Work underway at Center Parcs Longford Forest on 83 new lodges and lakeside restaurant

Work is underway at Center Parcs Longford Forest on the construction of 83 new lodges and a new lakeside restaurant as part of a €50 million expansion of the holiday resort. 

Sisk has been announced as main contractor for the initial phase of further development at Center Parcs Longford Forest with construction already under way on site. 

Sisk completed the initial building phase of Ireland’s largest outdoor resort back in 2020.   

Overall, a total of 300 jobs will be created during construction and approximately a further 250 permanent jobs once operational. 

The new proposed development is set to increase capacity of the resort to approximately 3,500 guests per break.

The village near Ballymahon has helped drive growth in the domestic tourism market. In the 12 months between April 2023 and April 2024, Center Parcs Longford Forest generated €58 million GVA for the Irish economy, €23 million in Exchequer revenue and welcomed 260,700 guests.

Locally, the resort has generated €44 million GVA within Longford and created over 1,000 jobs. Of those employed, 60% are from county Longford, with 89% living in the Midlands region. 

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Sustainability and protecting the local environment have been at the forefront of the development planning and, as part of the expansion, an air source heat pump-led network will power the new lodges.

Measures will be put in place at all facilities to reduce energy consumption, including the use of high efficiency LED lighting, while new commercial buildings on the village will be powered by electric rather than gas. Low flow outlets will also be utilised throughout the development to reduce water consumption.

The announcement comes just weeks after Center Parcs celebrated six years' operating in Ireland this July.

Leanne Broderick, Managing Director, Sisk said: “Sisk is delighted to win the Center Parcs extension project. Having completed the initial first phase of building works five years ago; this is a significant project win for us. We look forward to working with the  Center Parcs team again and extending its state-of-the-art facilities.”

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Daragh Feighery, Village Director, Center Parcs said: "Longford Forest continues to go from strength to strength and, in a short time, has become a firm favourite with families across Ireland. We are delighted to be working with Sisk again on the further development of Longford Forest, following on from our successful relationship during the initial build.”