Royal in town for big day

Oct 24 2008 by Gemma Castle, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Royal praises for university’s £15m creative arts centre and award-winning photographic innovators

THE Duke of Kent has finished off what The Queen started with one of Huddersfield’s most stunning buildings.

Her Majesty laid the foundation stone at the Creative Arts Centre at Huddersfield University during a visit to the town two years ago.

And yesterday the finished £15m state-of-the-art building was officially opened by the Duke Of Kent.

He was joined by Mirfield-born actor Patrick Stewart, who is the university’s Chancellor and the two spent about 45 minutes admiring the work put into creating the centre.

They were given a grand tour of the building, which included an eye-catching, cube-shaped acoustic lab – and is the first of its kind in England where musicians will be able to experiment with three-dimensional sound.

The Duke officially opened the centre by unveiling a commemorative plaque in front of dozens of students and professors.

Patrick Stewart said: “Every time I come back here I’m amazed by the growth and the beauty of this university. It’s a gorgeous building.

“Of course, to have the Duke of Kent visit us today to open it is very prestigious for the university and it was perfectly clear that he was impressed and delighted with what he saw here.”