We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
FAMILY RESORT OPERATOR Center Parcs has revealed a glimpse inside the €200 million holiday park it has planned for Longford.
The UK company plans to build its first “holiday village” outside England on a 375-acre tranche of land at Newcastle Wood in the midlands county.
The resort developer wants permission to build 500 lodges – including several treehouses – a spa, nature centre, shops, restaurants and a “subtropical swimming paradise” on the Coillte-owned site.
The release of its detailed masterplan is the last step in a consultation process before the company puts in its planning application. It isn’t expected the venue, to be called Center Parcs Longford Forest, will be open to visitors until 2019.
The company’s CEO, Martin Dalby, said today marked a “significant milestone” in the plan to bring Center Parcs to Ireland.
It claims the development would bring 1,000 permanent jobs and 750 temporary construction jobs to the region, adding €32 million to the Irish economy each year once up and running.
However the company has previously been criticised for doing little to help local economies as guests typically stayed only for weekends and spent all their time on-site. Some 1.7 million guests stayed in its resorts last financial year.
A separately-owned but affiliated company, Center Parcs Europe, operates 21 resorts in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Is the fine weather in the plan too?
Need one of these in every county
They are going to put a roof on it!!
Ya in a way they are putting a roof on it! all the resort’s have these large dome shaped subtropical aqua centres.
Butlins…..good spot for refugees and homeless….
Never thought I’d see the day when Longford and Sub-Tropical are in the same sentence.
Here’s one. Longford is not sub tropical.
Great, the Syrians will love that.
Great news. About time we had something like this. Give up moaning about the weather.uk have same weather as us and they have several of these parks. Some people on this are only happy if they’re moaning.
This will be brilliant!
ah the new butlins, us to love that place as a child
Longford is an ideal location for an Irish resort as you can get to it from most locations in Ireland in 2/3hours drive, that’s the reason they picked it. As for the weather, all the parks have a large subtropical aqua centres where the temperature is kept at 29c, plus they offer a lot of water based outdoor activities and cycling on forest trails, heard there also going to have a GAA pitch. People tend do the activities in the morning and relax by the pool in the afternoon.
Stayed in their first one in UK many years ago. Brilliant place – this will be a great asset here. Brilliant holiday destination and jobs for the area.
does anyone actually know how to get to Longford?
Can’t wait!
The Sherwood Forest park is like a second home to us at this stage, absolutely love the place.
LOTS of jobs too, big boost in employment for the area, so great news in that respect also
Blue skies and sunshine, I remember that day earlier this year…….
Hopefully it goes ahead, badly needed. It will give Tayto park a run for its money !
Central Parcs obviously never did their research on the location! I give it 2 years max!
Founded in 1968. Huge company. Locations all over Europe and just pumped 250million into a site in the UK. Yea….sounds like the sort of people who wouldn’t do their homework before investing in a new site… #sarcasm
It will never happen , Do you remember the big plans for Tipperary, what ever happened ?
or the national aquatic center and what a kip that’s turned out to be.
I’m confused Jimbo, how do they have sites all over Europe if the article specifically mentions that this will be their first park outside of England????
Company that are committing 200 mn and a track record of success going back a few decades vs Internet commentator.
@john its a private equity asset management firm Brookfield Asset Management, just exactly like what mitt romney is up to
@Tony, it’s the first park outside England for center parcs UK, there is also center parcs Europe, a differently owned but affiliated company, it’s in the last sentence
It will probably still be cheaper to fly abroad.
True it’s not cheap, but in the UK the resort’s are popular for families as you can load up the car and drive for 2 hours and then you are in a holiday resort with the dome the aqua centre and don’t have to fly.
Ah bugger I was hoping they’d take over that dump trabolgan in Cork. My god that place needs investment badly!! It could be so cool!!
Stop trying to make Trabolgan happen :P
Fetch is not going to happen! :D
Sounds great. Nice employment opportunities for the locals also. I think it will do very well. Defo worth the trip.
Is that sky blue!
Never knew Holland, Germany, Belgium or France were in England, but there seems to be a lot of Centre parcs resorts there too.
Did I miss something in the news or have The journal still not bothered to try their hand at fact checking
@Matty It’s in the article – this resort is the first outside England being built by Center Parcs UK. There is a separately-owned but affiliated company that runs the resorts in Europe.
Peter, you can’t be expecting people to read the *whole* article.
This is the journal. You read the headline, and then after 2-3 lines of the article if you’ve thought of a suitable comment with the appropriate level of outrage, you can skip straight to the comments. If you think you’ve found a mistake, you can skip straight to the comments.
If you notice your favourite Sinn Fein or FG apologist has commented you forget your comment and attack them instead. If not, proceed with OUTRAGE
It is still not the first Centerparcs place outside of England (click the link they are all on the one page), so the sub heading is wrong.
No matter what nonsense he added on at the end.
can you get there without a car?
You can get there by Bus & train to Edgeworthstown and then it’s 17km from there or get train or bus to Athlone and 20kms to Ballymahon. I’d say the resort be clued in or you would hope they will be and will provide free shuttle services from train stations/bus stations to the resort.
Well at least it’ll provide jobs, if not much else to the local economy. The airports and sea ports will also benefit and I’m sure some people will venture outside. I say good luck to them!
i see they photoshopped the sun into the picture a nice bright day with temperatures warm enough for a dip outdoors oh center parcs =’(
And how much of our forests have been sold to house this white elephant?
I was wondering had the begrudgers spotted this.
yes: lets turn a public amenity into a private money making machine that the poor cant afford #positiveireland
What a jobs boost to the locality, even if it only delivered a tenth of them. What an economic boost to Longford.
You might think you actually give a toss about the poor but giving them hope and a chance is more important that smug class politics.
@john i seem to have hit a nerve john?
Not at all. I just had to point out that you offer the poor nothing.
@john good stuff! carry on with the propaganda so
@john did i hit a nerve?
have your say