Funding approved for Preston's £40m cinema and leisure scheme

Preston councillors have approved a £40m funding package which will bring a new cinema and leisure complex to the city centre.

The Animate development will be located on the site of the former indoor market and will feature an eight-screen cinema and bowling alley along with five new restaurants and bars, a street-food hub, a car park, and new public square.

It will be financed by the Development and Funding Agreement (DFA) which will see around £3.5m invested from Preston’s £20.9m Towns Deal, a further £3.25m from the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal, and the remainder from Preston City Council. The land and buildings will be owned by the council and leased to the site operators.

The council hopes the scheme will bring growth and development to the city centre as well as generating more £7m of extra economic activity each year while creating 125 full time equivalent jobs.

Coun Matthew Brown, leader of Preston City Council, said: “This is a really positive step forward in our plans to bring this exciting development to Preston. The new development will breathe life into the city centre and reinforce the Harris Quarter as a premier cultural and leisure destination in Lancashire.

"Developments like this show that we remain ambitious in our plans to develop the city centre and bring investment and jobs to the people of Preston supporting our local economy as we recover from the pandemic. This development will appeal to a range of people in the city and we’re very excited it is moving closer to fruition.”

Ruth Connor, chief marketing officer at UCLan and member of the Preston Towns Fund Board, added: "Animate will contribute towards a thriving daytime and night-time economy, supporting Preston’s city living strategy.

“It will also improve quality of life and help us with our plan to create a city where people can live, work and enjoy their leisure time all within a travel distance of 15 to 20 minutes.”

Subject to planning permission being granted, it is anticipated construction work on the project could begin in 2022 with the complex opening in spring 2024.

Andrew Dewhurst, director of Maple Grove Developments, commented: “We’re proud to be working in partnership with Preston City Council and its stakeholders on this exciting development, one that will contribute massively to Preston’s goal of creating a thriving, sustainable city centre with an outstanding leisure offer. We look forward to taking the development to the next stage and submitting a planning application this autumn.”

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