Merry Hill Shopping Centre
Encyclopedia
Westfield Merry Hill is a shopping centre in Brierley Hill
near Dudley
, West Midlands
, England
. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number of other owners including Chelsfield and Mountleigh. The current owners are Westfield
and QIC. It was built by Tarmac Construction.
Merry Hill is home to over 250 Shops, Retail Park, Cinema and a Eat Central food hall including Pizza Express
& Nandos with 10,000 Car Parking Spaces. Adjacent to the main shopping site is The Waterfront, which accommodates offices for HM Revenue and Customs amongst others, and has a marina
area providing space for a number of bars and restaurants.
The Dudley No.1 Canal
passes though the adjacent Waterfront site and high above the edge of the shopping centre, before descending Delph Locks
.
area had suffered the loss of the Round Oak Steelworks
, and it was hoped that other manufacturers could be encouraged to move into the area. Incentives included relaxed planning rules and a ten-year period exempt from business rates
. Developers saw the opportunity to take advantage of lack of restrictions by making a shopping centre, rather than industrial units originally envisaged as the mainstay of the Enterprise Zone.
The Enterprise Zone encompassed both the former steelworks site and a large open green space known as Merry Hill Farm. This was cherished locally as a haven for wildlife. During 1982, the site was bought by Richardson Developments with the intention of constructing a large shopping centre. December 1982 saw the closure of the Round Oak Steelworks after 125 years.
There was much hostility when building of the first phase of the shopping centre commenced on the green space, rather than on the former steelworks site, which itself was incorporated into the enterprise zone in 1984 - the year that the first phase of the complex - two retail parks and a shopping mall - was given the go-ahead on 2 October 1984, with construction beginning that winter.
Despite protests from local citizens, the project went ahead and by Christmas 1985 the first three stores - Harris Queensway furniture store, MFI home furnishings retail warehouse (the complex's very first tenant) and Atlantis Electrical superstore - were trading from the site.
In November of that year, the Richardson twins announced plans to expand Merry Hill into a large indoor shopping centre to rival the recently completed developments at Telford
in Shropshire
and Milton Keynes
in Buckinghamshire
, with a view to completing the development by 1990. The construction contract for the shopping malls was let to Tarmac Construction.
The first shopping mall and a second phase of the retail park (including Halfords
and B&Q
) opened in April 1986 (incorporating the Carrefour
hypermarket
which opened on 1 July that year). However, Carrefour had pulled out of the store within two years and it was taken over by Gateway
, whose tenure of the store was similary short; by 1990 they had withdrawn from the store and it was taken over by Asda
, who have held the store's tenancy ever since.
The shopping mall was extended during 1987 on the ground floor and the upper level shops opened in early 1988. A 10-screen cinema was opened in November 1988.
The 350-seat Jules Verne food court, which offered a round the world eating experience and had a large globe-shaped balloon as its centerpiece, was opened in June 1989 on the upper level shopping mall. However, it had closed by the mid 1990s due to disappointing trade. It was redeveloped with shops.
Construction of the final phase of the centre was finished in 1989, with the J Sainsbury supermarket opened in September and the final phase of the complex opening on 14 November, incorporating multiple Debenhams and British Home Stores as some of the last big retail names to move to stores within the complex.
In August 1989, Marks and Spencer had agreed to become tenants of a new department store in the final phase of the shopping complex. It opened on 23 October 1990, replacing the recently closed stores in nearby towns West Bromwich
and Dudley
; the retailer had hoped that its Merry Hill store could co-exist with the West Bromwich and Dudley stores, but the onset of the recession and a general downturn in trade in these towns led to the closure of both stores on 25 August 1990.
On 24 December 1990, the shopping centre was sold to Mountleigh.
Development of the steelworks site did not commence until the autumn 1989, when construction began on The Waterfront development, which consisted of Phases 6-8. Phase 6 saw the construction of 69700 square metres (750,245 sq ft) of offices (the first of which were occupied in December 1990), Phase 7 saw the construction of 6500 square metres (69,965 sq ft) of restaurants and bars and Phase 8 saw the addition of a 15800 square metres (170,070 sq ft) business park, which was completed in 1995. Waterfront Way was opened in early December of 1990 to serve the new complex and provide a road link to the shopping centre and also to the main A461 road.
The Waterfront development created some 3,000 jobs, but the onset of the recession
in 2008 saw many businesses vacate the development, leaving a high percentage of office units empty. In June 2011, in a bid to bring jobs back to the Waterfront, the area was among the candidates for enterprise zone status once again - 17 years after the original enterprise zone expired.
Phase 4 was partly remodelled in early 1996, a mere seven years after it had been built.
Road access to the complex was improved in 1998 with the completion of alterations to the two access points from the A4036 main road between Dudley and Pedmore - this resulted in more than 40 houses being demolished to make way for the widened road and re-designed Quarry Bank junction. This project had first been proposed in 1989, and caused much controversy among residents whose houses were ultimately demolished to make way for the improvements.
Merry Hill had brought about the first free-standing Pizza Hut
in the UK, the first drive-in McDonald's
restaurant and the largest Texas Homecare
store - all opened during 1986.
While the centre was still being developed in the late 1980s, plans were unveiled to build the world's tallest tower at Merry Hill. The tower would have been 2,000 feet tall, with a hotel at its base, a restaurant halfway up and a nightclub at the top. However, plans to build it were scrapped in 1992.
, C&A
(C&A closed in early 2001 and the store is now occupied by H&M) and Littlewoods
. These left a number of large empty premises behind, which in turn meant many shoppers abandoned town centres for the Merry Hill Centre, which led to a large downturn in trade for those shops remaining, affecting their viability.
The first retailer to move to Merry Hill was furniture retailer MFI, who opened a retail warehousing unit during 1985. MFI would trade from this unit for 23 years until they went into liquidation in December 2008, with the store later being purchased and refurbished by electrical retailer BestBuy, who opened their store in May 2010.
By Christmas 1985, MFI had been joined by Queensway furniture store and electrical retailer Atlantis. Further retail warehousing units and a shopping mall were already under construction by this stage.
By the summer of 1986, two retail parks existed at the site, incorporating retailers including B&Q
, Halfords
and Texas Homecare
.
The first shopping mall opened in April 1986, with French
hypermarket
giant Carrefour
opening a store in the mall on 1 July that year. They sold the store to Gateway
two years later when withdrawing from Britain, and by 1990 it had been taken over by Asda
, who already had a store in Brierley Hill town centre as well as several others in the wider Black Country
area, but surprisingly, the Brierley Hill store remained open.
A second shopping mall opened on the ground level in 1987 and the centre was expanded further in early 1988 to include an upper level, although the bulk of the centre was opened on 14 November 1989 - by which time it was the largest shopping centre in Europe
. By the time of its completion, Merry Hill included several multiple stores including clothing retailers C&A
and Littlewoods, general department store British Home Stores and supermarket chain J Sainsbury, as well as numerous smaller retailers.
On 23 October 1990, Marks & Spencer opened a new department store at Merry Hill (the final new store to open at the complex), replacing the recently closed stores in nearby towns Dudley
and West Bromwich
. The retailer had agreed to become tenants of a store at Merry Hill during the summer of 1989, but had hoped to keep its Dudley and West Bromwich stores open alongside it; however the declining trade in both of these towns led to both stores being closed in 25 August 1990, some two months before the Merry Hill store opened. A similar situation had arisen with British Home Stores, who had opened a store in the final phase of the complex in November 1989, but continued to trade from its Dudley store; however the opening of the Merry Hill store was followed by a sharp decline in trade from the Dudley store, and the decision to close this store had been taken by March 1990, with the store finally closing June of that year.
12 months after its opening, the Marks & Spencer store expanded on the ground level into a neighbouring unit.
In the late 1990s, Marks & Spencer took over the lease of the former Littlewoods store and converted into a furniture and menswear store. The Littlewoods store had expanded some years earlier, taking in a former Woolworths
store on the upper level; there had been fears that Woolworths would close at least some of their branches in nearby towns when the Merry Hill store opened, but trade from the Woolworths at Merry Hill was relatively disappointing and ironically the local Woolworths stores all outlasted the Merry Hill store by well over a decade, only closing when the retailer went into liquidation over the 2008/09 winter.
The completion of Merry Hill resulted in the loss of many big name retailers from nearby towns, with Dudley being particularly hard hit.
However, some retailers kept their stores in nearby towns open despite opening new stores at Merry Hill. WH Smith, who have been at Merry Hill since 1989, still have stores in Dudley and Halesowen and even opened a new store in Stourbridge
during the 1990s. C&A, who had a store at Merry Hill from November 1989 until withdrawing from Britain in 2001, kept their Dudley store open until January 1992. Marks & Spencer had originally wanted to keep their Dudley and West Bromwich stores open even after the opening of a new store at Merry Hill, but falling trade in Dudley led to the company deciding that the Dudley store was no longer viable and it closed on 25 August 1990 just weeks before its replacement opened at Merry Hill. Littlewoods kept their Dudley store open for two months after its Merry Hill replacement opened in November 1989, cashing in on the 1989 Christmas sales before closing it in January 1990. British Home Stores had intended to continue trading from their Dudley store even after the opening of their new Merry Hill store in November 1989, but a sharp fall in trade led to the decision to close the Dudley store being taken in February 1990, with the store finally closing in June that year.
A further blow came when the local council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough, announced that it was bringing in parking charges throughout its area; this turned more shoppers away from local towns, and towards the Merry Hill Centre, where parking remains free.
Dudley Council have nonetheless announced large increases in car parking charges in the rest of the Borough, including Brierley Hill where some charges have increased by over 100%, resulting in continuing rumours that parking charges may be soon introduced at the Merry Hill Centre.
After more than 20 years, local towns have still not been able to compete with the centre, and have become increasingly run-down, though schemes to improve things are occasionally mooted.
The Merry Hill Centre continues to draw most of its trade from local towns. The developers did plan that the Centre would attract visitors from across the country, by building coach parks; however these were redeveloped with private houses and flats in 2003.
was opened at Merry Hill on June 1991, but this closed in 1996 as a result of a combination of technical problems and safety concerns (especially the difficulty of evacuation), exacerbated by a dispute between the owners of Merry Hill and The Waterfront which at this time were owned separately. The infrastructure was later removed, leaving only one disused monorail station and part of the old railings visible—on top of the Marks and Spencer store roof.
The monorail cost £22 million to build, the construction work taking place along with the final phase of the shopping complex in 1988/89, but due to health and safety concerns it did not open until 19 months after the centre was complete.
There were to be five stations, with the system extending over the canal and terminating close to the site of the former Round Oak railway station
: Where an interchange with a Midland Metro
extension was proposed. However, only the first four stations were completed.
The system was officially opened on 1 June 1991. But the actual opening to the public was delayed by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate
investigating evacuation procedures. After operating for a short while, the monorail was temporarily closed again in 1992, but ran sporadically until 1996.
After the system was put up for sale in 1996, the trains and track were transferred in 2001 to the Oasis Shopping Centre
, in Broadbeach, Queensland
, Australia, to enable expansion of its own monorail system.
At the end of Monorail service, a "Monorail Replacement Bus" service operated between the UCI Cinema and The Waterfront car parks. This service utilised 2 Travel Merry Hill
owned MCW Metrobus
es.
and Bluewater.
Merry Hill is home to anchor stores Debenhams
, Marks and Spencer, Primark
and Bhs and supermarkets Asda
and Sainsbury's. Other stores include Next
, H&M
, TK Maxx, Gap
, Topshop
/Topman
, Vero Moda/Jack & Jones, Republic, hmv
, Waterstones, River Island
, Clas Ohlson
, Superdry
, Henri Lloyd
, French Connection
, Boots
, Argos Extra
, Peacocks
, The Entertainer
, Schuh
, JD Sports
, WH Smith, Disney Store
, Barratts
and New Look.
borough and the first new one to have been built for some 50 years. It was originally owned by AMC Cinemas
which opened in 1988 until AMC pulled out of the UK in 1990, then subsequently changed to UCI Cinemas
and was refurbished in 2005 following a merger with Odeon Cinemas
chain. The other nearest cinema is a a Showcase Cinema
at Castle Gate, four miles away.
was re-routed in the late 1990s, and between 2002 and 2005 housing has been developed around the complex (several apartment blocks opposite the cinema as well as apartments and houses overlooking Pedmore Road). A new line of the Midland Metro
tram
system was scheduled to reach the site in 2011 but has been delayed indefinatly. A new Primark
store opened on 4 May 2007. The newest multi-storey car park
at Merry Hill has also been given a high rating by the AA
, which means it is one of the best car parks in the United Kingdom. Sainsbury's has had a refit in early 2006 which includes a pharmacy. Asda
and HMV
were both refitted in 2007, JD Sports
and Republic
in 2009, as well as all three McDonald's
.
In addition, the cinema near to multi-storey car park has recently received a major rebrand into an Odeon Cinemas
. The refit, costing over £1 million, has seen the inside of the cinema completely modernised throughout, with brand new seating in all auditoriums.
In Spring 2010 a HomeSense
opened on 22 May 2010 in former Allied Carpets/Powerhouse unit and a Currys
PC World
2-in-1 Megastore opened on June 3 in the former Au Naturale and Currys unit, and Best Buy
opened 25 June in the former MFI
unit. In late summer 2010 Two Seasons
opened and Clas Ohlson
, Lipsy London
, FootAsylum & The Entertainer opened recently.
, for local services to Birmingham Snow Hill and Kidderminster
via Stourbridge Junction.
Various distance bus services operate from Merry Hill from National Express West Midlands
, Diamond Bus
, Hansons
and Midland
.
is completed. It will terminate a short distance south of the centre in Brierley Hill town centre, and will give direct light-rail links to the towns of Dudley
, Tipton
and Wednesbury
. The final phase of the line will run on a new route around the edge of Merry Hill, though most of the rest of it will make use of the South Staffordshire Line
trackbed.
The integration programme is part of a major urban regeneration project and will see the creation of a new mixed usage town centre through the physical and social integration of the areas.
There is talk of John Lewis
or House of Fraser
being built at a later stage, as well as the possibility of an Apple Store.
the inspiration for the fictional Green Oaks centre, the main location in her successful novel What Was Lost
),(link dead); ),.
The Centre made a brief appearance on the Childrens TV Show rosie and jim
showing the large sainsburys Store and also appeared in Season 7 Episode 4 of Apprentice UK as the "out of town" shopping centre.
(formed in 1987) which was created to compete against then West Midlands Travel
. It was created at that time to be the major form of public transport linking the surrounding areas with the shopping centre, of which approximately half had been opened by the time the service was launched (the first retailers had moved to the centre in 1985 and it was completed in 1989).
However, this was sold off to Travel West Midlands in 1998, and subsequently rebranded Travel Merry Hill
, leaving Merry Hill Centre management to concentrate on the shopping centre itself.
Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
near Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was developed between 1985 and 1990, with several expansion and renovation projects taking place since. The original developers and owners were Richardson Developments but the Centre has had a number of other owners including Chelsfield and Mountleigh. The current owners are Westfield
The Westfield Group
The Westfield Group is an Australian shopping centre group undertaking ownership, development, design, construction, funds/asset management, property management, leasing and marketing activities...
and QIC. It was built by Tarmac Construction.
Merry Hill is home to over 250 Shops, Retail Park, Cinema and a Eat Central food hall including Pizza Express
Pizza Express
PizzaExpress is a restaurant group with over 400 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 40 overseas in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot.In Ireland, PizzaExpress trades under the name Milano....
& Nandos with 10,000 Car Parking Spaces. Adjacent to the main shopping site is The Waterfront, which accommodates offices for HM Revenue and Customs amongst others, and has a marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
area providing space for a number of bars and restaurants.
The Dudley No.1 Canal
Dudley Canal
The Dudley Canal is a canal passing though Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh connected network of navigable inland waterways, and in particular forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat cruising route....
passes though the adjacent Waterfront site and high above the edge of the shopping centre, before descending Delph Locks
Delph Locks
Delph Locks or the Delph Nine are a series of eight narrow canal locks on the Dudley No. 1 Canal in Brierley Hill, in the West Midlands, England....
.
Construction
In the 1980s, the Government created a number of Enterprise Zones which gave incentives to firms wishing to set up business in areas which had been affected by a downturn in the manufacturing industry. The Brierley HillBrierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
area had suffered the loss of the Round Oak Steelworks
Round Oak Steelworks
The Round Oak Steelworks were an important steel production plant in Brierley Hill, West Midlands , England. It was founded by Lord Ward, later the Earl of Dudley in 1857 as an outlet for pig iron made in the nearby blast furnaces. During the Industrial Revolution, the majority of iron-making in...
, and it was hoped that other manufacturers could be encouraged to move into the area. Incentives included relaxed planning rules and a ten-year period exempt from business rates
Business rates
Business rates is the commonly used name of non-domestic rates, a tax on the occupation of non-domestic property. Rates are a property tax with ancient roots that was formerly used to fund local services that was formalised with the Poor Law 1572 and superseded by the Poor Law of 1601...
. Developers saw the opportunity to take advantage of lack of restrictions by making a shopping centre, rather than industrial units originally envisaged as the mainstay of the Enterprise Zone.
The Enterprise Zone encompassed both the former steelworks site and a large open green space known as Merry Hill Farm. This was cherished locally as a haven for wildlife. During 1982, the site was bought by Richardson Developments with the intention of constructing a large shopping centre. December 1982 saw the closure of the Round Oak Steelworks after 125 years.
There was much hostility when building of the first phase of the shopping centre commenced on the green space, rather than on the former steelworks site, which itself was incorporated into the enterprise zone in 1984 - the year that the first phase of the complex - two retail parks and a shopping mall - was given the go-ahead on 2 October 1984, with construction beginning that winter.
Despite protests from local citizens, the project went ahead and by Christmas 1985 the first three stores - Harris Queensway furniture store, MFI home furnishings retail warehouse (the complex's very first tenant) and Atlantis Electrical superstore - were trading from the site.
In November of that year, the Richardson twins announced plans to expand Merry Hill into a large indoor shopping centre to rival the recently completed developments at Telford
Telford
Telford is a large new town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, approximately east of Shrewsbury, and west of Birmingham...
in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
and Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, with a view to completing the development by 1990. The construction contract for the shopping malls was let to Tarmac Construction.
The first shopping mall and a second phase of the retail park (including Halfords
Halfords
Halfords Group plc is a leading retailer of car parts, car enhancements and bicycles operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic and more recently in Poland, although it is currently pulling out of the latter two countries...
and B&Q
B&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
) opened in April 1986 (incorporating the Carrefour
Carrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
hypermarket
Hypermarket
In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise...
which opened on 1 July that year). However, Carrefour had pulled out of the store within two years and it was taken over by Gateway
Gateway
A gateway is a point of entry or exit at which a gate may be hung.Gateway may also refer to:-Computer terminology:*Gateway , a computer or a network that allows or controls access to another computer or network...
, whose tenure of the store was similary short; by 1990 they had withdrawn from the store and it was taken over by Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
, who have held the store's tenancy ever since.
The shopping mall was extended during 1987 on the ground floor and the upper level shops opened in early 1988. A 10-screen cinema was opened in November 1988.
The 350-seat Jules Verne food court, which offered a round the world eating experience and had a large globe-shaped balloon as its centerpiece, was opened in June 1989 on the upper level shopping mall. However, it had closed by the mid 1990s due to disappointing trade. It was redeveloped with shops.
Construction of the final phase of the centre was finished in 1989, with the J Sainsbury supermarket opened in September and the final phase of the complex opening on 14 November, incorporating multiple Debenhams and British Home Stores as some of the last big retail names to move to stores within the complex.
In August 1989, Marks and Spencer had agreed to become tenants of a new department store in the final phase of the shopping complex. It opened on 23 October 1990, replacing the recently closed stores in nearby towns West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
and Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
; the retailer had hoped that its Merry Hill store could co-exist with the West Bromwich and Dudley stores, but the onset of the recession and a general downturn in trade in these towns led to the closure of both stores on 25 August 1990.
On 24 December 1990, the shopping centre was sold to Mountleigh.
Development of the steelworks site did not commence until the autumn 1989, when construction began on The Waterfront development, which consisted of Phases 6-8. Phase 6 saw the construction of 69700 square metres (750,245 sq ft) of offices (the first of which were occupied in December 1990), Phase 7 saw the construction of 6500 square metres (69,965 sq ft) of restaurants and bars and Phase 8 saw the addition of a 15800 square metres (170,070 sq ft) business park, which was completed in 1995. Waterfront Way was opened in early December of 1990 to serve the new complex and provide a road link to the shopping centre and also to the main A461 road.
The Waterfront development created some 3,000 jobs, but the onset of the recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
in 2008 saw many businesses vacate the development, leaving a high percentage of office units empty. In June 2011, in a bid to bring jobs back to the Waterfront, the area was among the candidates for enterprise zone status once again - 17 years after the original enterprise zone expired.
Phase 4 was partly remodelled in early 1996, a mere seven years after it had been built.
Road access to the complex was improved in 1998 with the completion of alterations to the two access points from the A4036 main road between Dudley and Pedmore - this resulted in more than 40 houses being demolished to make way for the widened road and re-designed Quarry Bank junction. This project had first been proposed in 1989, and caused much controversy among residents whose houses were ultimately demolished to make way for the improvements.
Merry Hill had brought about the first free-standing Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
in the UK, the first drive-in McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurant and the largest Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare was a chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, that operated from 1972 until 1999.-History:Texas Homecare was established in 1972 by Manny, Sydney and Gerald Fogel, who had previously founded the high street specialist paint and wallpaper chain Home Charm...
store - all opened during 1986.
While the centre was still being developed in the late 1980s, plans were unveiled to build the world's tallest tower at Merry Hill. The tower would have been 2,000 feet tall, with a hotel at its base, a restaurant halfway up and a nightclub at the top. However, plans to build it were scrapped in 1992.
Effect on surrounding towns
When the Merry Hill Centre opened, a number of large retail chains decided to move their stores from surrounding towns into the new shopping centre. These included Marks & SpencerMarks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer plc is a British retailer headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, with over 700 stores in the United Kingdom and over 300 stores spread across more than 40 countries. It specialises in the selling of clothing and luxury food products...
, C&A
C&A
C&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...
(C&A closed in early 2001 and the store is now occupied by H&M) and Littlewoods
Littlewoods
Littlewoods is the name of a former retail and gambling company founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by John Moores in 1923.It started as a shopping catalogue company, processing orders by post in the early 1970s. In 1981, it expanded to a call centre, processing orders via telephone. At its...
. These left a number of large empty premises behind, which in turn meant many shoppers abandoned town centres for the Merry Hill Centre, which led to a large downturn in trade for those shops remaining, affecting their viability.
The first retailer to move to Merry Hill was furniture retailer MFI, who opened a retail warehousing unit during 1985. MFI would trade from this unit for 23 years until they went into liquidation in December 2008, with the store later being purchased and refurbished by electrical retailer BestBuy, who opened their store in May 2010.
By Christmas 1985, MFI had been joined by Queensway furniture store and electrical retailer Atlantis. Further retail warehousing units and a shopping mall were already under construction by this stage.
By the summer of 1986, two retail parks existed at the site, incorporating retailers including B&Q
B&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
, Halfords
Halfords
Halfords Group plc is a leading retailer of car parts, car enhancements and bicycles operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic and more recently in Poland, although it is currently pulling out of the latter two countries...
and Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare
Texas Homecare was a chain of DIY stores in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, that operated from 1972 until 1999.-History:Texas Homecare was established in 1972 by Manny, Sydney and Gerald Fogel, who had previously founded the high street specialist paint and wallpaper chain Home Charm...
.
The first shopping mall opened in April 1986, with French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
hypermarket
Hypermarket
In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full groceries lines and general merchandise...
giant Carrefour
Carrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
opening a store in the mall on 1 July that year. They sold the store to Gateway
Gateway
A gateway is a point of entry or exit at which a gate may be hung.Gateway may also refer to:-Computer terminology:*Gateway , a computer or a network that allows or controls access to another computer or network...
two years later when withdrawing from Britain, and by 1990 it had been taken over by Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
, who already had a store in Brierley Hill town centre as well as several others in the wider Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
area, but surprisingly, the Brierley Hill store remained open.
A second shopping mall opened on the ground level in 1987 and the centre was expanded further in early 1988 to include an upper level, although the bulk of the centre was opened on 14 November 1989 - by which time it was the largest shopping centre in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. By the time of its completion, Merry Hill included several multiple stores including clothing retailers C&A
C&A
C&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...
and Littlewoods, general department store British Home Stores and supermarket chain J Sainsbury, as well as numerous smaller retailers.
On 23 October 1990, Marks & Spencer opened a new department store at Merry Hill (the final new store to open at the complex), replacing the recently closed stores in nearby towns Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
and West Bromwich
West Bromwich
West Bromwich is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England. It is north west of Birmingham lying on the A41 London-to-Birkenhead road. West Bromwich is part of the Black Country...
. The retailer had agreed to become tenants of a store at Merry Hill during the summer of 1989, but had hoped to keep its Dudley and West Bromwich stores open alongside it; however the declining trade in both of these towns led to both stores being closed in 25 August 1990, some two months before the Merry Hill store opened. A similar situation had arisen with British Home Stores, who had opened a store in the final phase of the complex in November 1989, but continued to trade from its Dudley store; however the opening of the Merry Hill store was followed by a sharp decline in trade from the Dudley store, and the decision to close this store had been taken by March 1990, with the store finally closing June of that year.
12 months after its opening, the Marks & Spencer store expanded on the ground level into a neighbouring unit.
In the late 1990s, Marks & Spencer took over the lease of the former Littlewoods store and converted into a furniture and menswear store. The Littlewoods store had expanded some years earlier, taking in a former Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
store on the upper level; there had been fears that Woolworths would close at least some of their branches in nearby towns when the Merry Hill store opened, but trade from the Woolworths at Merry Hill was relatively disappointing and ironically the local Woolworths stores all outlasted the Merry Hill store by well over a decade, only closing when the retailer went into liquidation over the 2008/09 winter.
The completion of Merry Hill resulted in the loss of many big name retailers from nearby towns, with Dudley being particularly hard hit.
However, some retailers kept their stores in nearby towns open despite opening new stores at Merry Hill. WH Smith, who have been at Merry Hill since 1989, still have stores in Dudley and Halesowen and even opened a new store in Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
during the 1990s. C&A, who had a store at Merry Hill from November 1989 until withdrawing from Britain in 2001, kept their Dudley store open until January 1992. Marks & Spencer had originally wanted to keep their Dudley and West Bromwich stores open even after the opening of a new store at Merry Hill, but falling trade in Dudley led to the company deciding that the Dudley store was no longer viable and it closed on 25 August 1990 just weeks before its replacement opened at Merry Hill. Littlewoods kept their Dudley store open for two months after its Merry Hill replacement opened in November 1989, cashing in on the 1989 Christmas sales before closing it in January 1990. British Home Stores had intended to continue trading from their Dudley store even after the opening of their new Merry Hill store in November 1989, but a sharp fall in trade led to the decision to close the Dudley store being taken in February 1990, with the store finally closing in June that year.
A further blow came when the local council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough, announced that it was bringing in parking charges throughout its area; this turned more shoppers away from local towns, and towards the Merry Hill Centre, where parking remains free.
Dudley Council have nonetheless announced large increases in car parking charges in the rest of the Borough, including Brierley Hill where some charges have increased by over 100%, resulting in continuing rumours that parking charges may be soon introduced at the Merry Hill Centre.
After more than 20 years, local towns have still not been able to compete with the centre, and have become increasingly run-down, though schemes to improve things are occasionally mooted.
The Merry Hill Centre continues to draw most of its trade from local towns. The developers did plan that the Centre would attract visitors from across the country, by building coach parks; however these were redeveloped with private houses and flats in 2003.
Monorail
An elevated monorailMonorail
A monorail is a rail-based transportation system based on a single rail, which acts as its sole support and its guideway. The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system, or the vehicles traveling on such a beam or track...
was opened at Merry Hill on June 1991, but this closed in 1996 as a result of a combination of technical problems and safety concerns (especially the difficulty of evacuation), exacerbated by a dispute between the owners of Merry Hill and The Waterfront which at this time were owned separately. The infrastructure was later removed, leaving only one disused monorail station and part of the old railings visible—on top of the Marks and Spencer store roof.
The monorail cost £22 million to build, the construction work taking place along with the final phase of the shopping complex in 1988/89, but due to health and safety concerns it did not open until 19 months after the centre was complete.
There were to be five stations, with the system extending over the canal and terminating close to the site of the former Round Oak railway station
Round Oak railway station
-History:It was opened in 1852 to serve the town of Brierley Hill. Two railways/routes served the station - originally the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway and the South Staffordshire Railway, which later became the Great Western Railway and London, Midland and Scottish Railway ...
: Where an interchange with a Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
extension was proposed. However, only the first four stations were completed.
The system was officially opened on 1 June 1991. But the actual opening to the public was delayed by Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate
Her Majesty's Railway Inspectorate
Established in 1840, HM Railway Inspectorate was the British organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways...
investigating evacuation procedures. After operating for a short while, the monorail was temporarily closed again in 1992, but ran sporadically until 1996.
After the system was put up for sale in 1996, the trains and track were transferred in 2001 to the Oasis Shopping Centre
Oasis Shopping Centre
The Oasis Shopping Centre is located on the Broadbeach Mall in Broadbeach, Gold Coast, Queensland.The Oasis Monorail connects the beach, shopping, Sofitel Gold Coast resort and Conrad Jupiters Casino. It has two stations on level 2 of The Oasis and a station at Conrad Jupiters Casino...
, in Broadbeach, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia, to enable expansion of its own monorail system.
At the end of Monorail service, a "Monorail Replacement Bus" service operated between the UCI Cinema and The Waterfront car parks. This service utilised 2 Travel Merry Hill
Travel Merry Hill
Merry Hill Minibuses was the bus operating arm of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Dudley, England. It was known as Travel Merry Hill after 1998 following a takeover by National Express Group.-History:...
owned MCW Metrobus
MCW Metrobus
The MCW Metrobus is a double decker bus model manufactured by MCW from 1977 until 1989, with over 4,000 examples built. The original MkI model was superseded by the MkII model in 1981/1982, although production of the original MkI continued for London Transport until 1985...
es.
Main Centre
The centre has around 210 stores and over 10,000 free car parking spaces, with a total retail floorspace of 154,002m² (1.593m ft²), making the centre the fourth largest in the United Kingdom, behind the MetroCentre, Trafford CentreTrafford Centre
The Trafford Centre is a large indoor shopping centre and leisure complex situated in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford in Greater Manchester, close to the Trafford Park industrial estate and approximately 5 miles from Manchester city centre. It is the highest valued shopping centre in the...
and Bluewater.
Merry Hill is home to anchor stores Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
, Marks and Spencer, Primark
Primark
Primark is a clothing retailer, operating over 223 stores in Ireland , the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium...
and Bhs and supermarkets Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
and Sainsbury's. Other stores include Next
Next (retailer)
Next plc is a British retailer marketing clothing, footwear, accessories and home products with its headquarters in Enderby, Leicestershire, England. The company has over 550 stores throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and 50 franchise branches in Europe, Asia and the Middle East...
, H&M
H&M
H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB is a Swedish retail-clothing company, known for its fast-fashion clothing offerings for women, men, teenagers and children....
, TK Maxx, Gap
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
, Topshop
Topshop
Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...
/Topman
Topman
TOPMAN is the stand-alone fashion business counterpart of Topshop that caters exclusively to men’s clothing. A part of the Arcadia Group, which also owns Burton, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Evans, British Home Stores and Dorothy Perkins, Topman has a chain of high-street men's clothing stores located...
, Vero Moda/Jack & Jones, Republic, hmv
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
, Waterstones, River Island
River Island
River Island is one of Britain's best known high street fashion brands and can be found in most cities across the UK. The brand also has stores in Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Middle East.-History:...
, Clas Ohlson
Clas Ohlson
Clas Ohlson is a Swedish hardware chain store and mail-order firm that sells amongst other things, hardware, electrical, multimedia, and home and leisure products. It is the biggest of its type in Scandinavia, with a total number of Clas Ohlson stores is 121 as of July 2010. Stores also exist in...
, Superdry
Superdry
SuperGroup plc is a British retail brand. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The Group is made up of three main brands: Superdry, 77Breed and SurfCo California. Superdry products fuse vintage Americana fabrics with pseudo-Japanese text and have...
, Henri Lloyd
Henri Lloyd
Henri Lloyd is a British clothing manufacturer established in Manchester, England in 1963, that specialises in making clothes for sailing, yachting and golfing.-Company Information:...
, French Connection
French Connection (clothing)
French Connection is a retailer and wholesaler of fashion clothing and accessories. Founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks it is based in London, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates globally....
, Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
, Argos Extra
Argos (retailer)
Argos is the largest general-goods retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland with over 800 stores. It is unique amongst major retailers in the UK in that it is a catalogue merchant...
, Peacocks
Peacocks
Peacocks may refer to:*Peacock, one of two species also known as peafowl*Peacocks *Nickname for English football club, Leeds United*A song from Tallahassee by The Mountain Goats...
, The Entertainer
The Entertainer (Amersham) Ltd.
The Entertainer Ltd. is the United Kingdom's largest independent toy retailer, founded by husband and wife team Catherine and Gary Grant in 1981, when he purchased a local toy shop in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England...
, Schuh
Schuh
Schuh is a Scottish high street and internet branded footwear retailer, operating throughout the British Isles.-History:Schuh was established by Founding Director Sandy Alexander in 1981, with a single shop in North Bridge Arcade, Edinburgh. The company became part of the Glasgow-based Goldbergs...
, JD Sports
JD Sports
JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as just JD, is a sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England with shops throughout the United Kingdom and with one in Ireland...
, WH Smith, Disney Store
Disney Store
Disney Store is an international chain of specialty stores selling only Disney related items, many of them exclusive. Disney Store is a business unit of Disney Consumer Products. James Fielding serves as the President....
, Barratts
Barratts
Barratts Priceless Ltd incorporates two long established high street brands in Barratts Shoes and Priceless Shoes in 2010. The Barratts shoes brand trades from 100 UK and Éire Stores and is committed to providing affordable fashion footwear...
and New Look.
Eat Central
Eat Central opened in 2009 with 16 food court units, 3 Restaurant units and Toilet area its located at the heart of the centre. It faces a new centre entrance and car park, which has themed with street side dining and landscaping.- Pizza ExpressPizza ExpressPizzaExpress is a restaurant group with over 400 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 40 overseas in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot.In Ireland, PizzaExpress trades under the name Milano....
- Nandos
- SubwaySubway (restaurant)Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
- Burger KingBurger KingBurger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
- KFCKFCKFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
- Olive Oil & Oregano
- Muffin Break
- Harpers
- Tasty Plaice
- Rubens
- Napoli
- Zetao Noodles and Sushi
- Baguette and Co.
Food Court History
A food court at Merry Hill had first opened in June 1989, The Jules Verne Food Court offered a range of foods from around the world, with a centrepiece globe-shaped balloon reflecting its round-the-world eating experience. However, this was not a successful venture, and it closed in the mid 1990s to be replaced with shops.Retail Park
There is a Retail Park just outside the centre of Merry Hill and has a number of Shops and Restaurants also a Cinema.Shops
- CurrysCurrysCurrys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
PC WorldPC World (retailer)PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....
Megastore - Toys "R" Us
- Staples
- HomeSenseHomeSenseHomeSense is a chain of off price home furnishing stores operated by TJX Companies with stores in Canada and the United Kingdom.-HomeSense in Canada:At year-end 2010, HomeSense operated 82 stores in Canada...
- MatalanMatalanMatalan is a British retailer that specialises in shoes and clothes. It was founded by John Hargreaves in 1985. It currently has 200 stores across the UK. The 200th store opened on 22 September 2006 in Croydon...
- Best Buy (Closing late 2011)
- Maplin ElectronicsMaplin ElectronicsMaplin Electronics is a retailer of electronic goods in the UK and Ireland. As of December 2010, there are 180 Maplin Electronics stores in the United Kingdom...
- HalfordsHalfordsHalfords Group plc is a leading retailer of car parts, car enhancements and bicycles operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Czech Republic and more recently in Poland, although it is currently pulling out of the latter two countries...
- Next Home
- Comet
- MothercareMothercareMothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
- JJB SportsJJB SportsJJB Sports plc is a United Kingdom sports retailer. It currently operates 251 stores in the UK and Ireland.- History :The sportshop chain was founded in 1971, when ex-footballer Dave Whelan acquired a single sports shop in Wigan. The original store was established by JJ Broughton in the early...
- CarpetrightCarpetrightCarpetright plc is one of the largest British retailers of floor coverings. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
- The Carphone WarehouseThe Carphone WarehouseCarphone Warehouse Group PLC , known as The Carphone Warehouse, is Europe's largest independent mobile phone retailer, with over 1,700 stores across Europe. It is based in the United Kingdom and is a 50% subsidiary of Best Buy...
- American Golf Discount
Restaurants
- Frankie & Benny'sFrankie & Benny'sFrankie & Benny's is a chain of Italian-American restaurants in the UK with numerous outlets nationwide run by The Restaurant Group plc. Its first location was Leicester in 1995 but now the chain has over 150 locations across the UK and also abroad, and smaller branches called "Little...
- McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
- Pizza HutPizza HutPizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
- KFCKFCKFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
- Costa CoffeeCosta CoffeeCosta Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...
Cinema
There is a 10 Screen Odeon Cinema situated in the Retail Park. It was the first multiplex cinema in the DudleyDudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
borough and the first new one to have been built for some 50 years. It was originally owned by AMC Cinemas
AMC Theatres
AMC Theatres , officially known as AMC Entertainment, Inc., is the second largest movie theater chain in North America with 5,325 screens, second only to Regal Entertainment Group, and one of the United States's four national cinema chains AMC Theatres (American Multi-Cinema), officially known as...
which opened in 1988 until AMC pulled out of the UK in 1990, then subsequently changed to UCI Cinemas
United Cinemas International
UCI Cinemas is a brand of cinema, currently operating in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Brazil...
and was refurbished in 2005 following a merger with Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
chain. The other nearest cinema is a a Showcase Cinema
Showcase Cinemas
Showcase Cinemas is a movie theater chain owned and operated by National Amusements. Operating more than 1,354 indoor screens in the United States, United Kingdom and Latin America.-USA:* Connecticut* Massachusetts* Ohio* New Jersey* Rhode Island...
at Castle Gate, four miles away.
Recent developments
The owners and local council leaders have stated their aim to better connect and integrate Merry Hill with the traditional town centre of Brierley Hill. The Dudley CanalDudley Canal
The Dudley Canal is a canal passing though Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh connected network of navigable inland waterways, and in particular forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat cruising route....
was re-routed in the late 1990s, and between 2002 and 2005 housing has been developed around the complex (several apartment blocks opposite the cinema as well as apartments and houses overlooking Pedmore Road). A new line of the Midland Metro
Midland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system was scheduled to reach the site in 2011 but has been delayed indefinatly. A new Primark
Primark
Primark is a clothing retailer, operating over 223 stores in Ireland , the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium...
store opened on 4 May 2007. The newest multi-storey car park
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
at Merry Hill has also been given a high rating by the AA
The Automobile Association
The Automobile Association , a British motoring association founded in 1905 was demutualised in 1999 to become a private limited company which currently provides car insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans and motoring advice, and other services...
, which means it is one of the best car parks in the United Kingdom. Sainsbury's has had a refit in early 2006 which includes a pharmacy. Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
and HMV
HMV
His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
were both refitted in 2007, JD Sports
JD Sports
JD Sports Fashion plc, more commonly known as just JD, is a sports-fashion retail company based in Bury, Greater Manchester, England with shops throughout the United Kingdom and with one in Ireland...
and Republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
in 2009, as well as all three McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
.
In addition, the cinema near to multi-storey car park has recently received a major rebrand into an Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas is a British chain of cinemas, one of the largest in Europe. It is owned by Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group whose ultimate parent is Terra Firma Capital Partners.-History:Odeon Cinemas was created in 1928 by Oscar Deutsch...
. The refit, costing over £1 million, has seen the inside of the cinema completely modernised throughout, with brand new seating in all auditoriums.
In Spring 2010 a HomeSense
HomeSense
HomeSense is a chain of off price home furnishing stores operated by TJX Companies with stores in Canada and the United Kingdom.-HomeSense in Canada:At year-end 2010, HomeSense operated 82 stores in Canada...
opened on 22 May 2010 in former Allied Carpets/Powerhouse unit and a Currys
Currys
Currys is an electrical retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is owned by Dixons Retail plc. It specialises in selling home electronics and household appliances, with 295 superstores and 73 high street stores...
PC World
PC World (retailer)
PC World is OWNED BY THE GOVERNMENT one of the WHER MA MEMORY STICK ?!?!??! United Kingdom's largest chains of mass-market computer superstores. It is part of Dixons Retail plc. PC World operates under the brand name PC City in Spain, Italy and Sweden....
2-in-1 Megastore opened on June 3 in the former Au Naturale and Currys unit, and Best Buy
Best Buy UK
Best Buy Europe is a retail joint venture owned by the United States-based electronics retailer Best Buy Inc and UK-based mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse. The company was formed by Best Buy's purchase of 50% of The Carphone Warehouse's retail division...
opened 25 June in the former MFI
MFI
MFI may refer to:* Magnetic field imaging, a non invasive and contact free cardiac diagnostic method* Malmö Flygindustri, see Saab MFI13 and MFI-9 Junior* Media Factory, Inc., an anime company...
unit. In late summer 2010 Two Seasons
Two Seasons (retailer)
Two Seasons is a chain of 24 skateboard, surf and snow sports shops in the UK, selling clothing and equipment for the related sports. The company is owned by Billabong Clothing whose headquarters are in Australia.-History:...
opened and Clas Ohlson
Clas Ohlson
Clas Ohlson is a Swedish hardware chain store and mail-order firm that sells amongst other things, hardware, electrical, multimedia, and home and leisure products. It is the biggest of its type in Scandinavia, with a total number of Clas Ohlson stores is 121 as of July 2010. Stores also exist in...
, Lipsy London
Lipsy London
Lipsy London, also known as Lipsy, is a British women’s fashion brand that also operates retail stores.The company was founded in London in 1990 and was acquired by Next PLC in 2008...
, FootAsylum & The Entertainer opened recently.
Bus station
Merry Hill has been served by a bus station since its opening, though the current, more substantial bus station was developed in the early 1990s. It gives a direct connections to towns including Dudley, Halesowen, Stourbridge, West Bromwich and Cradley Heath, as well as the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton. Similarly, the bus services connect the centre to Cradley Heath railway stationCradley Heath railway station
Cradley Heath railway station serves the town of Cradley Heath in the West Midlands of England. It is located on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line...
, for local services to Birmingham Snow Hill and Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
via Stourbridge Junction.
Various distance bus services operate from Merry Hill from National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
, Diamond Bus
Diamond Bus
Diamond is a bus operator in the West Midlands, formed in 1986 as The Birmingham Coach Company.-Birmingham Coach Company:The company was created in 1986 as the Birmingham Coach Company operating a single route, 16, in competition with West Midlands Travel....
, Hansons
Hansons
Hansons is a family-owned bus company who operate services across the West Midlands and Worcestershire. Operating from their depot in the Lye district of Stourbridge.They run a fleet of 20 low-floor and step entrance Single deck buses.-Fleet:...
and Midland
Choice Travel
Midland, previously known as Choice Travel is a limited bus company operating mostly in the Wolverhampton area of the West Midlands. Some services also operate in the Staffordshire area.-History:...
.
Midland Metro link
The Merry Hill Centre will receive a light-rail link, when the second phase of the Midland MetroMidland Metro
The Midland Metro is a light-rail or tram line in the West Midlands of England between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via West Bromwich and Wednesbury. It is owned and promoted by Centro, and operated by West Midlands Travel Limited, a subsidiary of the National Express Group , under...
is completed. It will terminate a short distance south of the centre in Brierley Hill town centre, and will give direct light-rail links to the towns of Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
and Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
. The final phase of the line will run on a new route around the edge of Merry Hill, though most of the rest of it will make use of the South Staffordshire Line
South Staffordshire Line
The South Staffordshire Line was a railway line that connected Lichfield in Staffordshire, England with Dudley, formerly in Worcestershire. However, it joined the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway's line just north of Dudley Station, where it, in essence, continued to Stourbridge, in...
trackbed.
Future development
As part of Dudley's Unitary Development Plan Process, Merry Hill along with the Waterfront and Brierley Hill will be integrated to form the enlarged town centre of Brierley Hill. Westfield, the owners of Merry Hill, is working closely with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council to assist with this project.The integration programme is part of a major urban regeneration project and will see the creation of a new mixed usage town centre through the physical and social integration of the areas.
There is talk of John Lewis
John Lewis (department store)
-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...
or House of Fraser
House of Fraser
House of Fraser is a British department store group with over 60 stores across the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891 it was known as Fraser & Sons. The company grew steadily during the early 20th century, but after the Second...
being built at a later stage, as well as the possibility of an Apple Store.
Celebrity visits
- Olly MursOlly MursOliver Stanley "Olly" Murs is an English singer-songwriter and TV presenter. Murs rose to fame after being the runner-up on the sixth series of The X Factor...
Switched on the 2010 Christmas lights - Peter AndrePeter AndréPeter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
signing for The Perfume Shop - Gino D'AcampoGino D'AcampoGennaro "Gino" D'Acampo is an Italian chef, television personality and winner of ITV's 2009 series of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me out of Here. D'Acampo lives in the United Kingdom.-Early life:...
Eat Central's first birthday. - Russell BrandRussell BrandRussell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, columnist, singer, author and radio/television presenter.Brand achieved mainstream fame in the UK in 2004 for his role as host of Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth. His first major film role was in the 2007 film St Trinians...
book signing at Waterstone'sWaterstone'sWaterstone's is a British book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe....
. - The WantedThe WantedThe Wanted are a British-Irish boy band based in London, England. The band consists of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes. Their debut single, "All Time Low", was released in July 2010 and reached number one in the United Kingdom for one week...
signing and performance at hmvHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone... - N-DubzN-DubzN-Dubz are a British hip hop group from Camden Town, London. The group consists of members Dappy, Tulisa Contostavlos and Fazer.N-Dubz were previously signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the World Records...
book signing and performance at Waterstone'sWaterstone'sWaterstone's is a British book specialist established in 1982 by Tim Waterstone that employs around 4,500 staff throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.... - DiversityDiversity (dance troupe)Diversity are an English street dance troupe based in London. They are best known for winning the third series of Britain's Got Talent, famously beating Susan Boyle in the live final. They also won the Families United Positive Role Models at the Spirit of London Awards. The group, initially known...
switched on the 2009 Christmas Lights.
- Stavros Flately switched on the 2009 Christmas Lights.
- James Martin (chef)James Martin (chef)James Martin , is an English cook who first appeared on television in 1996.-Television career:...
opened Eat Central on 22 October 2009. - Singer and 2005 X Factor contestant Chico SlimaniChico SlimaniYousseph "Chico" Slimani is a Welsh born singer of Moroccan descent who rose to prominence in the United Kingdom after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2005 series of the talent show The X Factor. In 2006, he had a number 1 hit on the British charts entitled "It's Chico Time"...
switched on the Christmas lights in 2006. - Chuckle BrothersChuckle BrothersBarry Elliott and Paul Elliott , better known as the Chuckle Brothers, are British comedians. They are best known for their work on their BBC show ChuckleVision, which celebrated its 21st anniversary in March 2010 with a tour called An Audience with the Chuckle Brothers, which started in January...
turned on the hmvHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
Christmas lights in 2008. - McFlyMcFlyMcFly are an English pop rock band who first found fame in 2004. The band consists of Tom Fletcher , Danny Jones , Dougie Poynter and Harry Judd . They were signed to the Island Records label from their 2004 launch until December 2007, before creating their own label, Super Records...
did an album signing at hmvHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
. - Cathy DennisCathy DennisCathy Dennis is a British dance-oriented pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actress...
did a signing at hmvHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone... - Hard-FiHARD-FiHard-Fi are an English indie rock band formed in Staines, Surrey in 2003. The band's members are Richard Archer , Ross Phillips , Kai Stephens and Steve Kemp .They achieved chart success with their third single, "Hard to Beat" and then followed by other successful singles such as...
opened the new hmvHMVHis Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...
store on 6 November 2007. - Bryan hesson naked doing the river dance.
- Jason DonovanJason DonovanJason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
turned on the 2007 Christmas lights on 15 November 2007. - On 20 November 2008, Peter AndrePeter AndréPeter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
turned on the £100,000 Christmas Lights inside the centre - Michael BarrymoreMichael BarrymoreMichael Kieron Parker , better known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is a British comedian who appeared as a presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s and 1990s. These included Strike It Lucky, My Kind of People, My Kind of Music and Kids Say...
performed his My Kind of People show at the centre's amphitheatreAmphitheatreAn amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
, in 1995.
In culture
Working at Merry Hill gave Catherine O'FlynnCatherine O'Flynn
Catherine O'Flynn, born in 1970, is a British writer. Her novel, What Was Lost, won the prestigious First Novel prize at the Costa Book Awards in 2008.-Biography:...
the inspiration for the fictional Green Oaks centre, the main location in her successful novel What Was Lost
What Was Lost
What Was Lost is the 2007 début novel by Catherine O'Flynn. The novel is about a girl who goes missing in a shopping centre in 1984, and the people who try to discover what happened to her twenty years later...
),(link dead); ),.
The Centre made a brief appearance on the Childrens TV Show rosie and jim
Rosie and Jim
Rosie and Jim was a British children's television programme which appeared, on and off, on CITV since the early 1990s. The programme was the creation of John Cunliffe, in collaboration with Anne Wood and Robin Stevens, Robin Stevens] also played the character Jim...
showing the large sainsburys Store and also appeared in Season 7 Episode 4 of Apprentice UK as the "out of town" shopping centre.
Previous owned companies
As well as the shopping centre, Merry Hill also owned a bus company called Merry Hill MinibusesTravel Merry Hill
Merry Hill Minibuses was the bus operating arm of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Dudley, England. It was known as Travel Merry Hill after 1998 following a takeover by National Express Group.-History:...
(formed in 1987) which was created to compete against then West Midlands Travel
National Express West Midlands
National Express West Midlands , formerly known as Travel West Midlands , is the trade name of West Midlands Travel Ltd , a company which operates bus services from depots in the cities of Birmingham, and Wolverhampton, as well as the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Walsall in the West...
. It was created at that time to be the major form of public transport linking the surrounding areas with the shopping centre, of which approximately half had been opened by the time the service was launched (the first retailers had moved to the centre in 1985 and it was completed in 1989).
However, this was sold off to Travel West Midlands in 1998, and subsequently rebranded Travel Merry Hill
Travel Merry Hill
Merry Hill Minibuses was the bus operating arm of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Dudley, England. It was known as Travel Merry Hill after 1998 following a takeover by National Express Group.-History:...
, leaving Merry Hill Centre management to concentrate on the shopping centre itself.