‘UK’s biggest shopping centre’ a ghost town as locals say it’s ‘getting worst’

Once the largest indoor mall in Europe, Shopping City in Runcorn, Cheshire, is now a ghost town with empty storefronts and deserted walkways. The shopping centre, which opened its doors in 1972, was once a bustling hub attracting shoppers from far and wide.

However, it has since been abandoned by big-name stores who have labelled the complex as “dated”. Locals have also expressed their disappointment, stating that it’s a far cry from its glory days in the 1970s.

The mall was once known for its innovative design, featuring walkways “in the sky” that connected it to nearby facilities such as the hospital, courts, and surrounding estates.

It also housed popular stores like Woolworths and Littlewoods. Despite its initial success, attracting customers from Manchester and Liverpool, major retailers like The Range and Tesco have since left the centre. In 2023, local barber Adam Killen described it as “a shopping centre with no shops in it”, according to Cheshire Live.

Gail Mayers, who was out shopping with her daughter Lisa, said: “It’s always been the same. There’s nothing here.”

Lisa added: “We’ve had everything in here but it’s getting worse, emptier. Even the bank has shut down.”

They both remembered fondly the old shops that used to be in the centre, including a B&M that is now empty after moving to the nearby Trident Retail Park.

Nathan Dawson, who was with his young son Arthur, commented: “It’s behind the times. It’s just stayed in the early 2000s. It needs a lot of development. It needs to be brought into the modern times. Everything seems to be developed around Runcorn, but never Runcorn itself.”

Recent reviews on TripAdvisor echo these sentiments. One shopper wrote: “No atmosphere shopping centre, cold in winter. It’s so 70s still with no people, it’s tired looking and needs knocking down.” Another said: “Not been in a few years not changed . Aside from a lot of shops closed down and passages blocked a nice little hiding place for all the teens!!”

Magda Spratek, the manager of Coffee House, shared her experience since opening her shop at the complex in June 2021.

“We are quite lucky because we have regulars, but it’s very rare that we see a new face, someone who says ‘Let’s go to Shopping City and see what’s there’,” she said.

“It would be so much nicer if we had a place like Primark; a big shop to bring people in. I see the same faces so often that I wonder how they can afford to come here all the time,” she added.

School volunteer Barbara Roberts expressed her disappointment: “It is a shame. I’ve been here 48 years. It’s a shame that it has changed; both the new town and the old town.”

Her daughter, Lisa Williams, also commented: “It’s a bit behind other shopping centres.”

“I do like the way they try to bring the community together with art. We’ve got to go over the bridge to buy normal things. All the investment goes over there [to Widnes],” Barbara added.

The mother-and-daughter duo highlighted the importance of the local library, which is near the shopping centre, especially for the local school children.

Rob Garrett, who was working at a menswear shop in the mall, which opened 30 years ago, shared his observations: “I’ve been working here for twenty years, and it’s the same faces you see coming in every day.

“They’ve tried to do things to get new people in there was a crazy golf course [in the square at the centre of Shopping City] last summer but I think a lot of people would rather go to Warrington or Widnes now.”