Ceremonial coins added to Preston’s Animate steelwork

L-R Mike Costello, Matt Friedmann, Cllr Yakub Patel and Nick Hague

To mark the progress of Preston’s £45m+ Animate leisure complex, two ceremonial coins have been added to the construction project’s steelwork.

A 50p Windrush coin, which celebrates 75 years since HMT Empire Windrush docked in England, and a £5 coin to mark the coronation of King Charles III were installed by the Mayor of Preston, Councillor Yakub Patel.

Cllr Yakub Patel said: “As we mark the progress of the Animate, we thought it appropriate also to acknowledge significant events during its construction.

“The coins are a simple way of acknowledging what’s happened in society and how citizens to royalty have contributed to shaping British culture.”

Animate is one of six major projects planned under the Harris Quarter Towns Fund Investment Programme, for which the city was awarded £20.9m from the Government’s national Towns Fund initiative in March 2021.

Harris Quarter is undergoing a £200m investment programme to transform its historic buildings, sites and public realm into a diverse culture, leisure and employment offering.

Animate is due to open in Spring 2025.