Merry Hill aiming to be UK's top shopping centre

Centre manager Jon Poole, speaking at the opening of the fourth Black Country Business Festival, explained how the £50 million investment currently underway can move Merry Hill up from seventh for its size of shopping centre to the top spot.

Mr Poole said: “In three years time we will be on our way to becoming a fantastic retail and leisure destination that we can all be proud of.”

Part of the strategy is to build up the leisure offer in the centre and Mr Poole said the further investment would bring more jobs to Merry Hill. Having more leisure attractions would also bring more people to the centre and encourage them to stay for longer.

Merry Hill will also work closely with colleges in the area and businesses in Brierley Hill. There will also be a continued effort to bring in new retailers and there are also proposals to move some of the shops around in the centre to create better synergy.

“Merry Hill was the former Intu site with the biggest potential to take forward. We want to create a benchmark for shopping centres,” explained Mr Poole.

Another strategy will be to make The Waterfront area more a part of Merry Hill by working more closely with the tenants, bars and retailers located there.

Mr Poole said Merry Hill had come out of lockdowns well and in the first week after the second lockdown had the second highest footfall of any shopping centre in the UK.

He said the business festival was a great way to share knowledge and vision.

“The Black County has ‘bouncebackability’ and has come back from Covid stronger than other places in the country and we need to keep building on that,” said Mr Poole.

“It is an exciting time for Merry Hill and the Black Country and all the businesses in it,” he told guests at the launch in the Resonance music institute based at The Waterfront."