Inverclyde Council has been awarded a total of £1m by sportscotland towards two of its key leisure schemes - at Ravenscraig Stadium and at Parklea, Port Glasgow.

The local authority submitted two bids worth £500,000 - one towards a £1.7m renovation of Ravenscraig Stadium and the other to develop a new community stadium at Parklea.

Work is due to start at the Ravenscraig facility this month, while the Parklea scheme is being carried out in six phases.

The first three stages of work at Parklea have already been completed, with the fourth - work to improve pitch drainage - to commence in September.

Phase Five will incorporate the community stadium development at a cost of £4.4m, which is expected to commence this month.

Inverclyde Council regeneration convener Jim Clocherty said: "The design works for Ravenscraig Stadium and Parklea are complete so it will not be long before work gets underway.

"I am confident Parklea will become a centre of excellence for football in the West of Scotland and Ravenscraig a regional centre for endurance athletics."