Opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972,[2] it is the main shopping area in Runcorn and is visited around 6.5 million times per year.

Ling, envisaged that it would become the "natural meeting place for the town's social and cultural life as well as for shopping, offices and specialised amenities such as theatre, library, central sports hall etc.

Vehicles arrive at ground level, giving access to the four multi-storey car parks on each corner for customers and to the shop basements for deliveries.

Buses arrive at the highest level on an elevated section of the Runcorn Busway, the world's first bus rapid transit system, which circles the town in a figure of 8 with Shopping City at the centre.

On its opening, The Times commented that, 'Shopping City is possibly the nearest planners have come to the sort of building imagined by science fiction writers.

[5] The interior was finished with white terrazzo floor tiles throughout and Sicilian marble lining the walls, columns and shop fronts.

This became the source of legal disputes between the three parties since Fordgate alleged that Grosvenor had, in the words of Lord Justice Saville, "fraudulently or negligently misrepresented the true condition of the premises so that the Appellants were induced to purchase the premises, believing them to contain treated and encapsulated asbestos when, in fact, the roof voids were dreadfully...contaminated with loose asbestos fibre".

Fordgate had said they would pay for a replacement TA Centre elsewhere in the town and the plan was approved by Halton Borough Council, despite objections from the new owners of the Shopping City.

[citation needed] In summer 2012, plans were announced for the renovation of the exterior of the building and three of the four multi-storey car parks to the designs of architects Leach Rhodes Walker of Manchester.

[16] Also in 2013, the surrounding area saw new investment by developer Opus Land North with the construction of a new Lidl, Burger King, garages and a car dealership on the site of the former Vestric House.

[23] The centre is also complemented by surrounding developments, including large supermarkets, drive through fast food restaurants, and the adjacent Trident Retail Park and its multiplex cinema.

Local amenities like the main library and Council 'Direct Link' centres are also attached to the Shopping City in the civic quarter.

In April 2018, Halton Borough Council unveiled concept plans for the regeneration of the area surrounding and adjoining the Shopping City under the theme, 'Halton Healthy New Town'.

The centre is also complemented by surrounding developments, including large supermarkets, drive through fast food restaurants, and the adjacent Trident Retail Park and its multiplex cinema.

The Old Town area of Runcorn with its Brindley Theatre is a few minutes drive away and the shopping centre is overlooked by the historic Halton Castle.

Runcorn East connects Manchester Piccadilly, Warrington Bank Quay, Frodsham, Helsby, Chester and North Wales.