THE Shopping City has been brought back to life.

As Runcorn’s indoor shopping centre celebrates its 45th birthday the original name has been revived.

Research revealed that 93 per cent of shoppers still refer to it as ‘The City’.

Centre manager Karl Clawley said: “We conducted some research with our customers, retailers and Facebook followers and virtually all them thought the name Shopping City was something they preferred.

“We have invested heavily in the centre over the past five years to improve its look and feel.

“We are now home to over 60 high street names and independent retailers and consider ourselves to be at the heart of our community.

“We provide jobs for more than 1000 retail staff, work hard to engage long term unemployed people to help them get job-ready and support start-up businesses in The Box.”

A summer fete is being held on Saturday, July 1 to thank the community for their support and launch the old name’s comeback.

The free Community and The city event runs from 11am to 4pm.

Stalls hosted by community groups and charities will be in the town square.

Old photographs and memories of the past 45 years will be displayed by Halton Historical Society and the library.

The centre’s oldest shopper 100-year-old Bill Arnes will be guest of honour with Halton Mayor and Mayoress Cllr Alan Lowe and Cllr Joan Lowe.

Runcorn graphic designer John Saunders will reveal his rebranded Shopping City logo and a new music video to the hit Starship song We Built this City will be premiered.

The video features more than 250 school children, Mersey Gateway construction workers, Halton’s mayor and mayoress, police officers and dozens of retailers and shoppers.

Karl added: “The music video is a chance to view us as you’ve never seen us before.

“It’s a fun way of celebrating our new name and hopefully putting Shopping City on the map.”

John Saunders, new branding designer, said: “I have lived in Runcorn almost all of my life so the Shopping City has been something I have always known.

“I have plenty of childhood memories of walking there with my mother and brother.

“In all that time I have never known the centre called anything but The Shopping City and I think everyone in Runcorn would agree.

“So when there was an opportunity to work with Karl and the team to rebrand and bring back the original name, I jumped at the chance.

“It was the common sense thing to do for both the people of Runcorn and the shopping centre as a business.”