The £450 million holiday park will create around 1,200 jobs in the Scottish Borders area and will be the first new Center Parcs in the UK since 2019
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney marked the start of the project by planting a tree(Image: Center Parcs)
Center Parcs has announced the anticipated launch date for its latest venue as construction commenced on site.
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, accompanied by Center Parcs’ Chief Executive Colin McKinlay and pupils from the local area, formally marked the start of works by planting the inaugural tree at the location. This signals the commencement of building on the £450 million holiday resort, which is expected to generate approximately 1,200 employment opportunities across the Scottish Borders region.
John Swinney stated: “It is a privilege to be here with local school children to start planting new trees for the site and I look forward to seeing the development of the project before the resort opens in 2029.”
The tree planted by John Swinney represented merely the initial planting of numerous others scheduled for the site. The holiday giant intends to establish a completely new forest featuring hundreds of thousands of trees that will develop and transform into a haven for wildlife over the forthcoming decades. It marks the first occasion the holiday provider has undertaken creating a woodland entirely from the ground up, reports the Express.
The emerging woodland will comprise multiple tree species and additional plant life, establishing a zone abundant in biodiversity and teeming with wildlife.
Plans for Center Parcs Scottish Borders feature 700 lodges and apartments, a Subtropical Swimming Paradise, comparable to those found in other parks, shops and restaurants in the village centre, and an Aqua Sana Forest Spa within the woodlands. A virtual fly-through and 3D images have shown that numerous facilities will be positioned around the waterfront.
Man-made lochs will accommodate a range of water sports, whilst a Nature and Heritage Centre will offer outdoor activities with a nature theme.
The holiday park will be the first for the brand since Longford Forest launched in Ireland back in 2019. It’ll be situated on the A7 trunk road between Hawick and Selkirk on a site of approximately 1,000 acres.
Last year, proposals were unveiled for an £87million expansion of Longford Forest to incorporate 83 new lodges, including premium treehouse options with gaming dens and hot tubs.
A selection of spacious 6-Bedroom Woodland Lodges for larger groups will also be introduced, perfect for bigger groups or multigenerational holidays in the park.
A new lakeside restaurant will also be added to Longford, alongside new activities such as an aerial zipline called Forest Glider. This was described as “a continuous-loop, gravity-fed ride”.
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