Horsham shopping centre to stay closed over weekend after panel falls from roof – but Marks & Spencer has reopened

Nobody was harmed in the incident, which occurred on Sunday (July 12).

A spokesperson for Swan Walk Shopping Centre initially said: “Yesterday (12 July 2026), a panel fell from the roof of Swan Walk Shopping Centre. Nobody was harmed in the incident.

“As a precaution, a decision has been taken to temporarily close the shopping centre while the matter is fully investigated. The car park remains open. Visitors can access the town from the car park via Medwin Walk with new signage being installed.

“We appreciate this is an inconvenience to shoppers and our tenants and thank them for their patience and understanding. We are working with specialist contractors to establish the cause of the incident and will reopen the centre as soon as it is safe to do so. The safety of visitors, tenants and staff remains our highest priority. We will provide a further update when more information is available.”

But a statement posted on the Swan Walk Facebook page on Tuesday (July 14) confirmed the shopping centre remained shut.

The post read: “Due to unforeseen circumstance and customer safety, Swan Walk is currently closed. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and will share further updates on Thursday (July 16). Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

A social media post from Gobsmack Comics, a comic book shop based inside Swan Walk, revealed the closure would last until ‘Friday (July 17) morning at the earliest’.

The Facebook post said: “With the ongoing closure of Swan Walk, Gobsmack remains closed. We have been informed that this closure will be until Friday morning at the earliest, possibly longer.

“This obviously impacts us significantly and means we are unable to do our early release. As Pokemon is the one product that truly drives sales this is a big hit for us. It also means that this weeks comics will also not be available until we can reopen. We apologise for the situation but it's beyond our control.”

A Facebook post from Swan Walk Horsham at about 4pm on Thursday, July 16, confirmed that the centre would remain closed over the weekend.

It said: “Our priority remains the safety of everyone who works in and visits the centre. We are continuing to work closely with specialist contractors and are progressing investigations and solutions as quickly as possible.

“Unfortunately, the centre will remain closed over the weekend while this work continues. We appreciate the impact this has on our customers, and we are grateful for your patience and understanding. We will provide a further update on Monday.”

An update at 10.22am on Saturday, July 18, said: “We can confirm that Marks & Spencer has reopened from 8:30am today, following the retailer installing of a temporary protective structure at its entrance.

“We are exploring similar safe solutions and other options that could be extended across the centre. We will proceed with whichever option allows the quickest and safest reopening for the remainder of the centre.

“The safety of visitors, tenants and staff remains our highest priority. We will provide a further update once more information is available and thank customers and businesses for their continued patience.”