It was once the biggest indoor shopping centre in Europe, attracting visitors from Manchester and Liverpool. But now Shopping City in Runcorn is a shell of its former self, with few shops and empty units taking up space, CheshireLive reports.
Opened in 1972 the mall was planned to be the centrepiece of Runcorn's New Town. It boasted walkways 'in the sky' which linked it to the hospital, courts and surrounding estates, as well as Woolworths and Littlewoods, but now is a rundown stain on the town.
It was a big hit in its first years and attracted customers from across the North West, but now big names such as The Range and Tesco have left the 'dated' complex. Barber Adam Killen, 29, who works in Runcorn's Old Town, described it as "a shopping centre with no shops in it."
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"It's always been the same. There's nothing here," added Gail Mayers, 61, who was shopping with her 35-year-old daughter Lisa. Lisa said: "We've had everything in here but it's getting worse, emptier. Even the bank has shut down."
The pair reminisce about old shops which have been in the centre, including a B&M which was left empty after it moved to neighbouring Trident Retail Park. Nathan Dawson, 30, who was with his son Arthur, three, said: "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."
Coffee House manager Magda Spratek, 35, said her shop opened 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."
School volunteer Barbara Roberts, 80, added: "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."
"It’s a bit behind other shopping centres," Barbara's daughter, Lisa Williams, 50 added. "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 pair said the local library, which is near Shopping Centre, was 'important to the community and particularly the local school children'.
Rob Garrett, 39, was working at a menswear shop in the mall, which opened 30 years ago, when he said: "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."
Shopping City has been contacted for comment.
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