The Grafton Centre – Changing

I wrote about the Grafton Centre on this blog on 4^th July 2024.  A photograph showed it deserted; and I added some background about my involvement with the original redevelopment in the mid-1970s.  With a few minutes to spare I wandered through it again on Monday (15^th).  A few early commuters walked by on their way to work.  A group of planners, architects and engineers consulted plans and clip boards in the atrium around the lift tower.  The web site www.graftoncentreregeneration.co.uk gives the following update.

The Grafton Centre in Cambridge is changing.

The shopping centre was built in the early 1980s, and despite renovation works it went through a period of decline as anchor stores like Debenhams have closed down nationally and the way people shop has changed. The number of empty shops has increased year on year.  Despite this, people still value the Grafton Centre, whether for its specialist and independent stores, value retail, or a local place to meet friends for a coffee.

So in 2023, Pioneer Group proposed a new vision to turn the centre around. Retail would be concentrated at the west end of the centre within a nicer shopping environment and improved streets. The east part of the centre will become new laboratory space for life science research start-ups and businesses, ensuring that 2,000 employees are present on a daily basis to support local shops and cafes.

The planning application was approved by Cambridge City Council in February 2024, and work is now ongoing to deliver this ambitious regeneration plan.

The east side of the shopping centre will be converted into laboratory and office space for start-ups, small businesses, and established companies in the science and technology industry. This will include incubator space to support the growth of small and start-up companies.  This will provide more than 2,000 jobs, from apprentice and entry level to PhD.

The mall’s former concourse will be transformed into event space for public lectures, conferences, and displays and exhibitions about the innovative work being done by researchers here.

Retail will remain a significant activity in the centre, complementing and supporting the shops on Fitzroy and Burleigh Street.  We aren’t looking to compete with the Grand Arcade and Lion Yard for expensive retail – we want to provide shops and cafes that offer real value and convenience for our neighbouring community.

A loop of shops and cafes will connect the retail retained at the western end of the centre to Grafton Street and Burleigh Street, creating new active frontages, retail units, and public space. The improvements to the environment here will make this a nicer place to visit, shop, work, and spend time.

I shall follow the changes with interest.  The project appears to be generating much less community engagement than the 1970s schemes, when there was considerable opposition to the ‘Kite’ redevelopment.  The area was documented by Roy Hammans, https://the-golden-fleece.co.uk/wp/kite-area-cambridge/nggallery/image/kite-01/ as it awaited building of the Grafton Centre.  Will this latest turn in the cycles of urban renewal offer similarly rich opportunities for photography?