Beverley’s Flemingate centre is gearing-up to celebrate the first anniversary of its opening with a fun-packed schedule of activities.

The centre’s first birthday will be celebrated over the weekend of Saturday, November 5, and Sunday, November 6.

As part of the celebrations, Flemingate is offering free car parking in its 500-space multi-storey car park from 8am on Saturday, November 5, until 5pm on Sunday, November 6, to encourage as many people as possible to join in with the anniversary festivities and enjoy giveaways and retail promotions.

East Riding of Yorkshire’s Town Crier, Michael Wood, will lead the celebrations on Saturday, November 5, in his unique, ear-splitting style as master of ceremonies.

Children’s entertainer Bobby Bubbles will delight the young ones with dazzling displays of balloon modelling and the Gorgeous Girls stilt walkers in mirrored outfits will amuse the crowds in their hilarious pursuit of the perfect selfie. 

Flemingate’s popular Artisan and Craft Fair is also making a welcome return on Sunday, November 6, from 11am to 3pm, with more than 20 indoor stalls featuring a wide selection of local and regional artists and craftspeople.

Graham Tait, Flemingate Centre Manager, said: “We’re excited to be marking our first anniversary and celebrating all that has been achieved at Flemingate over the past year.

“It’s amazing to think that 12 months has passed since we welcomed the first visitors to the centre, but so much has happened in that time.

“We want to take the opportunity to celebrate the success of the operators who have been with us from the start as well as all the exciting additions we have seen in recent months.”

Flemingate has brought a host of leading high street fashion brands to Beverley, including the anchor Debenhams department store, H&M, Peacocks, River Island and, most recently, multi-brand retailer Outfit, which features fashion must-haves from the likes of Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Miss Selfridge and Burton. Flemingate also offers a range of independents such as fashion store Bolo, jeweller Guest and Philips and homewares retailer Baytree Interiors.

In addition, Flemingate offers a great range of eating options to whet your appetite. Deli No. 1, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Riva Lounge are great places to enjoy something to eat, in addition to national outlets, Patisserie Valerie, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Subway and the latest big-name brand to join the Flemingate line-up, Starbucks, which opens on Friday, October 28.

The anniversary celebrations will be a springboard for the busy shopping season in the run-up to Christmas and will showcase the big retail brands, high-quality independent retailers and great selection of dining options now available to visitors to Flemingate.

Mr Tait added: “Flemingate has really come into its own in 2016. We’ve welcomed a succession of leading high street brands, high-quality independent retailers and fantastic eateries to the centre.

“Now we want to celebrate our first anniversary in style as we head into the festive shopping season when we are expecting the centre to be really buzzing.”

Developed and owned by Hull-based regeneration company Wykeland Group, the £120m Flemingate development is Beverley’s largest ever regeneration scheme.

Flemingate has extended and enhanced Beverley town centre and made the historic market town a bigger draw than ever before. In addition to many leading national retailers that could not previously be accommodated in Beverley, Flemingate has brought much-needed new facilities to the town, including East Riding College, an 80-bed Premier Inn, six-screen independent Parkway cinema and 130 new homes.