THE company behind a £400m holiday park earmarked for the Borders could set up a ‘home’ in a nearby town, it has emerged.

Tourism in the region received a massive shot in the arm last month after it was revealed that Center Parcs plans to build its first park in Scotland to the east of the A7 trunk road between Hawick and Selkirk.

Planning approval is to be sought next year and if all goes to schedule the park should be up and running by 2028.

Now it has emerged that Center Parcs is considering an offer to set up a physical presence in Hawick’s High Street, possibly in an empty shop premises, to keep townsfolk informed about the project.

The matter was raised by Hawick & Hermitage councillor Jane Cox at a meeting of Scottish Borders Council’s (SBC) Executive Committee on Tuesday (December 3).

She said: “Myself and my other town councillors have been stopped and asked several times what we know about the project, which isn’t an awful lot, and people have a lot of questions, mainly regarding recruitment.

“I wonder if Center Parcs could be persuaded to take over one of the large empty shops on the High Street in Hawick as an information centre for people to pop in to ask questions.”

Ms Cox was informed that the issue had been raised recently with Center Parcs at a meeting with the council’s regeneration team and South of Scotland Enterprise.

It was agreed that having a “visible presence” in the centre of the town would be an advantage and Center Parcs is to explore that option.

Sam Smith, SBC’s chief economic officer, said: “I think that their communication with the local community over the next 18 months to two years will be very good and that there will be the opportunity for people to find out at the right time what job opportunities look like, as well as what the business opportunities look like, with hopefully quite significant supply chain opportunities, linked to the development, for local food and drink producers as well as local tourism businesses.

“It’s quite early stages but we are very encouraged by the team at Center Parcs.”

A series of community consultation events are also planned, members were informed.

The proposed site will offer a range of indoor and outdoor activities, shops, bars, restaurants, an Aqua Sana Forest Spa and Center Parcs’ iconic indoor water park, the subtropical swimming paradise.

During the construction phase of the project, 750-800 mainly regional jobs will be created, and local contractors will be used where possible.

Once operational, the village is expected to create around 1,200 permanent non-seasonal jobs.

The agreement covers approximately 1,000 acres of land, comprising open grassland and some woodland. It is expected that development on the site will extend to 400 acres.

A website outlining the plans – www.centerparcsscotland.co.uk – is now available.