Center Parcs has announced that it will open its first holiday village in Scotland, on a site in the Scottish Borders.
The company revealed that the £350-400million village will lie approximately three miles north of Hawick and 55 miles south of Edinburgh.
Center Parcs described the site as ‘well-located’ and that it would ‘provide significant benefits to the local economy in Scotland, including job creation’.
The company continued in a statement: ‘The proposed village will be a similar concept to Center Parcs’ existing six holiday villages in England and Ireland, and a planning application will be submitted for approximately 700 lodges. The site will offer a range of indoor and outdoor activities, shops, bars, restaurants, an Aqua Sana Forest Spa and Center Parcs’ iconic indoor water park, the Subtropical Swimming Paradise.
‘Center Parcs plans to undertake an extensive programme of afforestation, carefully cultivating a new woodland and delivering significant biodiversity net gain on the site. Currently, the site is predominantly open grassland with some woodland areas.’
The firm added: ‘Proposals are at an early stage and Center Parcs intends to submit a planning application in 2025.’
During the construction phase of the project, 750-800 mainly regional jobs will be created, Center Parcs said, and ‘local contractors will be used where possible’.
Once operational, the village is expected to create around 1,200 permanent non-seasonal jobs.
Center Parcs has announced that it will open its first holiday village in Scotland, on a site in the Scottish Borders (file image of Center Parcs Elveden Forest)
Colin McKinlay, Chief Executive Officer of Center Parcs, said: ‘This is a tremendously exciting project and offers the opportunity to transform leisure and tourism in the Scottish Borders.
‘Center Parcs is an exceptionally popular destination for families in the UK and Ireland and there is robust demand to support a seventh village.
‘Throughout our history, we have demonstrated that a Center Parcs village provides significant economic benefits locally, regionally and nationally.
‘Many Scottish families already visit Center Parcs villages in England, and this village will offer the chance for people to enjoy their holidays closer to home, which in turn will benefit the local economy.
‘Sustainability is core to our values. In our three decades of operating in the UK and Ireland, we have transformed areas of commercial woodland into a rich tapestry of flora and fauna, considerably enhancing the biodiversity of each village.
‘This site gives us the opportunity to take a bold, new approach and create a woodland ourselves, delivering significant biodiversity net gain and planting thousands of new trees.’
Center Parcs said that the village will feature a swimming paradise (file Center Parcs image)