It's an eerie relic of pre-pandemic life. The Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre in Rochdale was once a bustling mall with five floors of shops, including household names such as New Look, Wilko, and Ryman.
But now it stands abandoned and derelict, having never reopened after lockdown. Several stores started to leave the mall from 2017, as shopping habits changed and people began spending more time ordering online.
And lockdown proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back for the Wheatsheaf Shopping Centre. It closed its doors with the rest of the country in March 2020 and it was later revealed the mall wouldn't reopen; much to the disappointment of shoppers and business owners. Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community by clicking this link https://chat.whatsapp.com/BuWQWjcN6GbBPisjgI8HYv.
The community is now up and running so make sure you're among its first members! The site was put up for sale shortly after the announcement, and was sold in September 2022.