From Oxford Street to Westfield and beyond, London offers an abundance of shopping options.

Even though a lot of people visit these places now, in the 1990s, the St Nicholas Shopping Centre in Sutton was a popular destination in South London.

Like most high streets, the shopping center is mostly deserted due to internet shopping and the loss of several major businesses, yet it still boasts a Primark, Claire's, and a perfume shop.

With dwindling customers numbers, the iconic mall is set to face the same fate as many of the other UK’s shopping centres. It’ll close and be demolished.

Sutton Council announced its redevelopment plans for the town centre in October 2022, and now, having partnered with a construction company, they are well underway. 

As part of the regeneration, the Council announced around 740 new homes, 50% of which will be affordable housing for local families, including nearly 300 homes for social rent, as well as a brand new ‘civic hub’, a new library and a retail centre. 

Built in 1992, the centre looks straight out of a 90s chick flick.

Over the years shoppers have left a number of reviews for the mall online, withZieshan Akhtar recalling how it had once been ‘amazing’ but was now looking ‘shabby’.

He posted: ‘I still remember when this shopping centre opened in the early 90s and going as a young boy with my family to see the cool fountains (people used to treat these as wishing wells and throw coins in…), skylights and loads of amazing cool shops.

‘Now its many units especially in once famous food court on the top floor is desolate. Big names have disappeared, some escalators and lifts are non functional and fountains are all gone! My, how shabby this place has turned.’

UK shopping centres are on the decline

Online shopping, home working and the collapse of major retail chains mean that the UK is losing many of its shopping centres.

According to a report by the property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton, some 60 of the UK’s 500 bigger shopping centres are likely to be razed completely, and a further 200 partially demolished.

This may not be surprising, considering shopping centres have average vacancy rates of 19%.

Still, many reviews claim the centre is still important, despite its deterioration over the years, suggesting that with some funding and a ‘revamp’ it could get back to being the hub it once was — and not everybody is happy with the plan to demolish it.

‘I can’t believe the council is replacing an architecturally significant modernist complex with this,’ wrote Sutton local Sarah on Twitter. 

‘The civic centre and library are a part of Sutton’s historic architectural fabric. 

‘Sutton has already been depleted of countless historic landmarks to business deals.’

On Facebook, Marilyn Allen said the demolition was ‘so sad’, while Janice Bone thought the move was ‘soulless’.

Elgee Faure added: ‘Another set to go. Sad times. Edgware, Woolwich, Sutton and probably more.’

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Councillor Barry Lewis, Leader of Sutton Council, commented: ‘We want to create a place which is open to everyone in the community all day and evening. 

‘New retail, leisure and community use in the St Nicholas Centre will provide more choice and improve the long-term future of our main town centre.’

The proposed Civic Hub should be completed by mid-2029.