Demolition of derelict shopping complex to begin

The initial stages of demolition work are due to start at the Anglian Square shopping complex in Norwich

Long-awaited demolition work will get started at a derelict city centre shopping complex next week.

Anglia Square was bought by Norwich City Council in December after a housing developer pulled the plug on a £300m project for the 1960s site.

The last shop closed in May ahead of the demolition and a £350m partnership to find investors was agreed in July with Norwich-based insurance firm Aviva.

With the major demolition work due to start in the autumn, pedestrian access routes will be closed from 08:00 BST on Tuesday as the "soft strip" of buildings begins.

Anglia Square's multi-storey car park was closed in December 2012 and has fallen into disrepair alongside the neighbouring Sovereign House office block, which was the headquarters of the HM Stationery Office (HMSO) until 1996.

The site's four-screen cinema shut in early 2019 but its future was thrown into doubt when approved plans for a tower block, cinema and 1,250 homes were thrown out by the Conservative government.

A reshaped proposal for 1,100 homes were approved by the council in February 2024 but Weston Homes pulled the plug the next month, citing concerns about the "viability" of the scheme.

However, with £34m in government funding boosting the scheme, the Labour-led council is pressing ahead with clearing the site after agreeing a £5.9m deal in July with Birmingham firm DSM Demolition.

As hoardings continue to be erected around the 11-acre (4.4-hectare) site, DSM Demolition's group business development director Richard Jones said: "We will be temporarily closing the public entrance to Anglia Square and its public walkway while we carry out demolition works.

"We will be communicating with local residents and businesses and giving regular updates on our programme."

The former HMSO office block looms over the Anglia Square shopping precinct

The site had previously been listed for sale at £8.5m but the city council paid £5.6m for the complex.

The authority has said the £34m of funding provided by the government would cover the purchase as well as the costs of demolition and developing plans.

Its contract with DSM Demolition was signed with an estimate of the contract being concluded by 18 May 2026.