What is happening to the Grafton in Cambridge?

The plans for new labs and offices will also involve keeping some shops in the Grafton

Despite a multi-million pounds building revamp eight years ago, the Grafton Centre in Cambridge is on the cusp of a major transformation.

The "dying" complex - once home to Mothercare, Debenhams and a cinema - is about to be partially demolished to make way for laboratory space, offices, a new hotel and a reduced shopping experience.

What is happening - and what do people think of it?

The Grafton now

Centre manager John O'Shea said the Grafton had suffered in recent years

The Grafton originally opened in 1984, with Queen Elizabeth II cutting the ribbon.

It has undergone a number of changes since then, most notably in 1995 and in 2017.

Today, the shopping centre still holds a handful of big brand outlets like Boots and Decathlon, as well as independent businesses, a gym and a ping pong parlour.

But the city's Debenhams store remains empty after its closure four years ago, smaller clothing stores have locked up for good and the curtain came down on the Vue cinema last month.

The Grafton is currently a shadow of its former self, with closed stores and empty thoroughfares

The Debenhams department store closed four years ago

John O'Shea, the centre's manager, remembers a £28m revamp of the shopping centre back in 2017 and says he is "very, very excited" to see this latest transformation take shape.

"It gives the shopping centre another lease of life," he said.

"I was here for the redevelopment last time round but, like many shopping centres across the UK, the Grafton suffered post-Covid."

Mr O'Shea said they were now "considering the future" of the adjacent Vue building after the cinema franchise quit the centre last month.

What is changing?

There are plans for a new life sciences building and hotel on East Road

A new "breakout area" will give life sciences workers downtime space

The Grafton is undergoing a major facelift, with much of the interior changing to incorporate laboratory space for the ever-growing Cambridge tech industry.

But the area around it will also see huge changes.

Planners say the existing main entrance of the Grafton will be kept, with a corridor of shops leading to an outdoor courtyard that will take visitors to Burleigh Street, opposite the current Primark store.

Two empty shops on Burleigh Street will be demolished to create another new entrance.

A new life sciences building will replace Abbeygate House on East Road, with restaurants on the ground floor.

The rear of the centre, where there are escalators and empty units, will become a "breakout area" for workers at the labs to use.

There will also be a new Premier Inn hotel opposite the former Vue on East Road.

Why are the plans going ahead?

Subjit Jassy from Pioneer Group said the Grafton was not working anymore

The Pioneer Group, which got planning permission for the project from Greater Cambridge Shared Planning last year, said there was demand for science spaces from big companies and small start-ups in the city.

"Cambridge is one of the top places in the world for innovation and science," said director Subjit Jassy.

"We felt there was a trend for science places to go back into the city centre because you get the benefit of public transport and local amenities."

Earlier this year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she wanted to see "world-class companies" grow in the area between Oxford and Cambridge, in order for the region to become "Europe's Silicon Valley".

A report produced in September by Greater Cambridge Shared Planning said a "significant number" of projects for new labs and offices had gained planning consent, but warned "there may remain a shortfall" in spaces.

Where will the shops go?

A new public outdoor space is planned for people to relax and shop

The plan is to keep the Grafton's bigger shops, including H&M, Decathlon and Boots - and relocate some independent businesses.

Mr Jassy insisted they did not want to "get rid" of the shopping centre, but "retain as much as we can".

His observation was that local people thought the centre "used to have a place in everybody's heart" but that "a lot of the feedback was that the Grafton Centre's dying – something needs to happen."

"I think people recognise that this scale of shops in this location doesn't work anymore," he said.

What do people think?

Sarah Lefever was sad to see the Vue cinema leave the Grafton recently

Shopper Sarah Lefever said it was "quite sad" to see the Grafton's steady decline.

"I've come here since I was little, it's very different to see it with all the empty shops."

She said it was "really disappointing" that the cinema had left, remembering "hustle and bustle" in years gone by.

Gishani Parameswaran thought the space was not very family friendly

Gishani Parameswaran said the Grafton was not very welcoming for young families.

"This is a closed space area once people get in," she said.

"I feel like when I get here I'm just focused on the time because there isn't much else to focus on here."

Catherine Jansson-Boyd, a professor of consumer psychology at Anglia Ruskin University - which has its Cambridge campus on East Road, said she did not think many people would miss the Grafton.

"It wasn't the most fun, jolly space in the world," she said.

But she was not convinced there was sufficient demand for labs and offices.

"Increasingly big companies are shedding their office space," she said.

"People are talking a lot about lab spaces, I can't personally see they are going to fill up."

When is it all happening?

An archaeological dig has already taken place on the site, which brought up some foundations from Victorian tenement houses.

The next step is for demolition work to begin on Abbeygate House, which could begin later this year.

Work on the new shopping area and an initial phase of the life sciences spaces are expected to be finished by the end of 2028.