The Brunel Centre in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, which once thrived as a retail destination since its opening in 1973, is now facing closure with only one remaining store scheduled to close this month. The centre will be demolished next year to make way for residential and healthcare facilities. This reflects the broader trend of medium-sized shopping centres struggling amidst high vacancy rates and online competition, as evidenced by similar issues at the Grafton Centre in Cambridge. Commercial property analysts suggest that while major centres are thriving, many secondary ones do not have a viable future under the current retail model.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
The Brunel Centre was once a thriving retail destination, attracting shoppers from far and wide.
"It was incredible," says town councillor Keith Ely, who remembers its opening in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, in 1973.
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Back then, centre:MK, a large destination shopping centre four miles away in Milton Keynes, did not exist, and the Brunel was quite the draw.
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Now, like many other medium-sized shopping centres, it is struggling.
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Vacant units and graffiti-daubed shutters dominate, and it has just one store left.
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That remaining shop, a Boots Opticians, is set to close later this month ahead of the centre's planned demolition next year.
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But Ely, 87, is not upset to see the Brunel make way for flats and a health centre, with only some retail space.
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"It is a sad old building, isn't it?" he says.
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In the Grafton Centre, Cambridge, it is a similar story, with shuttered units, a large empty former Debenhams department store and a permanently closed cinema.
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This may work in Cambridge, a global leader in life sciences, but it is not an option in much of the country.
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So, in the age of online shopping, what lies ahead for these medium-sized malls?
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"There are too many in the UK and many don't have a future," is the stark assessment of Subjit Jassy, a director at Pioneer Group, which owns the centre.
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"The old model of retailers expanding to improve turnover has now disappeared because of the internet."
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Analysis by commercial property firm CBRE, external found that while the vacancy rate across UK shopping centres in the second quarter of this year was 16%, it was "significantly lower" at major centres.
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Meanwhile, research by estate agents Savills found between April and June 2026 almost 73% of consumer spending in shopping centres was in the biggest sites, with less than 18% in secondary, or medium-sized centres.
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"It is not just that shopping centres have one destiny; they really don't," says Dr Kardi Somerfield, a lecturer in marketing at the University of Northampton.
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Some destination shopping centres are running at "almost 100% occupancy", she adds.
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Back at the Brunel, Labour's Ed Hume, responsible for housing at Milton Keynes City Council, says: "We do need shops.
"
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The change here is about making sure we have a town centre that is much more open."
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The hope is that more town centre homes will increase the number of people to use local businesses.
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Similar plans in Norwich will see the Anglia Square development primarily replaced by housing.
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Market Walk in Northampton is to become a leisure and entertainment space.
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"Other shopping centres have a really important purpose as a community hub," says Somerfield, outlining another potential use.
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This is what management are trying to achieve at another site that opened in the 1970s: Weston Favell, on the eastern edge of Northampton.
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Footfall – the number of customers entering the building – has increased every year since the pandemic, says centre manager Kevin Legg.
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"We are still relevant today," he says.
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"Other shopping centres are trying to emulate and create what we've got.
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"
What they have got is a mix of a large supermarket, a number of big national brands and smaller independent businesses, as well as other community facilities.
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It is currently being used by Silhouette Youth Theatre, a charity that aims to make the arts more accessible.
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Next year it plans to create a 250-seat theatre inside part of a former Wilko store.
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George Grande, voice lead at Silhouette, says being located in a shopping centre means more people can easily arrive by public transport and gives the group more visibility.
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"We've had it before where people are like 'Oh, what's this? We don't know what this is.'
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"That is how we can get other people to join us."
Do you have a story suggestion?
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