Center Parcs’ first Scottish holiday village could ‘transform’ local tourism

Center Parcs has said its first Scottish holiday village could “transform” the tourism industry in the Scottish Borders area.

 

The holiday village company has submitted plans to build a 700-lodge park in a 1,000-acre site north of Hawick on the A7.

 

Proposals for the c.£400m development were first unveiled in November last year but have now been formally submitted to the local council.

 

Center Parcs has five villages in England and opened its sixth, and first in Ireland, in County Longford in 2019. Each site is located in around 400 acres of forest and is normally open 365 days a year.

 

The group said its first Scottish village could bring in 356,700 overnight visitors to the Scottish Borders per year and generate £8.8m for the local economy.

 

The 700 lodges would provide a 55% increase in hospitality accommodation in the area, the group said.

 

This would include two, three and six-bedroom lodges, treehouse accommodation, and a three-storey building with 48 self-catering apartments.

 

Plans for the holiday park include restaurants, bars, coffee shops, a ‘subtropical swimming paradise’ with a beach and wave pool, a sports plaza with table tennis, badminton and indoor climbing, a forest spa and an outdoor activity centre.

 

A Tourism Impact Statement submitted as part of the plans said the Scottish Borders was “less developed as a tourism destination compared to other parts of Scotland” but Center Parcs had “significant potential to change this quite quickly and transform the area’s visitor economy for decades”.

 

If planning permission is secured, the group said the site could open to the public as soon as 2029.

 

Center Parcs has held multiple public consultations and met with around 1,000 local people since last year.

 

Chief executive Colin McKinlay said the group had “listened carefully” to feedback and tried to create a proposal that was “both ambitious and sensitive to its surroundings”.

 

He added: “This is an exciting opportunity – not just for Center Parcs but for the Scottish Borders. As we witnessed when we opened our newest location in County Longford in Ireland in 2019, a new village has the potential to transform local tourism, create year-round employment and bring a significant boost to the regional economy.”

 

Center Parcs will begin hosting weekly drop-in sessions in Hawick to answer questions from the local community.

 

The group saw pre-tax profits drop 18% last year to £98.4m, which it blamed on consumers struggling with “lower levels of disposable income”.

 

However, revenue increased to just over £704m in the year to April 2024, up from £669m the previous year.

 

Brookfield, the Candian private equity owner of Center Parcs, reportedly abandoned plans for a £4b sale of the business last year after failing to reach a deal.

 

Image: Center Parcs