Members of Engineers Ireland and leading figures in the construction sector enjoyed a guided tour of the country’s highly anticipated new family park. Multi-disciplinary building consultancy firm ORS hosted the event in co-operation with Center Parcs Ireland. The day involved a meet and greet, a guided tour of the near completion site, followed by refreshments at the new Village Centre.
In 2016, An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission to turn the former 400-acre Coillte forest on the outskirts of Ballymahon, Co Longford, into Ireland’s newest holiday resort.
There was palpable excitement in the region when Center Parcs announced its intention to construct a €233 million forest resort with the prospect of generating 1,000 jobs.
First of its kind in Ireland
The epic family resort will open this summer and will be the first of its kind in Ireland. When complete, the 466 lodges and the 30 apartments will provide accommodation for up to 2,500 guests. At full capacity, the forest resort will have a population equivalent to five per cent of that of Co Longford.
ORS director David McCormack said: "We were delighted to welcome our colleagues to Center Parcs. We have had a fantastic working relationship with the team since day one and greatly appreciate the opportunity to showcase our firm’s involvement in this exciting project.
"With more than 10km of internal roads and a purpose-built wastewater treatment plant on-site, the scale of this project is such that it could be considered as Ireland’s newest small town.
"ORS was brought on board at the early stages to provide general and specialist consultancy services. We also acted as technical advisors to the client and their UK-based design team in all areas of Irish building regulations and legislation throughout the entire project.
"Center Parcs had a vision for Ireland and the special piece of land in Co Longford. They have very successfully achieved that vision and we are proud to have played a role in that," said McCormack.