Empty B&M and Home Bargains stores in Hertfordshire are set to be replaced with a new research and retail centre.

The project at The Forum, Stevenage, is part of a £1.5billion investment into the town's life science cluster – which will bring Stevenage into a research "knowledge platform" which spans Cambridge, Oxford and Boston Massachusetts.

Along with new laboratory space, the development will feature retail spaces, cafés, drinking establishments and a cinema to create "an all-day destination within the town centre and night-time economy".

Stevenage Borough Council's planning committee green-lit the development at a meeting earlier this week (Wednesday, February 15).

Speaking at the meeting, Will Rohleder – representing developer Reef Group – told councillors new labs could help find cures for "some of the sickest people in the world".

He said: "Stevenage is home to the largest cluster of cell and gene therapy companies in the world – outside of the US.

"The Stevenage Cell and Gene Catapult and the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst have been critical to its growth and are fantastic ambassadors for the town.

"The subject site will form part of this world-renowned cluster and our wider ambitions of creating a best-in-class A1(M) life science corridor.

"Cell and gene therapies are a novel class of medicines which have been demonstrated to be safe and effective treatments for incurable genetic diseases.

"These innovative therapies will ultimately create better lives for people with chronic diseases including cancer, haemophilia and dementia to name a few."

Companies, universities and researchers spent £61.77billion on research and development in the UK in 2020, according to the latest data.

More than half of this – £32b – was spent in the East of England, London and the South East.

The Forum in Stevenage currently features empty units following the departure of Home Bargains and B&M, and TK Maxx on the site is set to move to the Roaring Meg retail park.

The replacement buildings as part of the proposed Life Science Quarter would be taller than the existing units.

The scheme is set to add 1,800 jobs to the Stevenage economy.

Not all of the jobs will be in life science with ground floor and mezzanine level space set aside for the retail units, cinema, cafés and drinking establishments.

A new multi-storey car park off Fairlands Way is included in the plans, which would replace all 326 spaces currently at The Forum.

Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative planning committee members raised concerns that by not adding parking spaces, the development could put additional strain on Stevenage's transport network.

"When the old car park goes, there won't be any car parks in the area," said Cllr Sandra Barr (Lab, St Nicholas).

"As it stands, The Forum car park has got the most easily accessible disabled parking bays in the town.

"That's why it's so popular.

"It's going to be a great loss for 18 months or however long it takes to build the new car park.

"That's not going to be easy."

Cllr Claire Parris (Lab, St Nicholas) said: "We keep talking about sustainable transport and I'm all for it, but we have to consider that we've got buses which aren't running.

"We've got areas of Stevenage which don't have a bus after 7pm.

"If we're going to have a 24/7 development, then we need to look closely at parking."

According to Stevenage Borough Council staff, the decision to replace the existing car park with a multi-storey featuring the same number of spaces was taken after a "thorough review".

Hertfordshire County Council is responsible for highways and transport in Stevenage, and the developer has been asked to make a £116,000 contribution to the highways budget.

Stevenage councillors voted to approve the application.

Cllr Joan Lloyd (Lab, Bandley Hill) said the development will be a "good opportunity" to transform the retail, employment and leisure offer in Stevenage.