First Venue Unveiled at New £45m Entertainment Mall

A new £45m cinema and leisure complex is to officially open next month.

Animate is located at Preston’s former indoor market area in the Harris Quarter.

The attraction’s first venue, the cafe-bar Argento Lounge, opens its doors on 5 February.

The announcement puts the phased opening of Animate slightly ahead of schedule, with the first of the complex’s nine units not expected to have started trading until the following week, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The flagship eight-screen Arc Cinema is set to open sometime during the week commencing 17 February.

Hollywood Bowl bowling alley is next in line to launch in late February or early March, with the five other eateries that will join Argento Lounge – Ask Italian, world buffet Cosmo, the South American-themed Las Iguanas, Mexican-inspired Taco Bell and the street food outlets of the Mad Giant Food Hall – all to follow thereafter.

Councillor Martyn Rawlinson, Preston City Council’s cabinet member for resources and performance, said the opening of the Animate scheme followed “many years of hard work”.

Part of the funding came from the £20m Preston’s Town Fund, which has been spent on Animate, the Harris Museum and the Grade II-listed Amounderness House in the city.