Huddersfield’s House of Fraser store is to shut down in August ahead of a major re-development of the Kingsgate Centre.
House of Fraser has started a big sale with discounts of between 20% and 50% across the store and will close in four weeks’ time. Fixtures and fittings are also being sold off.
WD Kingsgate Ltd, which operates the Kingsgate Centre, has secured planning permission to build a new multi-screen cinema and bowling alley in the former House of Fraser space along with several bars and restaurants on the ground floor.
A 25-year lease has been agreed with cinema operator The Light and the plans originally included an extension to create a roof terrace sky bar with an external slide taking people from the bar to the cinema lobby! The sky bar was removed from the plans last year.
Kirklees Council agreed a loan of £7 million to enable the re-development to go ahead. The plans date back to 2018 and the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent impact on the economy and the construction industry have led to delays.
It is understood the Kingsgate Leisure project has undergone a re-design since the original scheme was announced.