It would be difficult to overstate the scale of the employment and economic boost to the Scottish Borders promised by Center Parcs.

The holiday village group this week revealed plans to build a 700-lodge park about three miles north of Hawick on land owned by Buccleuch Group.

And Center Parcs declared that the village, for which a planning application will be submitted next year, would create 1,200 permanent jobs.

Even in a major Scottish city, the creation of employment on this scale at a single site would be noteworthy.

And creation of 1,200 jobs in the Scottish Borders is a very big deal indeed, when you take into account the population.

In recent decades, the Scottish Borders and its economy have not had their troubles to seek.

It does not seem that long ago that the area was still reaping the benefits of large-scale textiles manufacturing, before a raft of closures and heavy job losses.

As recently as the 1990s, there were a fair number of major textiles mills.

Sadly, that is no longer the case, and people and towns in the Scottish Borders, and the area’s economy, have had to adapt.

The importance of investment to the region is something that was highlighted by Colin McKinlay, chief executive of Center Parcs, in response to my question about the likelihood of securing planning permission for the huge development his company is planning.

Mr McKinlay, noting the intention to submit the planning application for the proposed Scottish holiday village in 2025, replied: “Obviously there is a process we need to........

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