Center Parcs has been granted planning permission to build its first resort destination in Ireland, with the €230m (US$255m, £193m) holiday attraction coming to County Longford in 2019.

Set in 395 acres (1.6sq km) of forest land near the village of Ballymahon, the village, to be called Center Parcs Longford Forest, will have a capacity of up to 2,500 guests and will employ around 1,000 people.

Incorporating Center Parcs’ classic features, the new resort will include a subtropical indoor waterpark, as well as a spa, restaurants and shops. 470 lodges and 30 apartments will house guests in a natural forest setting.

According to Center Parcs, the economic value of the attraction will be significant for both County Longford and the wider Midlands region of Ireland, with an estimated €1bn (US$1.1bn, £841m) being added to the national GDP over the course of the next two decades.

Center Parcs was purchased by Canadian property giant Brookfield in June 2015 for an undisclosed sum. This will be the sixth resort in the Center Parcs’ portfolio, with its most recent addition opening in Woburn, England, in 2014.

Center Parcs currently runs five holiday villages in the UK and reported pre-tax earnings of £147m (US$224m, €204m) last year. This was bolstered by a 99 per cent occupancy rate for the first three months of business at the Woburn Forest resort.

“Today’s announcement marks another significant milestone in the history of Center Parcs,” said Martin Dalby, Center Parcs CEO. “Since we announced our intention to bring the Center Parcs experience to Ireland last year, we have been overwhelmed by the support we have received, both at local and national level. We have experienced unrivalled success for almost 30 years in the UK, providing high quality family short breaks and I’m extremely excited by the prospect of taking our brand to Ireland.”

To read an interview with Martin Dalby, from the Q3 2014 edition of Leisure Management magazine, click here.