The planned opening date for Kingsgate Leisure – which will include a six-screen cinema operated by The Light – has been put back until 2025.
When work started to re-develop the 90,000 sq ft three-floor former House of Fraser store in March 2023 it was estimated that Kingsgate Leisure would open in September 2024.
While work has been completed on raising the roof, the internal works remain very much ongoing.
The space will be taken on by The Light which has plans for a six-screen cinema and various food, restaurant and bar outlets.
A planning application has been submitted to Kirklees Council for changes to the façade in Zetland Street with new shop frontages and signage.
Huddersfield Hub understands that building works are still some way from completion and that it could be Easter 2025 before The Light is ready to open to the public.
The Light has previously said it would offer six cinema screens and 10 bowling lanes, alongside what it described as “a variety of other leisure activities and food offerings.”
Huddersfield Hub asked The Light for more information but it declined to respond.
The plans originally included a sky bar with an outside ‘helter skelter-style’ corkscrew slide which excited councillors when they gave planning permission back in 2019. However, the corkscrew slide is no longer part of the plans.
Developer WD Kingsgate has said it is making the “largest investment in the town centre since Kingsgate opened” more than 20 years ago.
The cost of the scheme has not been revealed however Kirklees Council made a loan of £7 million to ensure the development could go ahead.