Centre Parcs has announced its plan for a major redevelopment of its Longford Forest.

A planning application has been made for a proposed €80m-€85m development to include 200 additional lodges and four luxury treehouses. The proposed development will remain within the existing site boundary.

The proposed development is expected to create around 300 jobs during construction, with a further 250 permanent jobs on offer once operational.

Alongside the plans to increase the number of lodges, the development also proposes to extend existing facilities, including leisure facilities, restaurants and cafés, back of house facilities, the Subtropical Swimming Paradise and Aqua Sana Spa. The development will remain within the existing site boundary.

Center Parcs UK & Ireland's CEO, Martin Dalby, said: "We are thrilled to be announcing our intention to invest further in Center Parcs Longford Forest. Despite a challenging year, we have great confidence in both our business and the Irish domestic tourism market, backed up by our extremely positive forward bookings for the remainder of 2021 and into 2022.

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"Since we opened, Irish families have really taken Center Parcs to their heart, and we are excited to bring more visitors to this beautiful part of the country and introduce the Center Parcs concept to even more families.

"This announcement is great news for County Longford, a significant investment which will generate more local jobs, opportunities for local suppliers, consultants and contractors and a significant boost for the local and regional economy."

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD said: "This is fantastic news for Longford and for the Midlands. Center Parcs is a really valued employer in the area. I know the company has made a huge effort to work with the local community and I'm sure that will continue with this further expansion, which will see €80m-€85m invested, 250 permanent jobs created and a further 300 during construction. I wish the team the very best of luck and thank them for their continued commitment to Ireland."

Center Parcs will now commence detailed design and site survey work, as well as a programme of community engagement, in advance of submitting a planning application, with a target date of the end of 2021 for the submission.

Center Parcs Longford Forest opened in July 2019 to excellent reviews and has enjoyed average occupancy of 90% during peak periods, with more than 90% of guests rating their holiday as excellent or good.