Greater Manchester shopping centre to close permanently due to coronavirus

One Greater Manchester shopping centre is set to close to the public for good at the end of the second lockdown.

Bosses have confirmed that the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre in Rochdale will close to the public at the end of the lockdown on December 2nd.

It comes due to the economic strain of the coronavirus pandemic, bosses say.

All staff have been told about the difficult decision, according to reports today. 

The news means that essential shops which are currently open will close after lockdown, and the non-essential shops that are already shut will never reopen.

The complex was recently bought by Owners MCR Property Group in 2017, who at the time hoped to ‘attract fresh leisure, commercial and new retail operators to complement the existing occupiers’.

However many people have stopped shopping in town centres as part of a ‘nationwide shift in shopping habits’, explain the bosses.

Additionally, they say the pandemic has ‘expedited this migration from traditional shopping habits and the impacts on the retail sector have been significant’.

Since reopening in June, footfall at the shopping centre has fallen by 45%.

Charles Denby at MCR Property Group said: “Nationwide we continue to see a large number of retailers experiencing serious trading difficulties, and more are resorting to insolvency procedures to cut their rent bills.

“This year has been a surreal, once in a generation experience that will not be forgotten, with COVID directly accelerating the decline of high street retail and the move to online. 

“When the change in shopping habits collides with reduced income, an excess of space, and cost structures that are simply no longer realistic, landlords have to take action.

“We understand the impact the closure of the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre will have on our tenants and will assist where possible through this difficult time.”