Don't bother! So many empty units and vast oceans of nothingness. The only things that are full are the multitude of buckets for the leaking roof! So much potential wasted. Not the bustling open shopping arcade it used to be many years ago. Big problem with anti social behaviour, especially in the car park under Tesco. The escalators never work and the lifts are hit and miss. Unless you want Tesco, don't waste your time. Shame.

Lift wasn't working, escalator never works, and some kind gentleman had to help me carry the trolley upstairs. Far too many empty shops. Has the potential to achieve greatness, all it needs is better lifts, an escalator that works and retailers

Shocking. The escalators have been broken for years now, despite the signs saying an engineer is on their way - I can only presume he got lost along the way! Buckets everywhere to catch the leaks from the many holes in the roof. Hardly any shops worth visiting and the “market” hall is a shadow of its former self.

It is a waste of potential and a sad state of affairs. While the building itself holds promise and the few shops there are great, the centre is mostly dead and empty, and the maintenance is abysmal. When it rains the roof leaks everywhere and they use loads of buckets to catch the water, half of the escalators are ever switched on and when the ones before tesco fail, It takes them almost a month to get them going again... resulting in queues of old people waiting in front of the two elevators that somehow still work. When I stayed in Malawi (Africa) the few escalators that they had there where a thing of pride and an attraction. If one of them broke down it would get fixed within days by flying some Chinese technician down asap. And in walkden, in the middle of the UK, they just can't be bothered. Guys, really? Edit: highlights: large Tesco, fun little shops (if you can find them), a cafe, a few banks, spacious, kinda clean, large parking, and a bingo centre. I have inside information that the management overcharge for rent and don't care about the centre at all, which is why it's mostly empty and poorly maintained.

Busy car park. Lots of shops open, good selection of foods. Massive tesco, sometimes called bucket 🪣 city as when it rains 🌧 the roof leaks all over. Card shops, nandos, subway, Domino's etc. Better just to go and look around

I usually come here to go to Tesco or Club 3000 bingo. The tesco is massive, theres plenty of other shops such as aldi, Iceland, homebargains, marks and spencer food hall, and a few restaurants such as nandos and kfc, mcdonalds, subway etc. Plenty shops inside to such as jd sports, costa, b and m, card factory and so on. There is also loads of free parking. I've walked around the shopping centre to other shops etc. Late at night they do seem to have an issue with young uns hanging around causing nuisance which should be sorted out, even though the security try their best to do so they clearly need extra help. I usually go to walkden atleast once a week and I'll be sure to continue doing so.

It is sad to see it now. Buckets around the floor catching leaks most shops are closed and large parts were never completed for retail business. It could be a good place but needs that first well known name to move in. Outside around Tesco it looks better with larger shops like Alfi making it busy the inside area needs help.

Desolate, scary young youths, escalators never working, buckets for rain, rent needs to be lowered so we stand a chance of having Walkden Centre thriving like it used to. A Security firm brought in to protect shoppers....it's absolutely horrible ☹️☹️☹️☹️

Sadly there's a lot closed due to CoVid restrictions...but those stores that are open are worth visiting

The New Ellesmere centre will hopefully be good on completion. It's looking good now, very spacious and airy, good car parking and transport links. Plenty of shops, well, there will be, cinema, food outlets of all types, and an indoor Market Good luck Walkden, my old town

it's such a shame so many shops are closed. it's a lovely place to walk round and the different places. my shop I enjoy visiting is clouds

Absolutely bizarre place. Massive empty shopping centre next to a big retail park? Who's idea was that??

Shops filling up slowly Lowery cafe well worth a visit

Local, very convenient, has everything you need, lots of parking

I can shop in comfort with no problems everything I need is within range

Had to go to vision express inside tesco for eye test. Eye test didnt take place due to a mix up but all inside seems good and safe. Tesco was very safe with all safe guards inplace.

Like a ghost town at the moment but not much better before covid restrictions to be honest. A few really good shops but more are standing empty

Great place for a small place like Walkden. Almost everything is there what is needed in near future it will be great to have few more clothing shops around.

Spacious and magnificent place.

Was good even due to lockdown

Good

Great walk.

Resembled a ghost town. Only cheap shops open. Hopefully will recover

I ike tesco in this place you can get some groceries that you can't not get in others tesco stores.

Nice place 🙂

Excellent

Good place to visit

I park at KFC then received a parking ticket of 100 pounds. Not happy to shop Walkden

Great selection of shops to visit no matter your budget. Even through lockdown M&S, Tesco and Aldi have all been going strong opening until 8pm. There is always a quiet time to visit if you are worried about it being busy.

Could be a great lttle precinct but to many empty units, been like this for years so can't see much change in the future 🤨

Xxx

It has all you need. Speed bumps are bit hectic. Tesco is Massive. It also have few decent reaturant

Very good 😊

This is the forever “new” Walkden Town Centre. A.K.A. Ellesmere Shopping Centre. Home to Tesco Extra “Big Tesco”, 24 hours subject to current lockdown restrictions. M&S, Aldi, Pets at Home, Papa John’s Pizza, Dominos, McDonald’s, KFC, JD Sports, Home Bargains, Food Warehouse, Total Fitness, Boots and many more high street retailers including an indoor market. Lots of shops, did I forget the large extensive car park which has a fishing pond. What’s not to love, go fishing whilst you shop... now also had a Nando’s!

Needs someone to take it in hand to fill the empty shops So sad as it was a thriving centre before the owners saw fit to destroy it

Bit empty but not bad

Love its its massive lol

Very Busy today but all good.Social distancing observed in all stores we were in.

Love clouds.

Plenty of different shops covering a wide variety of goods

Great place

Big Tesco dominates although there is an Aldi and Mark's & Spencer food hall, Nandos and a Costa coffee amongst others. Lots of bespoke boutiques but also many empty units.

Very poor and no decent shops to speak of.

Fantastic everywhere marked out clearly

M&S food hall,Lidl, Nando's, Iceland, Quality Save, Tesco's

Love shopping here & free parking boom!

Easy to find parking, large Tesco store and a few small shops inside the centre.

Plenty of difference between the shops.

Not to bad a place

Could do with a few more high end shops

Nice retail park with a lot of shops for your weekly shopping

Nice and quite the time I was there. 5ish. Usually plenty of parking and a good variety of shops, amenities and banks etc., The escalators being out of action for as long as they have been is a pain as well as the kid's on bike's often in the car park. But clean, well lit and welcoming.

Great built but I couldn't buy a medicine I needed to spend the night in peace. Ironically, The medicine was right in front of me but I couldn't take it from Tesco because the Pharmacy section was closed and the tablets I needed are only sold behind the Pharmacy. Maybe the store manager is given this access to hand a on shelve medicine to a needing costumer out of pharmacy hours.

I liked it here but the floor capacity is huge inside so much unused space and lacking in retailers..l..so many empty unused shops....it was a trek from the entrance by Lloyd's bank just to fond Tesco on the upper level...same inside Tesco....its huge a lot of floor space. Its unusual. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't have strong legs for walking around the place

Really enjoyed having a little walk round there will be going again it has changed so much and for the better.

A lot of vacancies, it should be a great place to go if all spaces have been filled up

Bobbins... It's okay for a food shop but not much else anymore. Huge centre with rock all in it! Cheers Mr Peel.

Clean and spacious. Plenty of shops and eateries.

The indoor part is pretty dead for the most part. Huge place with quite a few empty units. Otherwise you can get everything you need from the outside part.

Suffering from the Covid menace. Lots of empty venues. But still a great shopping center. 👍👍

The Ellesmere Centre is shocking to say the least, a big white elephant of a place. The escalators are never on the shops are very poor. The best shops are after Tesco and not in the centre itself, but at the top end of he car park near Total Fitness where you will find Iceland, Quality Save, M&S Food, Aldi, Papa John's Purple Lounge Curry Restaurant to mention a few this part is worth a visit but the centre is very disappointing, toy town in quality, poor useless shops. Lot of money wasted producing it, and we lost The Pembroke Halls for this. SHOCKING!

Great place to go shopping, loads to do, and they always have events on for the kids during halloween/Christmas:)

A good centre; M & S, Tesco. Well maintained & kept, i.e litter free

Very well kept nice and clean pleasure to shop there

I'm a regular visitor to Walkden town centre, & for the most part am satisfied with the experience. It is still only half-occupied, & this is especially evident in the covered part of the complex, where it large spaces devoid of any shops or stores. On the plys side, there's plenty of parking, the centre & its ground are clean & well maintained, security staff are highly visible inside the centre, but a real criticism, is that the free public toilets - the only ones in the area - are sometimes closed - for no apparent reason - at peak times.

Very nice place to spend time. M&S, tanning studio, charity shop with charming ancient items..My top 3! And off course biggest Tesco if you like shopping

This place deserves far more than it's received, the local council need to cut unit prices MASSIVELY, I visited last week for the first time in a year or so, it looks like occupancy is as low as around 10% I am assuming this is due to the costs of rent, the side effect of this is foot traffic dies, which in turn kills the remaining units trade. A lot of work went into making this a lovely place to visit, and it should be a lot more busy, it seems to me that the council must at least in the short term encourage very VERY low rent and short term perhaps even weekly rental contracts to encourage vendors to take a chance. There are VERY few decent markets left, no flea markets at all, (Wednesday flea markets for 1 day stalls used to be very popular) let's make this a 5 star place again, let's support our local businesses, if left as is no one trying to sell "regular" day to day items can compete with Tesco and the other supermarkets, so let's give the more bespoke & quirky businesses a chance, the 1 man bands, the small family business etc... The local council are the only group that can save this market, and give the people the ability and tools to succeed. It may be a loss leader in rent, but if you commit to it, it could become an invaluable community resource.

The shopping complex is depressingly desolate... I was walking through there the other day and I can honestly say I've never seen so many buckets arranged around a floorspace, catching raindrops unlucky enough to have penetrated the neglected roof of this under-appreciated fortress of potential. There's a few small businesses there which is nice to see nowadays, but the sheer emptiness almost overcomes their presence. The giant Tesco is amazing but between the yellow-sticker fanatics creating a human obstacle course & the sheer vast plains to traverse it's always a risk for me to visit on my short break. Something should be done to give this dystopian cavern a new lease of life.

It's a shame the Ellesmere still hasn't managed to secure more retail within its facility. It has been 75% empty since its opening many years ago - I can only assume its because rent is too high. The empty units everywhere really bring the atmosphere down and make it quite a sad place to shop in.

The indoor shopping centre is just too big and empty. The bit by TESCO is OK, but the rest feels like a film set for a post-apocalyptic film. Turn it into an indoor arboretum. It's effectively a giant conservatory in any case.

This place really has gone down hill. Was full of promise when first built. Now it is aged, has buckets all over the floor when raining, the escalators rarely work and just not a generally nice place to shop. Shame really.

Spacious town centre having beautiful business centres,most of the food courts occupied in front of the town centre,parking facilities available,most of the business spaces are not occupied.

Great shopping area, with Tesco, B&M, Costa cafe, Subway etc. Pity there are so many smaller businesses that have not stayed since it was revamped. Am guessing the rates/rents are too high.

There are some good shops here and the Tesco is huge. The escalators upstairs are broken more often than not which can be difficult as the stairs are steep and there are loads of them.

It's such a shame that it's so run down. The shops that are there are great but there are a lot of empty units. Also the roof leaks and instead of repairing it, there are buckets everywhere.

Used to be amazing, as busy as the Arndale Centre with a whole heap of different shops. It was the beating heart of the town. Then Greedy Gubi, who owns the land, got greedy and raised the rent on all the shop keepers till nobody could afford to rent there anymore. All so he could renovate the entire area. Now that it's been renovated, almost nobody trusts his family enough to rent there anymore. The only area that's busy anymore is the area next to the Tesco store (that the Walkden Town Centre had a childish feud with over shopping trollies, and would repeatedly turn the travelator to the store off unless staff stood at either end 24/7. Long story short, the Walkden Town Centre tries it's best to be a good place, but struggles due to incompetent, greedy, selfish management. Any business that does well under their roof, does so in spite of the Walkden Town centre. (also the roof leaks every time it rains, to the point where they tried to make the buckets look like an art exhibit, instead of a result of not fixing the roof in over 2 decades)

Could be so much more... Knock it down & start a new. Whoever owns the ellesmere center clearly cares about wealth over content or longevity, & has definitely never visited this dilapidated building! Don't be fooled by the shiny M&S!! The ellesmere center is a blast from the past!! Leaky roof, horrific parking system & barely fictional escalators!! The whole traveling around this area seems to of be designed by a six year old using Google maps!! On the plus side, and not to be all negative, there's a big Tesco's!!...

Apart from tescos it was a dump. All the doors, apart from one, don't work. All the toilets are out of action, do not go if you have a weak bladder.

Need to make the centre more attractive and open the shops that are closed to attract more feet. Very boring centre to go. Nothing more to do there except to go shopping.

This shopping centre has so much promise! But doesn’t reach its full potential! And on a Sunday a large percentage of it is closed! The escalators are out of order so often it is beyond a joke! However all the centre staff I have spoken to have always been friendly! The places I use regularly in there are Tesco, Savers, Costas, Clouds & Lowery’s cafe all of which are good examples of their brand or individually. There are to many vacant plots and some large spaces that could be put to better use! Maybe have an artisan market one weekend, a mind-body-spirit festival the next, an international food market another. I like this as a town centre..But it needs some life breathing into it!

Not a place you visit out of choice. The carpark under Tesco & McDonald's are magnets for kids being anti social. The shopping development is mostly empty & full of buckets where the roof leaks. Huge Tesco dominates the place & if you need a trolley, stored in carpark, then you queue for a lift as the escalators rarely work. Rare to say, but the 1970s shopping area was more popular. Its a poorly built "high street' built as online shopping removed the demand for a high street. Potential (space) for food & craft type markets...like Radcliffe is trying to do, can't see it happening.

Place would be great, plenty of parking space, huge tesco, post office on the other side, however the rest of the centre is pretty empty. There's only a few other stores with a loads of unused room.

Too big with loads of empty shops a Trafford Centre wannabe that failed. Underground parking is handy for Tesco when raining but abounds with buckets when it does as the roof has leaked since it was built.

I like Walkden Town centre as it has almost everything you need. It could be improved with more shops as there are a lot of empty units, the best shops are a little bit spread out but not far away at all

Been coming to walkden shopping centre for years. For about 24 years to be exact. It is great around Christmas time and I like the small carts with sweets and other items on the for sale.

All the big eating places like MC Donald's etc. The shopping centre is pretty much empty with buckets everywhere from thenelaky roof. Lots of free parking though

Although I like Walkden. There are not enough shops. They built that big shopping centre and there's still so many empty areas. Plus all the little independent shops, are closing because they cannot afford to stay open. I

A large clean centre with surprisingly lots more going on on a Sunday than on a Saturday. Great car parking facilities, especially for disabled (Blue Badge holders). Shame that not all the lifts are working though.

Relatively small, but, the retail park has everything you need, such as, M&S,Aldi,Tesco (with petrol), Quality Save, B&M bargains, vape shops, Banks, Nando's, kfc, McDonald's and more, all located close to each other. Plenty of free parking and easy access. Relatively clean and tidy. Well kept. Can't complain with the selection of stores.

Full of empty units. Buckets all over the floor because the roof leaks. It was a great shopping destination but it's been ruined. Even Gregg's left! Such a shame.

Massive shopping areas. Could be much better with the right shops involved.

Always an active environment. There are many options for shopping for locals. Unfortunately, as it was built to rival the Trafford Centre experience. It is well below par in meeting it's expectations.

Walken Town Centre offers a great selection of shops, restaurants, and entertainment options to suit all tastes. The shopping centre offers a variety of brands, including both high-end and budget-friendly options. Whether you're looking to grab a quick bite or to enjoy a meal with friends, there is something for everyone. Apart from the obvious retail stores, there is also an entertainment centre with gym, bingo etc. This destination is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area. The only drawback is that the parking lot can get quite crowded during peak periods.

This is definitely the best garage around , bought the car from them 5 years ago still going strong. Fantastic service whenever we need them , & lovely people running the business.

Difficult time same story This particular time none of escalators weren't working and after speaking to the centre manager who told me they were waiting on parts from Australia I believe ad they have changed contractor company and hoping they will be repaired my October all I can say is I won't hold my breath

It OK but could do with more shops in there like a butchers bakery fruit an veg stall quite a few empty shops if they were open the place would be great for shopping

Excellent shopping experience and plenty of shops to choose from and plenty of food outlets to dine in or take away or maybe just to grab a coffee

The shopping mall is overall good with featured stairs and lift but the structure seemed too aged. There was leakage after raining when I came.

Very good pity about the 2 air ambulances had to come. To the motorbike accident. Hope they are all right

This place has been horrendous ever since they spent a fortune on expanding it years ago. Most of it has never had a shop in all That time. The escalator has been broken for months now so I am going to M&S as it’s easier to get in to.

Was driving past and decided to call in. Looked like an impressive shopping centre from outside. What a disappointment! I walked all the way round and found 4 shops open and Tesco although the place is huge! Looks like it was perhaps a great place previously but shops have closed down. Such a shame!

Ok, now personally, I like this place. It's a bit odd, but the Tesco and Savers are actually good. It's definitely worth the visit!

I go to the club3000 every weekend and in the large Tesco. Plenty carpark and one under neath great if it's raining, never get wet.

In my opinion the walkden could be much better, the restaurants could be on the top floor inside the shopping center, more stores could open(eg: new look, Zara and others) it's a space where families could enjoy more, they need to revive this areas 🙏🏽

Walkden could be so much better! The travelators are always breaking down, making it difficult to get shopping trolleys up to Tescos. That is when you can find a shopping trolley! In the three years I've lived in Walkden, there has always been a shortage of shopping trolleys, for such a huge Tescos! So much so that I've started shopping elsewhere so I don't have to wait for someone else to finish with a trolley. Other than that, there are a few quirky little shops that make Walkden. It's just a shame there are so many empty units.

Excellent little place ! Quite a few shops to choose from and one of the best Tesco stores I've been in Really handy for the locals I fully recommend

The town centre really isn't like a typical town centre, it's more kind of dominated by the shopping complex. It was a great idea in principal but for as long as it has been in existence, its never fulfilled its true potential. There are too many empty shops (and leaks in the glass roof) When it rains it looks like a parade of buckets scattered around to catch the drips that get in(not the humans) Other than that, nice place to visit !

Went to this place for the Christmas event. Firstly when arriving the windows and doors were all smashed and the main entrance was closed due to this reason. So, we had to wander through Tesco to get in. Once in it was like a ghost town, no shops open and mainly empty units. Had a good walk around because it was so badly posted and had to ask a cleaner for directions. Once there and inside the event it was poor, same as last year but obviously neglected since last year to a point where the props looked like they needed some attention. Don't get me wrong! So the rooms were still nicely done. Once at the end where you can meet Santa, there was a wait for about 45mins to see Santa... Waiting inline within a tiny corridor. It was pretty bad. As a result I certainly wouldn't recommend it or return.

Walkden, a charming town with a warm community vibe. Quaint streets, friendly locals, and a mix of shops. A peaceful retreat offering a delightful, relaxed atmosphere.

Only visit if desperate. Most escalators not working. Roof leaking and a big chunk of it planned for redevelopment...again! Most retail units in the main mall empty as they have been for years. M&S foodhall excellent and since Bolton M&S closed, it's my only option short of getting a bus into Manchester. Apart from that, I only use Aldi, Tesco and Boots and I really don't like upstairs supermarkets so I generally go to Farnworth. Used to be thriving market but that's a distant memory.

Such a shame about this shopping centre as it could be a really nice shopping experience if it had businesses inside it, well more than the handful that are already in residence, it must be extremely hard for them with little footfall in there. It's a huge mall type centre and modern with plenty of new empty units but apart from the few businesses in there currently it's like a ghost town and on my visits over the past few weeks there are quite a number of buckets of water placed around that make it look untidy. Presumably they are there due to leaks in the roof but why is it not getting fixed? Why is the place so empty? Are the rent and rates too high? Perhaps the owners need to entice more businesses with lower rents and get council help with lower rates perhaps. It has such potential to be a little Arndale or Trafford Centre but it's just being wasted. Very sad.

This place is becoming a joke over run with unruly teenagers hence why most of the doors are closed inconviencing everybody else... security on the doors while all other businesses on out skirts suffer to the behaviour of these youths gone very quiet in evening now has a knock on effect obviously