Kingsgate shopping centre manager Jonathan Hardy is to give a talk about its ongoing redevelopment.

The former House of Fraser store has been stripped out and is going to be turned into a leisure complex including a six-screen cinema operated by The Light.

There will be six cinema screens and 10 bowling lanes alongside what is described as “a variety of other leisure activities and food offerings” which will be revealed in the lead up to the opening scheduled for early autumn 2024.

It’s the largest investment in the town centre since Kingsgate opened 21 years ago.

Jonathan will reflect on how and why Huddersfield’s premier retail venue came into existence, the changing landscape of town centre retailing over the years and the challenges faced post Covid, Brexit and the cost of living crisis.

The talk, organised by Huddersfield Civic Society, will be at 7pm on Thursday, September 7 at New North Road Baptist Church on New North Parade in Huddersfield town centre.

Entry is free to Huddersfield Civic Society members with non-members asked for a donation of £5.

Those attending and wishing to become an HCS member will be given the opportunity to join for an extra £5 on the night.

Places needed to be booked through Eventbrite at https://bit.ly/Kingsgate21years

Meanwhile, the Kingsgate Centre has released the latest images of work on the roof as an extra storey is added.

The aerial image is from a drone video commissioned by Kingsgate and now available to view on their Facebook page.

Virtual Huddersfield, local webcam experts, have installed the webcam which produces time lapse videos, released weekly on Kingsgate’s Social media channels, charting progress.

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.