Urban explorers mistake open shopping centre for abandoned building

Amelia Jones 

Two urban explorers have shared a video of themselves exploring what they described as an abandoned shopping centre in Wales, even though parts of the building are still occupied.

The video is filmed in The Queen’s Arcade, which is part of St David’s Shopping Centre in Cardiff.

The two men in the video are part of the urban exploration, or “urbex” community, a group of enthusiasts who explore abandoned or restricted buildings and locations, often documenting their visits through photos and videos shared online.

Their explorations often focus on sites such as disused shopping centres, factories, hospitals and other structures that have been left largely unused or forgotten.

In the video, they can be seen climbing over the barricaded escalator to explore the downstairs of the shopping centre. It shows empty storefronts, no signs and empty corridors, with shoppers visible throughout the video on the upper floor.

The video is captioned: “ABANDONED SHOPPING CENTRE, IN THE MIDDLE OF CARDIFF CITY!! WE ALMOST GOT CAUGHT BY POLICE!!”

The centre was put up for sale in 2016 for £33 million, and it was proposed to be demolished in plans in 2021.

However, in  February 2023 the centre was put into receivership, after the previous owner Sapphire reportedly breached its banking covenant.

As of November 2025, it was in the process of being “reinvented” as a “leisure mall”, which will host live performances, and will also contain sporting areas (including courts for padel), plus interactive exhibitions and theatrics using digital projection.

The ground floor is currently closed off to the public, but the second floor is being run as normal.

There is some confusion among shoppers as to what the ground floor will become or when the renovation will be completed.

However, several people in the comments pointed out that the shopping centre is not fully abandoned, noting that parts of the building remain open and in use by the public.

One commenter said: “Is the ‘abandoned’ shopping centre on the room with us?”

Another added: “It’s not abandoned at all, they shut it ready for a refitting. It’s open on the other side.”

There have been no confirmed plans on when work will commence or when the bottom floor will re-open.