Work begins at Scotland's first Center Parcs site

Work has started at Scotland's first Center Parcs holiday village in the Borders.

First Minister John Swinney joined the company's chief executive Colin McKinlay for a ceremonial tree-planting to mark the beginning of the £450m project on the site, near Hawick.

The Scottish government recently approved a by-law restricting public access to about half the land earmarked for the development.

The park will be the seventh Center Parcs village in the UK and Ireland but the first in Scotland. It is hoped it can open by 2029 and create about 1,200 permanent jobs.

As part of the development, the company will create an entirely new forest - the first time it has established woodland from scratch when developing a new village.

The Scottish government has committed £30m - via South of Scotland Enterprise - to provide the infrastructure needed for the development.

The first minister said: "I am delighted that Center Parcs have decided to locate one of their villages in the Scottish Borders.

"It is the first time the company has located one of its facilities in Scotland.

"This will create up to 1,200 jobs in the Scottish Borders and be a significant boost - a transformational boost - in terms of visitor attraction in the south of Scotland."

McKinlay said the company was grateful for the support for its project.

He added: "Center Parcs will have a transformational effect on the south of Scotland, bringing jobs, tourism, supply chain opportunities and significant economic benefits," he added.

Plans for the project - which will see hundreds of holiday lodges built alongside leisure facilities - were first unveiled in November 2024.

Center Parcs said the area was the "ideal location" with many guests from Scotland already using its English sites.

It pledged to work with the local community throughout the planning and construction process.

A planning application followed in July last year which prompted a number of objections.

As well as noise and light pollution for the nearest neighbours, concerns were raised about additional traffic on surrounding roads with the site expected to attract about 350,000 visitors a year.

Objections relating to increased flood risk, loss of wildlife habitats and right-to-roam restrictions were also submitted.

However, the plans won unanimous approval from councillors in December 2025 in what was described as a "momentous day for Hawick and surrounding area".

The latest stage in the progress of the project was the granting of the by-law to restrict public access to part of the site.

Despite concerns about the precedent it might set, the move was approved as the creation of a fenced area with one point of access was "central to the business model" used by the firm.

Center Parcs has been operating in the UK since 1987 but it started with a holiday village in the Netherlands in the late 1960s.

Its first venture in the UK was at Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire followed, in 1989, by Elveden Forest in Suffolk.

It now has six sites in total at Longleat Forest in Wiltshire, Whinfell Forest in Cumbria, Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire and its first Irish site - Longford Forest - in County Longford.