Inside UK shopping centre once Europe’s largest left with ‘hardly any shops open

Once the largest shopping centre in Europe, a tired UK retail complex took another blow as Halifax confirmed its imminent closure.

Runcorn Shopping City will only have one bank left after Halifax closes on 29 April 2025, following in the footsteps of Santander.

Branded a “shopping centre with no shops in it” by Runcorn barber Adam Killen, the centre couldn’t be further from its former glory when it was opened in 1972 by Queen Elizabeth II and was the largest enclosed complex in Europe.

Former shops have been replaced by non-retail units, such as high street favourite B&M, which is now an NHS phase 2 health clinic.

Other high street favourites joined B&M in its exit, including Tesco and The Range.

It reflects a trend across the rest of the UK highstreet, as confirmed by the BBC in September, which reported the equivalent of 38 shops per day closed in the UK this year.

Gail Mayers, 61, who was shopping with her daughter Lisa, told Cheshire Live: “It’s always been the same. There’s nothing here.”

Lisa chipped in: “We’ve had everything in here but it’s getting worse, emptier.”

The decline began in the 1980s due to tension between property owners and the businesses, worsened by issues between owners and contractors responsible for managing the building.

However, it wasn’t all bad news; Poundstretcher took over the former Wilko shop, which was left empty after it went into adminstration in 2023.

Care UK opened in January, and Sale Lab fashion, which sells brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Vans and North Face, also opened last year.

Confirming there were 55 trading businesses at the close of last year, Shopping Centre Manager Dave Pearman said: “Despite the struggles of the high street we are delighted to be able to say that at Shopping City we are beating the trends in town centres.

He added: “In fact, footfall this year has stayed consistently high, engagement with customers has been positive as they can see things changing with a number of exciting new businesses entering the space.”

In 2012, £3 million was invested to renovate the building’s exterior and three of the four multi-storey car parks, but it hasn’t gone far enough according to locals.

Rob Garrett, 39, who works in the centre said: “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.”