Campaign Launched To Save World’s First Pop-Up Mall From Closure

It was dubbed the world’s first pop-up mall and was globally influential as a catalyst for the food hall phenomenon, helped redefine the role of temporary destinations and pioneered the use of sea containers over bricks and mortar.

But now Boxpark Shoreditch in London needs help in a bid to stave off closure.

Located in the achingly hip Shoreditch in inner east London, where the city’s financial powerhouses sit cheek by jowl with trendy restaurants, brands and hotels, Boxpark opened at Bishopsgate Goodsyard back in 2011 as a pop-up mall on a five-year lease.

Its remit was to help establish a retail destination on what was then the fringe of the Shoreditch area ahead of a permanent mall being built on the site and it was founded by fashion entrepreneur Roger Wade, at the time best known for the Boxfresh brand.

As a result, it began with a heavy focus on independent and cool fashion brands but has morphed over the years to primarily feature a mix of retail and F&B.

So that fact that it is still open 12 years later belies its short-term beginnings and has gone far beyond the original deal. And Wade has no problem with making way for a permanent development on the site. What he – and the Night Time Industries Association which is backing his bid to keep Boxpark open – rail at is that the site is facing closure at least a year, perhaps more, before the first spade goes in the ground.

Boxpark Looks To U.S.

Such has been the success of the concept, in the intervening dozen years Boxpark has expanded to other locations so regardless of the fate of Shoreditch, the brand will live on and a first U.S. site is in its plans. Wade said that the business is looking at opportunities to open in North America under license and that beyond its U.K. expansion, the U.S. is the most likely next destination.

Two new London venues are due this year, at Camden’s Buck Street Market and the first Boxhall premium food and music hall concept at Liverpool Street. Boxpark also opened in Liverpool last year and will open a Boxhall in Bristol in 2025, while a Birmingham launch is in the pipeline. Boxpark’s Croydon and Wembley sites to the south and north of London continue to trade as normal.

But for now the focus is on the original site, where closure was initially set for this month, before a defiant Wade launched a campaign to save the famous pop-up mall despite having been served notice by landlord Bishopsgate Goodsyard.

The dispute lies around planning permission granted to transform the 11.1-acre space into a mixed-use scheme with a new park, homes, retail, leisure and office space. But red tape means that builders are unlikely to start on site for at least another year and joint venture landlords Ballymore and Hammerson, plus the local civic authorities are all supportive of Boxpark continuing to trade in the meantime.

Save Boxpark Campaign

The campaign is seeking to keep Boxpark in place until the site is ready for redevelopment, which first requires Network Rail [the U.K’s rail infrastructure operator] to transfer rights, a legal process that is likely to take some time.

“The planners are insistent that because the planning condition is met, Boxpark is closed. Our point is we don’t mind closing for redevelopment but we do mind closing just for the sake of some planning obligation,” he said, warning that up to 300 jobs could be lost with its closure.

“This is crazy, we’re going to have a major driver of economic activity in the area taken away and we’re going to have the failure of 50 businesses. And this is all because somebody needs to tick a box,” he said.