Out of town retailing case studyMERRY HILL

Location: Brierley Hill, Dudley, West Midlands

Background

Built between 1984-89 Continuously redeveloping to keep up with town-centre developments and

to keep on top of competition from other places such as Trafford Centre, Manchester.

Two levels of mall shops, 185+ shops 100,000m2

Shops Department stores Large variety stores, 2 supermarkets 24 catering outlets

A retail warehouse park (2,787m2) Multiplex cinema (371.6m2) 10,000 parking spaces Customer visits = aprox. 21 million/yr 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

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 – Cradley Heath & extended Metro line into Birmingham.

Was an elevated monorail from 1991 at Merry Hill but was closed in 1996 from a result of technical problems and safety concerns.

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.

Developers took advantage & 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.

Effects on surrounding towns

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.

Parking charges were supposed to be introduced in 2008, in response to local council requirements that a shopping centre of its size should implement charges similar to those in town centres.

Other nearby towns have responded to Merry Hill by redeveloping their own town centres e.g. Touchwood.

1/3 shops in Dudley are either vacant or lower grade than it was before. Non-food market in Dudley High Street fell by 70% Town centre rents fell by 24% as names such as M&S and Boots moved

out of the town centre. In their place came discount stores and charity shops.

Recent & planned developments

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.

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.