On July 13, during one of the hottest days of the year, a group of people became trapped in a lift at Gloucester’s Eastgate Shopping Centre after the lift automatically stopped working due to overheating. A security guard was seen attempting to force open the lift doors to provide ventilation to those inside until engineers could reset the controls.
This is not an isolated incident. Just weeks earlier, on June 18, a family was trapped inside a lift at the nearby King’s Walk Shopping Centre in the sweltering heat, requiring fire crews to rescue them. These repeated malfunctions have sparked growing concerns about safety and maintenance across the shopping centres' lifts.
Community Independent Councillor Alastair Chambers, representing Matson, Robinswood, and White City, has been raising alarms about the safety standards of council-owned buildings—including Eastgate and King’s Walk shopping centres—since 2022. He criticised the city council for dismissing his warnings as “scaremongering” and expressed frustration that his concerns had gone unaddressed.
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Chambers stated, “The recent incidents confirm what I have long warned: the breakdown of lifts in these centres is not a question of if, but when. The fact that two serious lift failures happened within less than two weeks highlights a systemic problem with maintenance and safety protocols.”
After the June incident, Chambers personally inspected the emergency procedures in place at King’s Walk. He found no emergency contact numbers or instructions in the lifts—only an unresponsive call button. His test pressing of the button went unanswered for ten minutes, and no security personnel were available on site. Chambers worried that in a real emergency, vulnerable individuals could face dangerous delays in receiving help, especially during extreme heat.
In response, Gloucester City Council issued an apology to those affected by the July 13 incident, explaining that the lift stopped automatically for safety reasons when it overheated. Engineers quickly attended the scene and reset the controls, restoring functionality. The council confirmed they are continuing to closely monitor all lifts under their responsibility to prevent future incidents.
The recent events have highlighted urgent needs for improved maintenance, clearer emergency procedures, and greater on-site staff presence to ensure the safety and well-being of shoppers using these lifts—especially during periods of extreme weather.