Preston Council and Muse Developments have promised to create a vibrant retail and leisure quarter to improve the current city centre offering.
Muse Developments will be responsible for the delivery of a new cinema which is expected to prove immensely popular and draw in visitors from the surrounding area. In order to create space for the complex, the existing market hall and adjoining car park will be demolished, with traders set to gain a new state of the art space on a nearby plot.
Regional director of Muse Developments, Mike Horner, believes the creation of the cinema will attract further investment in the city centre down the line.
He says; “We are looking at a major cinema development – one that would draw people from across the county.
“And with a cinema you also attract a wide range of restaurants and bars that will really compliment the re-vitalised markets and Preston’s cultural offer.”
Head of consulting at Cinema Next, John Sullivan, adds; “The cinema study for Preston that we completed last year clearly demonstrates the enormous potential for a major new cinema development in the centre of this stunning city.
“Historically Preston has been at the forefront of cinema development in the UK and the cinema industry is beginning to wake up again to the potential that this city has for once again leading the way.”
The displaced market traders will gain an indoor facility under the existing 1875 canopy directly across from the new cinema, allowing for a greater diversity of traders and leisure businesses to take up affordable space in the city centre. Council leaders claim that the new premises will be completely state of the art, and that they have “pushed the boat out” to create a truly flexible and visually pleasing public space.
The former Post Office building, meanwhile, will gain a new lease of life after having been left vacant for a number of years. City councillors are in the process of compiling a marketing package for the property, which they hope will eventually be transformed into a premier leisure and hotel development to further diversify the tenant mix in the area.
Preston Council leader, Councillor Peter Rankin, called the market traders a “key part” of Preston’s culture and heritage.
He says; “At one stage, the traders were very concerned they were coming out of where they are and would have to trade in the open, as they saw it, so we have listened to that and as a result we have really pushed the boat out.
“City centres have to offer much more than ever before, it’s no longer just about shopping.
“It’s about vibrancy, uniqueness, culture, heritage, events, food and drink and things to do – through the Markets Quarter development, Preston can offer this and more.”
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