£450m Loudoun castle leisure park proposal gains momentum
October 18 2017
An existing consortium promoting the bid is confident that the London based developer can be brought on board to adopt the theme park idea as its ‘next flagship project’ should planning permission in principle be granted.
Loudoun Woods are hoping to restore the A-listed Loudoun Castle, currently just a shell, as the centerpiece hotel at the heart of 576 acres of landscaped grounds and tourist attractions; including holiday lodges, camping facilities, tree houses, sports grounds and a tropical-themed indoor swimming pool.
Included in this package would be an estate of 1,000 homes, described as a necessary component to provide funding for the castle’s stabilization and restoration.
Loudoun Woods director David Mace said: “Loudoun Castle will be an all-weather, world-class holiday destination, which will attract visitors from all over the UK, create major economic benefits for Ayrshire and become a core part of Scotland’s tourism offering.
“We are looking forward to the planning inquiry and, given a positive decision by Scottish Ministers, we are aiming to begin works in the summer of 2018 on a project that will transform the economy of this part of Scotland.”
Paul Manning of Harcourt added: “We are engaged in very positive discussions and hope to be able to conclude an agreement to join the Loudoun Woods consortium. The site's historic setting, great transport links and proximity to some of the world’s most famous golf courses, gives it massive potential to become one of the UK’s most successful tourism destinations.”
A planning application for Loudoun Woods Resort is currently subject to scrutiny by Scottish ministers, with deliberations set to begin on 23 October.
3 Comments
#1 Posted by wonky on 19 Oct 2017 at 15:33 PM
All of this sort of stuff has been tried (& failed) before- the problem being they are in the middle of nowhere, not remotely accessible to much of the population (specifically without a car)- I've been saying for years that something like this, or even a relocation of the M&D theme park at Strathclyde park be transposed to one of the windswept brownfields sites at the Clyde in Glasgow. The immediate benefits being convenient access to a central location, next to city centre & West End, and with transport links. Copenhagen has the Tivoli gardens so Glasgow could have its own theme park, maybe not with quite so much class
#2 Posted by George on 20 Oct 2017 at 09:33 AM
#1 - fully agree with utilising the site at Glasgow Harbour instead of the cinema and student flats that are radically proposed. Done properly it could be a major tourist attraction but in the right location. Doing this scale of project at Loudoun would be doomed from the start as it wouldn't get the throughput to make it profitable.
#3 Posted by John on 4 Nov 2017 at 20:21 PM
Really guys dont think we need a theme park in the middle of glasgow its a beautiful city and attractive for tourism already if the park is thought out properly and affordable then people shall travel from further a feild just look at center parks its in the middle of nowhere and is attractive to thousands if not millions of visitors per year great idea i would say for the people and businesses in the local area bring it on guys????
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