Plans for a £300m five star hotel and championship golf resort at the site of Loudoun Castle in East Ayrshire have been scrapped in favour of a more expensive proposal to turn the area into an all weather holiday destination and residential development.
The £450m masterplan for the former amusement park site in Galston includes 450 luxury lodges, 12 ‘glamping’ pitches, a lake and alarge covered leisure development with indoor sports facilities and a sub-tropical pool. A large portion of the 610 acres will be given over to 1,025 new homes, the sale of which will enable the restoration of the derelict 19th century castle buildings.
Original proposals for a world class standard golf course and hotel were quashed after 18 months of public consultation as they were the ‘least well received’ aspects of the plans.
“Since the site was allocated in the East Ayrshire Local Plan in 2010, it has been an aspiration of the council to secure Loudoun Castle as a major tourism destination,” said Nick Laister, director at RPS - the planning and development consultant for the project. "This proposal will create a unique, high-quality resort in a dramatic location with the restoration of the Grade A listed castle at its heart."
The Loudoun Castle Project - which is behind the scheme - comprises a consortium made up of private investment firm EIF, construction consultancy Turner & Townsend, the RPS Group, feasibility consultancy Vikon UK and heritage consultant Francis Shaw.
“A development of this size and scale will provide Scotland and Ayrshire with significant long-term economic benefits both in terms of jobs and tourism.” said Loudoun Castle Project chair David Mace.
“Scottish tourism has had a great year and we are keen to capitalise on the legacy created by the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup by adding a world class leisure facility and visitor attraction that really stands out. We will clearly attract new visitors from home and abroad and positively impact Ayrshire.”
Opened in 1995 on the site of the 19th century castle, Loudoun Castle Theme Park was an initial success in its first few years, with attendances peaking in 1997 at 225,000. It was bought by Henk Bembom’s firm Parkware in 2002, and given a £7m facelift with new rides and attractions. However, attendance figures were never consistent enough to provide a viable profit margin, so the park closed after the 2010 season. Speculation as to its future use has been rife ever since.
Subject to planning from East Ayrshire, developers envisage being on site by early 2016 with a first phase opening scheduled for 2018. The project developers envisage creating around 2,500 jobs, of which 1,500 will be long term.
