Hi all,
It hardly feels five minutes since we were first in Hawick Rugby Club announcing our plans to bring Center Parcs to the Scottish Borders back in November 2024. Since then, we’ve held numerous public consultation events and drop-in sessions, met with around 1,000 local people and been warmly welcomed to the Borders.
I’m delighted to announce that we have submitted our planning application for a Center Parcs village in Scotland. The application has been validated and is now live on Scottish Borders Council’s website with reference 25/00888/FUL.
Over the last eight months, we’ve listened carefully to feedback from local communities and stakeholders and have worked hard to shape a proposal that is both ambitious and sensitive to its surroundings.
We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to engage with us. Your insights have helped us develop a design that, we believe, blends seamlessly with the natural landscape while delivering high-quality accommodation and leisure experiences for families.
The planning application is available online and I would encourage you to take a look and submit any comments via the council’s online planning portal. For those of you with more detailed questions, Paul Hogarth, our Community Liaison Officer, will be hosting a weekly drop-in session in Hawick and can still be reached at paul.hogarth@centerparcs.co.uk. We will share details of the drop-in sessions shortly.
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.
Finally, from me, I want to say thank you for such a positive and warm reception – as a proud Scotsman myself, it has been a joy to spend so much time back in my home country, and I hope I will be spending more time in Scotland in the future.
It is only right that we now allow the planning process to take place, so it’s unlikely you’ll hear from myself or my team directly for the next few months, but please do direct any questions to Paul and I hope to speak to you again soon.
Colin McKinlay
CEO, Center Parcs