Sunday, November 10, 2024

Shopper shares ‘sad fact’ over shopping centre with ‘no shops’

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People have shared their memories of a shopping centre which was once Europe’s biggest – but is now “barren”.

Shopping City in Runcorn first opened its doors in 1972 and was supposed to be the heart of Runcorn’s New Town. It was the biggest indoor shopping centre in the country and Europe and was the main hub of Runcorn’s brand new wheel.




The shopping centre had sky walkways linking it to the hospital, courts and the surrounding modern estates. In its early years, there was huge footfall with people coming from nearby Liverpool and Manchester to shop there.

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However, despite it being renovated 10 years ago, many of the units now stand empty. All the big shops that used to attract people to the centre, including Woolworths and Littlewoods in the 70s and 80s, and more recently Tesco and The Range, have all closed down. The Range shut its doors just a year ago.

After the ECHO published the original story, many people have since shared their memories on Shopping City. Writing on the ECHO’s What’s On pages Sandra Smallwood said: “I used to live in Runcorn in 1977, my ex husband was a shop manager in Mackays it used to be a brilliant place. Such a shame.”

Vivienne Mccashin – Keech added: “My mum managed the city in the 70s. There is so much space there, massive bingo halls, two screen cinema all unused. I love that we call it the ‘city’ and when we travel into Liverpool, we say ‘goin town’.”

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