The new Center Parcs village in the Scottish Borders has passed yet another milestone, ahead of its planned opening in 2029.
Blueprints for the brand new holiday park – the first in Scotland – were first unveiled back in November.
And this week, planning officials have recommended those proposals be approved.
The chief planning and housing officer, Barry Fotheringham, said the new £450,000,000 Center Parcs village will be ‘transformational’ to the Borders, ‘delivering year-round quality jobs as well as hundreds of thousands of new visitors annually.’
Fotheringham’s recommendation will be put before the Planning & Building Standards Committee on Monday, December 8.
Center Parcs is the UK’s most visited holiday park, known for its woodland setting, huge variety of activities, and signature rapids.
A video released in July offered a glimpse into the site, with a virtual tour showing off familiar amenities, such as waterside lodges, the Aqua Sana Forest Spa, Sports Plaza, and the Subtropical Swimming Paradise.
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Initial zoning blueprints also showed the scale of the project, including 700 self-catering lodges designed for family stays.
Here’s what we know about the new Scotland Center Parcs so far.
What do the new Center Parcs pictures reveal about the Scotland site?
Frequent guests of Center Parcs will see that the new park has everything you’d expect from one of their villages.
The Subtropical Swimming Paradise is adorned with foliage, a transparent greenhouse-like ceiling, and features both indoor and outdoor pools and waterways.
There’s also a children’s play area, with a small slide and lots of places to splash around in.
Images also reveal that this village too will have a Pancake House – a much-loved family-friendly dining option – although we’re yet to see if there will also be a Treats (the confectionery shop) or on-site Cafe Rouge or Huck’s American Bar and Grill.
Unsurprisingly, this site also has some of the newer features, not in place at all Center Parcs forests.
For example, there’ll be Waterside Lodges, which are currently only available to book at Elveden Forest, Suffolk.
These two-storey detached lodges feature a wooden deck and balconies for views over the ‘loch’, which has a sandy beach.
The Aqua Sana Forest Spa is also featured, and while few details have been revealed, it’s speculated that the Scottish spa will offer state-of-the-art features, billed as a ‘tranquil retreat nestled in a natural setting.’
For example, at the Aqua Sana Forest Spa in Sherwood Forest, Nottingham, there’s a treetop sauna, not currently available at any other village’s spa.
Colin McKinlay, CEO of Center Parcs, said: ‘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 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.’
He added that Center Parcs locations are already a popular retreat for families in Scotland, and that a new location would provide a ‘premium holiday experience closer to home.’
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Where is the new Center Parcs?
The first ever in Scotland, the new park will be in the Scottish Borders, north of Hawick and south of Selkirk – around a 90-minute drive from Edinburgh and Newcastle, or two hours from Glasgow.
In a previous statement, the firm praised the ‘picturesque location’ for its ‘rolling hills and open countryside providing stunning scenery at every turn.’
The village, which is expected to cost between £350 and £400 million, will be able to accommodate 3,500 guests at a time.
Although Center Parcs has yet to reveal a specific opening date, McKinlay said it is expected be some time in 2029.
Center Parcs previously claimed the new site was necessary as its ‘existing villages are pretty much full all year round and we feel there is strong demand for another Center Parcs in the UK.’
There are currently five Center Parcs in the UK: Whinfell Forest, Sherwood Forest, Longleat Forest, Elveden Forest, Woburn Forest. There’s also one village in Ireland: Longford Forest.
Each of these villages was developed in existing woodlands and forests, but this time, Center Parcs will be planting its own, in a process known as afforestation.
‘Thousands of trees’ will be planted on the site – which is ‘currently mostly open grassland’ – to create a brand new woodland, in what the company calls ‘a bold, new approach’.
The plan also prioritises heritage and environmental significance, with additions like wetlands, meadows, and lochs, as well as improved screening to protect neighbouring properties and natural beauty.
'I've been to every Center Parcs in the UK'
Metro’s Lifestyle Editor, Kristina Beanland, shares her memories of growing up going to the villages.
I’ve been going to Center Parcs with my family since I was in primary school.
As a child, I signed up to some weird and wonderful activities: from street dance (picture the instructor as an older Raygun) to an oft-regretted two days making a music video to Madness’ Baggy Trousers (I was about nine at the time, and was more of an S Club fan).
There was also a few bizarre years when I was big into circus skills. I’m still yet to find a real-world use for my diablo practice.
As I got older, I was lucky enough to call Center Parcs my retreat amid GCSE and A-Level stress. A place to revise among the quiet, before throwing myself head first down the rapids for some light relief.
Mind you, whatever my age, cycling up the hills (particularly those in Longleat Forest) has become no easier – to the point where I’ve now ditched the two wheels for two feet instead.
I’ve celebrated some pretty important milestones in a Center Parcs village: the final episode of Friends, and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, to name just a few.
I’ve visited the village up in Cumbria, the one down in Bedford, and all the others in between – meaning I’ve been to every single one in the UK (although I haven’t ticked the Irish site off my list).
The village in Woburn is small and compact, and less than an hour away from London, but my favourite is probably Elveden, with its huge lake (try cable water skiing) and award-winning water ride, the Tropical Cyclone.
I only have happy memories (apart from that one time my mum tore her Achilles during an ill-fated game of badminton, but that’s a story for another day), and now the visits are less frequent, but still just as fun. Circus skills have been swapped for spa days, and I’ve been drunk on a bike on more occasions that I care to admit here.
Now, we’re joined by my young niblings – a new generation of my family is becoming equally as obsessed with Treats (iykyk) as I am.
Center Parcs is far from a budget holiday, but it’s worth saving up for – I can’t wait to go back.
This article was first published on November 6, 2024 and has since been updated.
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