Center Parcs plans first Scottish holiday village

Holiday colony relation Center Parcs has unveiled plans for its archetypal tract successful Scotland.

The caller edifice adjacent Hawick successful the Scottish Borders would correspond a £350m concern and could make up to 1,200 jobs.

Center Parcs presently attracts millions of visitors a twelvemonth to its six sites crossed the UK and Ireland.

Proposals are said to beryllium astatine an "early stage" with a readying exertion for astir 700 lodges intended to beryllium submitted successful 2025.

It volition connection a scope of indoor and outdoor activities including an indoor h2o park.

Chief enforcement Colin McKinlay said: "This is simply a tremendously breathtaking task and offers the accidental to alteration leisure and tourism successful the Scottish Borders.

"Center Parcs is an exceptionally fashionable destination for families successful the UK and Ireland and determination is robust request to enactment a seventh village.

"Throughout our history, we person demonstrated that a Center Parcs colony provides important economical benefits locally, regionally and nationally."

He said galore Scottish families already visited their sites successful England and this would bring the offering "closer to home".

The tract is connected onshore to the eastbound of the A7 betwixt Hawick and Selkirk which is owned by the Buccleuch Group.

Its enforcement president Benny Higgins said the task promised an "outstandingly affirmative impact" connected tourism and leisure successful the Scottish Borders.

Center Parcs has been operating successful the UK since 1987 but it started with a vacation colony successful the Netherlands successful the precocious 1960s.

Its archetypal task successful the UK was astatine Sherwood Forest successful Nottinghamshire followed, successful 1989, by Elveden Forest successful Suffolk.

It present has six sites successful full astatine Longleat Forest successful Wiltshire, Whinfell Forest successful Cumbria, Woburn Forest successful Bedfordshire and its archetypal Irish tract - Longford Forest - successful County Longford.

They pull much than 2 cardinal visitors each twelvemonth and are peculiarly fashionable with families - offering a scope of on-site activities and facilities.

Last twelvemonth Center Parcs announced it had dropped plans for a caller colony astatine Oldhouse Warren, West Sussex, aft concluding it was not suitable for the project.