A £50 million shopping complex once hailed as a town centre saviour has been branded a "disaster" as major retailers flee and empty units pile up.

15:51, Sat, May 30, 2026 Updated: 15:56, Sat, May 30, 2026

Regents Circus Swindon

Abandoned £50m UK shopping centre now lies completely empty (Image: -)

A £50 million shopping and leisure complex once billed as a major boost for a struggling town centre has been branded a “disaster” as empty units continue to mount and the future of the site hangs in the balance.

Regents Circus in Swindon opened in 2014 following a major redevelopment aimed at transforming part of the town centre into a modern retail and leisure destination.

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The development featured a supermarket, restaurants, shops and a six-screen cinema, with investors hoping it would breathe new life into the area.

Regents Circus Swindon

Regents Circus Swindon was branded a disaster (Image: -)

However, just over a decade later, many of the site's biggest names have disappeared and large sections now stand empty.

One of the most significant blows came when Morrisons shut its store in 2019, just five years after opening. The closure resulted in 113 job losses and removed one of the complex's key attractions.

More recently, Cineworld closed its cinema as part of a wider restructuring programme, further reducing footfall at the site.

Several restaurants have also come and gone. Dough & Co closed after just a year of trading, while Funky Grilla, Lamaya Lebanese Kitchen and Bar and Gourmet Burger Kitchen have all left the development.

The latest casualty was Boom Battle Bar, which announced it would shut its venue after citing financial pressures.

The decline has prompted concern among local politicians and residents who fear the complex may struggle to attract replacement tenants.

Councillor Stan Pajak described the situation as "a disaster", blaming the closure of Morrisons for accelerating the site's decline.

He said: "Since losing Morrisons it’s dramatically gone downhill. It has been a disastrous story."

The Liberal Democrat councillor also questioned whether the remaining vacant units would ever be filled, warning that Swindon's town centre was facing serious challenges.

Regents Circus was developed by UK Commercial Property Trust as part of a wider regeneration effort. At one stage the complex was reportedly put on the market for less than half of its original £50 million development cost, although a sale never materialised.

A spokesperson for the property's owners acknowledged that the centre had been affected by difficult trading conditions across the retail sector.

The struggles at Regents Circus reflect wider problems facing high streets and shopping centres across Britain, where changing shopping habits, rising costs and the growth of online retail have left many once-thriving developments battling for survival.

Across the country, a number of shopping centres have seen vacancy rates rise as retailers and leisure operators scale back their estates.

For many locals, Regents Circus was supposed to mark a fresh chapter for Swindon town centre. Instead, more than a decade after opening, its future remains uncertain as empty storefronts continue to replace the businesses that once drew visitors through its doors.