Over 500 jobs to be created in Longford with €100m Center Parcs expansion

More than 500 jobs are set to be created after An Bord Pleanála sanctioned plans for a €100m expansion of Center Parcs’ holiday resort in Longford.

The plans will see the creation of 198 new lodges, external saunas and pods, a new lakeside restaurant and coffee shop as well as extension to a series of existing facilities at the firm’s 395 acre Longford Forest.

Once operational, the additional capacity at Longford Forest is also expected to inject a further €27 million per annum to Irish GDP.

The plans represent the latest in a number of large-scale investments Center Parcs bosses have rolled out since the short break holiday firm opened its doors in 2019.

It’s anticipated the expansion will created 300 jobs during construction and 250 permanent jobs once fully operational.

In a 58 page inspector’s report, planning chiefs have stipulated conditions for a road safety audit to be carried out as well as a construction traffic management plan.

In one of a number of objections lodged with An Bord Pleanála concern was expressed over the proximity of the site to the former Ballymulvey landfill, in which he says a significant quantity of asbestos-contaminated waste is buried, “with neither the precise location, nor the present condition of this waste being known.”

However, inspectors found the landfill in question to be “well removed from the subject site” with the report finding “no significant effect on population and human health.”

SOURCE: Irish Independent