KINGFISHER Shopping Centre will be holding an open tea party next week to celebrate of 40 years of trading in Redditch.

The tea party will feature traditional decorations, free coffee and tea, cake from Rachel’s Cupcakes, live music, dancing, a magician, free face painting and balloon modelling and lots more! The location will be Millward Square, next to BHS from 10am until 4pm on Thursday, July 31.

The celebrations will form part of the town’s 50th anniversary, which commemorates the half-century since the Redditch was reinvented as one of the country’s New Towns.

New Towns were developed in the 1940s to disperse population throughout the country. The hubs were built around areas with historical relevance and Redditch formed part of the ‘second wave’ of the scheme.

The centre is offering the first 20 people on the day a £40 Kingfisher gift card if they can prove they were born in 1974, the same year as the Kingfisher Shopping Centre opened its doors.

Marketing manager Katie Broome said: “We feel that the Kingfisher’s history is intertwined with Redditch’s in so many ways, we wanted to twin the town’s celebrations with our own party.

“We’re inviting anyone who can join us on Thursday to come and visit the centre for a cup of tea, slice of cake and maybe even a bit of a dance."

Visit kingfishershopping.co.uk/SoRedditchcelebrationsfor details about other events taking place throughout the week.