Grafton Centre

The Grafton Centre is a covered shopping centre in Cambridge, England. It is one of the three main shopping centres in Cambridge – the others are the Lion Yard and the Grand Arcade. The Grafton Centre is on the eastern edge of the main shopping district while the Lion Yard and Grand Arcade are more central.

Fitzroy Street entrance to the Grafton Centre prior to the 2017 renovation.

The Centre dominates Fitzroy Street and Burleigh Street. The main footprint is linear, running from east to west. It has three atria, the Eastern one being the largest. The mall is laid out across two storeys with some of the shops having more than one storey too.

Currently nearly thirty years old, the Grafton Centre is undergoing a refurbishment programme (2017).

The main retail stores include Boots, Debenhams (the largest store in the centre) and Next.

It also has its own small bus station, a food court, Vue cinema and two multi-storey car parks. It is owned by Legal & General Property.[1]

History

The Grafton centre was constructed in the early 1980s.

During the preceding decade, plans for the development of this approximately "kite"-shaped area of land (at that time dominated by terraced houses dating from the tail end of the previous century, and extensively used for student lodgings) met with controversy and opposition:[2] during a decade dominated by national indebtedness and economic decline, with investment funds in short supply, progress towards commencement of the development was slow.

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References
  1. Eleanor, Busby. Cambridge News http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Grafton-shopping-centre-Cambridge-bought-99/story-27536998-detail/story.html. Retrieved 3 March 2016. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. Essay on the development phase Retrieved 2010-06-15

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