Shopping mall opens up on plan to expand

DETAILS of a new £40m scheme to extend the Kingsgate Shopping Centre in Huddersfield were revealed yesterday.

A deal was signed which paves the way for a new planning application to be put together to extend the centre in a move which developers say will create 900 jobs.

Previous plans to extend the centre stalled when they were rejected by councillors but yesterday the centre’s owner, WD Huddersfield, and Kirklees Council signed a memorandum of understanding, paving the way for a new scheme.

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WD Huddersfield managing director Peter Everest said: “Our planned expansion will see the centre’s floorspace increase by 50 per cent, taking it to approximately 410,000 sq ft, while also providing additional car parking.”

It is estimated that the completed expansion will lead to the creation of more than 600 full and part-time jobs, together with an estimated 300 construction posts.

Council leader Coun Mehboob Khan said: “WD are long-term investors in Huddersfield and we are delighted that they want to move forward with plans for the £40m expansion of the Kingsgate Centre – a development that will considerably strengthen the town’s offer and attract more shoppers and greater spend.

“The council is working closely with them to make this happen, not only because of its importance to Huddersfield’s positioning in the retail hierarchy and future economic wellbeing, but also because of the hundreds of jobs that will be created, both in the construction phase and when the extension is complete.”

The plans will be discussed in public before a planning application is lodged.