{"id":302939,"date":"2025-12-07T08:56:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T08:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/302939\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T08:56:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T08:56:06","slug":"the-uk-is-set-to-open-its-first-new-center-parcs-resort-in-10-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/302939\/","title":{"rendered":"The UK is Set to Open its First New Center Parcs Resort in 10 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Center Parcs is a\u00a0classic UK family holiday choice \u2013 and for obvious reasons. There\u2019s simply\u00a0too much fun\u00a0that can be had\u00a0without\u00a0having to leave the complex\u2019s gates. Where else can you bomb down a waterslide one minute,\u00a0master\u00a0\u2018spells\u2019 in wizard school the next and putt for a hole-in-one at mini golf all before dinner?<\/p>\n

Soon British holidaymakers will have even more Center Parcs destinations to choose from, as the\u00a0dopamine-filled leisure park chain\u00a0is\u00a0set\u00a0to open its first venue in Scotland. The location will be its sixth in the UK and first new development in Great Britain in a decade.<\/p>\n

Scotland\u2019s first Center Parcs holiday village has been in the works for years<\/a>. Planned for the Scottish Borders \u2013 between Hawick and Selkirk \u2013 the application was lodged in July 2025 after public consultations. Officials have recommended approval of the application, though the council will have the final say next week.<\/p>\n

Center Parcs\u00a0says the \u00a3350-\u00a3400 million development\u00a0will feature 700 forest lodges located in a newly built woodland, a large indoor water park, lochs, a sports plaza, walking trails, a heritage centre, a central area with restaurants and shops, and a spa. The project will\u00a0create between 750 and 800 jobs during construction and about 1,200 permanent roles.<\/p>\n

\"Architect
\nPhotograph: Center Parcs Scotland <\/p>\n

Colin McKinlay, Chief Executive of Center Parcs, said when the planning application was submitted: \u2018With many families in Scotland already travelling to our existing villages in England, a Scottish location would allow them to enjoy a premium holiday experience closer to home \u2013 while supporting jobs, businesses and tourism in the region.\u2019<\/p>\n

However, not everyone is happy with the scale of the proposals \u2013 40 objections were raised by local residents.\u00a0Opponents\u00a0criticised\u00a0the size and density\u00a0of the resort, saying it could have a negative impact on the rural character of the landscape. Some respondents pointed out that the site would be\u00a0larger than many towns in the region.<\/p>\n

Critics also said that Center Parcs operates a \u2018closed economy model\u2019, designed to keep guests onsite for most of their stay. They\u00a0fear\u00a0that\u00a0visitors won\u2019t venture into nearby towns, which wouldn\u2019t benefit local shops, caf\u00e9s and tourism businesses.<\/p>\n

A final decision will be made by the council on December 8.<\/p>\n

ICYMI:\u00a0The best restaurant in Edinburgh is turning into a hotel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stay in the loop: sign up to our\u00a0free Time Out UK newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Center Parcs is a\u00a0classic UK family holiday choice \u2013 and for obvious reasons. There\u2019s simply\u00a0too much fun\u00a0that can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[121615,59,57,58,7507,50,121616,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-302939","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-kingdom","8":"tag-categories-kids","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-greatbritain","12":"tag-kids","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-news-kids","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom","17":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}