2. Merry Hill, Brierley Hill
•Built between 1984-1989
•Continuously redeveloping to keep up with town-
centre developments
•Two levels of mall shops, 185 shops 100,000m2
•Shops - department store, large variety stores, 2
supermarkets and 24 catering outlets
•A retail warehouse park
•10-screen multiplex cinema
•10,000 parking spaces
•Probably 3rd largest facility of its type in the UK
•Also provides - banks and building societies, post
office, tourist info centre, community facilities e.g.
Citizens Advice Bureau and senior citizens’ clubs
•The Waterfront is next to Merry Hill which
provides offices for companies such as Virgin
Media, and has a marina with bars and restaurants
3. Connections
• Bus station since 1986 – direct
connections to towns e.g. Dudley,
Stourbridge and West Bromwich as
well as cities Birmingham and
Wolverhampton
• Service also connects to the railway
station
• Was an elevated monorail from 1991
at Merry Hill but was closed in 1996
from a result of technical problems
and safety concerns
4. Construction
• In 1980s Enterprise Zones were government created and incentives were given for firms
that wanted to set up in areas which had been affected by the downturn in
manufacturing.
• Incentives included relaxed planning rules and a 10 year period exempt from business
rates.
• Brierley Hill lost the Round Oak Steelworks
• Developers took advantage and made a shopping centre rather than industrial units.
• Used former steelworks site and large green space – Merry Hill Farm
• Merry Hill Farm was formerly well used by local people for recreation and was a haven
for wildlife
• There was resentment when the first phase of building began on the green space,
including protests from local citizens.
• Planning consent was granted even before the closure of Round Oak Steelworks in 1982
– the land of the farm was to be used for the tipping of steelworks waste.
• The perimeter was landscaped with embankments and tree planting to mask the
tipping from nearby houses.
• The development not only destroyed the farm but also removed the new landscaping
and threatened the stability of the canal embankment on the hillside.
• This resulted in the closure of the Dudley Canal to traffic for a number of years.
5. Effect on surrounding town
• The movement of large retail chains into Merry Hill
centre left a number of large empty premises
behind which meant shoppers abandoned town
centres.
• This led to a large downturn in trade for remaining
shops, affecting their liability.
• Dudley was most affected – Halesowen and
Stourbridge were also hit.
• Furthermore Dudley Council announced it was
bringing in parking charges which turned more
shoppers away from local towns and towards
Merry Hill where parking is free. •1 in 3 shops in Dudley are either vacant
• Parking charges were supposed to be introduced in or lower grade than it was before.
2008, in response to local council requirements •Non-food market in Dudley High Street
that a shopping centre of its size should implement fell by 70%
charges similar to those in town centres. •Town centre rents fell by 24% as names
such as M&S, BHS and Boots evacuated
• Other nearby towns have responded to Merry Hill
the town centre.
by redeveloping their own town centres e.g.
•In their place came discount stores and
Touchwood.
charity shops.
6. Planned developments
• Had to respond from complaints of out of
town retailers and to the competition from
town centre redevelopments such as
Birmingham.
• Stated that their aim is to connect and
integrate Merry Hill with the traditional town-
centre of Brierley Hill.
• Dudley Canal has been rerouted and new flats
and houses have been built around the site
with more expected.
• New Midland Metro tram system will open in
2011 – terminates a short distance south of
the centre in Brierley Hill and gives direct rail
links to Dudley, Tipton and Wednesbury.
7. • Replacement cinema (16-20 screens) will be
built on vacant land behind current cinemas in
2010. Also other leisure facilities such as a
bowling alley, comedy club, outdoor performing
area, restaurants, bars and a casino are
planned.
• This ‘leisure plateau’ will begin the integration
with Brierley Hill with a direct walkway between
the two.
• Entertainment area will be a newly created
public square.
• Expansion along the canal is expected to turn it
into an entertainment district that could rival
city locations.
• The redevelopment of the centre is intended to
achieve high levels of ‘green’ efficiency with
Merry Hill to be the first retail development in
the country to be awarded BREEAM (Building
Research Establishment Environmental
Assessment Method).
• Many local factories and establishments are
planning on closing down or relocating to make
way for more modern apartments, multi-storey
car parks and businesses.