Center Parcs vague on funding options for planned €85m Irish expansion

Up to 250 permanent jobs are likely to be created by the expansion.

Center Parcs is planning an €85m expansion to its existing Ireland site in Co Longford.

Center Parcs is planning an €85m expansion of its existing Irish-based holiday village in Co. Longford, but is vague over how it will fund the project.

The holiday company intends to submit a planning application to Longford County Council by the end of this year and is hopeful of commencing work in 2023.

Center Parcs opened its Irish-based village, near Ballymahon in Co. Longford, two summers ago. It employs around 1,000 people, but a further 250 permanent jobs are likely to be created by the expansion.

The plan includes the building of 200 additional accommodation lodges and enlargement of a number of existing amenities. Center Parcs chief executive Martin Dalby said the plan illustrates the company’s commitment to its Irish operation.

He said the expansion plans have been driven by “great confidence in [the] business and in the Irish domestic tourism market”.

Mr Dalby said Center Parcs has not decided on how it will fund the project and that it will plan those details at a later date. However, he said the company has factored in rising construction costs since the onset of the Covid crisis into its budgeting. 

He also said that while the rising crisis threatening the aviation market is a broad concern, it is not a huge worry for Center Parcs as most of its custom in Longford is from domestic holidaymakers.

Mr Dalby said bookings for Center Parcs Ireland for this summer and autumn are “extremely strong” following last year’s disruptions. He said all expansion planned will happen within the boundaries of Center Parcs’ existing 1,000 acre site.

The company has also said it has no plans for a secondary holiday park in Ireland.

“We have always intended for Longford Forest to be the only Center Parcs in Ireland. We feel that it is perfectly located for the majority of Irish families,” it said.