June 2023
The Visit
Visited this one with @stranton whilst @coolboyslim wondered around outside, I've had this one on my list for a while now after seeing @UrbandonedTeam's excellent report last year. This was the second time I'd visited following an unsuccessful visit a couple of months ago. Once in the building it became apparent that we weren't alone as there was a group of around ten kids running around the place screaming at the top of their voices. We kept our distance hoping that they would be a good distraction for any security in the building. We spent about 30 minutes wondering around the main retail space and service corridors before we were spotted and promptly escorted out. Because of this, we didn't get a chance to see the main entrance, office space or car park, but I'm not too bothered by the last two. Comparing our visit to previous reports, there seems to have been an effort to clean up the shopping centre with a lot of the debris and furniture having been removed recently. There seems to be mixed reports about what the future holds for the centre, but given its integration with the high street, it will likely be hard to demolish and, as such, will probably sit empty for years to come.
[0] - The Shopping Centre in 1990
The History
The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre was constructed in 1991/2 in the town centre of Rochdale, with a total floor space of approximately 15,130m2. The complex included XXX retail units, a two-storey library and office accommodation. The centre was home to a mixture of big name and independent retailers, as well as housing offices for Tony Lloyd MP. In the few years leading up to the closure the centre lost numerous key anchor tenants, including, Rymans, Wilko’s, Argos and BrightHouse; with New Look and Select in CVAs and Peacocks in administration, the financial viability of the centre was deemed not to be sustainable. The centre closed during the first Coronavirus lockdown, re-opened in June and then closed again in November because its occupiers were all classed as non-essential retail. Since re-opening after lockdown in June 2020, footfall had been tracking at an average of 45% down year-on-year and the following lockdown will impact these figures further.
During the second lockdown in Winter 2020, the centre closed again and an announcement was made that it would not be re-opening afterwards. It is mostly largely vacant, but there are several tenanted units fronting Yorkshire Street, including British Heart Foundation, H&T Pawn brokers, Craze and Greenwoods, which are income-producing. Willmott Dixon, the contractor working on the Riverside scheme, also occupies the internal loading bay in the centre. Following the closure of the centre, plans have been unveiled to repurpose and expand the retail complex to attract a fresh influx of leisure, commercial and retail uses to complement the £100m Rochdale Riverside retail and leisure scheme, being delivered by council regeneration body the Rochdale Development Agency. Contractor Willmott Dixon was appointed to deliver the second phase of works last month. As we looked around the structure, it was clear that an attempt to at least tidy up the space had been made and several scaffolding towers around the outside of the structure suggest that the building is still being maintained.
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Cheers for looking 
Canon EOS 70D, 10-18mm EFS
Canon EOS 70D, 10-18mm EFS
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