The £40m cinema and leisure complex coming to Preston

Preston continues to cement its place as one of the UK’s fastest-growing cities with plans approved for a brand new £40m cinema and leisure complex.

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

The scheme will bring even more growth to the city centre with over £7m of extra economic activity each year, along with the creation of 125 full time jobs.

Subject to planning permission being granted, construction work on the project will begin next year with the complex due to open in spring 2024.

Councillor Matthew Brown, Leader of Preston City Council, said: “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.”

The future is indeed very bright for Preston, with a further £1bn economic growth expected over the next 10 years, including:

• The Stoneygate Masterplan - Preston’s new £300m 25 hectare urban-village is one of the largest regeneration schemes the city has ever seen, bringing significant jobs and opportunities.
• The Preston and Lancashire City Deal – £434m of funding hailed by Preston City Council as a “landmark agreement to achieve a once in a lifetime transformation of the area creating thousands of new jobs”
• UCLan’s Masterplan – A £200m scheme that is set to transform Preston’s campus including The Student Centre and New Square as well as the New Engineering Innovation Centre an advanced, state of the art teaching and research facility.

With so much investment and growth in the city, demand for luxury city centre homes in Preston is soaring, and now is the perfect time to buy. Read our guide to investing in Preston to find out more about what makes this city such an outstanding property hotspot.