Shopping Mall W, England

Shopping Mall W is a disused shopping mall in the north of England. Built in the early 1990s, it was once home to around 35 retail units, including national chains and local independents. At the heart of the complex lies a glass-roofed atrium, four storeys tall, that floods the central hub with daylight (British weather permitting, of course!). The shopping centre closed down permanently in 2020. It was dealt the final blow by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns after struggling with years of declining footfall.

I explored this location in 2023, after it had been on my radar for a while. After a somewhat interesting entry (for someone who isn’t comfortable with heights), I spent an hour or so exploring the quiet corridors and nosing in vacant shops.

History of this abandoned English shopping centre

Shopping Mall W was built in the early 1990s as part of a wider effort to regenerate the town centre. It was conceived as a modern retail hub, with anchor tenants serving to draw in the crowds. An anchor tenant, typically a large chain department store, occupies a prominent space within a shopping mall. The purpose of these big names is to increase foot traffic, attract smaller retailers and generally ensure the entire complex remains busy and profitable. In this case those were classic British high street regulars Ryman, Wilko, Argos and New Look. For two decades, the shopping mall was a bustling retail location.

Layout and Architecture

Shopping Mall W had a relatively compact footprint with two main trading levels. The upper level provided access to the rooftop car park, which held 163 spaces. The ground floor featured a three-storey central atrium with a tiled floor and fully glazed roofing above it, allowing natural light to fill the space. Shop units were laid out around the atrium and along short internal walkways leading off from this central hub.

There were approximately 35 units across the two levels, a mix of national chains and local independents. Escalators and lifts connected the floors, and there were three street entrances for shoppers. Behind the units were service corridors and a back-of-house loading area, in addition to staff facilities.

Decline and Closure of shopping mall W

Decreasing shopper numbers and increasing rent triggered the departure of anchor tenants in the late 2010s. Without the big brand names to pull in the crowds, the remaining retailers began to struggle. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and with it, several waves of lockdowns. The shopping mall reopened after the first lockdown was lifted but did not reopen after the second lockdown ended.

At the time of my visit, the shopping mall lay largely abandoned. Interestingly, a few shops that faced the street outside remained open. Their rear entrances inside the shopping mall were shuttered, but lights and sounds filtered through the gaps in the roller shutters.