unable to make changes because of constraints on constituency design within which we work.”