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Nigel TAYLOR Published
February 12, 2025
Not all shopping centres have been a success and many struggled after the pandemic. Two of those are the Grafton Centre and Beehive Centre, both in Cambridge, and are being turned into life science/high-tech campuses and offices, seen as a growth area for the university city.
Grafton’s developer Pioneer Group has secured a multi-million-pound regeneration programme from Cambridge City Council to convert the former shopping centre into laboratory and offices, reports BdailyNews.
However, the western end of the centre “will be retained and transformed into a more attractive destination for local shoppers.”
According to local publication Varsity, the Grafton’s planning application cited that the shopping centre had “failed to fully recover since the pandemic; footfall is 12% lower than it was in 2025, and 13 retail units have been vacant for more than two years”.
However, the redevelopment “will contribute towards addressing an acute demand and short supply of laboratories and offices in the Cambridge area, recognised as a national priority, whilst providing amenities for the local community and occupiers”, council officials said.
Richard O’Boyle, Chief Executive of Pioneer Group, added: “The scheme will also deliver new jobs near to where people live, encouraging more sustainable travel as well as helping local shops… thrive.”
Meanwhile, Railpen, the owner of the Beehive Centre that's home to Asda and B&M stores, has also submitted a planning application to redevelop the space into 11 new buildings for life science and offices. But the two big stores will be replaced by 22 small stores and cafes on the ground floor, as well as a community pavilion for local groups. Railpen said it's partnering with Indie Cambridge to ensure many of the new stores "will be run by local businesses".
Reports said a number of Beehive tenants are currently on short-term leases, or are paying less-than-market rent.
John O’Shea, the manager of the Grafton Centre, said that the most immediate impact of the two moves “will be the loss of big, affordable stores. Many... have become staples for affordable student shopping and attract vast numbers of shoppers from neighbouring villages into the city.”