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Merry Hill - Out of town retailing case study

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A Case Study about Merry Hill in the West Midlands. This is a good case study for anyone studying A2 Geography and World Cities

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Merry Hill - Out of town retailing case study
Merry Hill - Out of town retailing case study
? Built between 1984-89 ? Continuously redeveloping to keep up with town-centre developments and to keep on top of competition from other places such asTrafford 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 ? TheWaterfront is next to Merry Hill which provides offices for companies such as Virgin Media, and has a marina with bars and restaurants
? Bus station since 1986 ¨C direct connections to towns e.g. Dudley, Stourbridge and West Bromwich as well as cities Birmingham andWolverhampton. ? Service also connects to the railway station ¨C 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.
? 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 ¨C 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 ¨C 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.
? 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 ¨C 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.
? 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 ¨C 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 EnvironmentalAssessment 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.

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Merry Hill - Out of town retailing case study

  • 3. ? Built between 1984-89 ? Continuously redeveloping to keep up with town-centre developments and to keep on top of competition from other places such asTrafford 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 ? TheWaterfront is next to Merry Hill which provides offices for companies such as Virgin Media, and has a marina with bars and restaurants
  • 4. ? Bus station since 1986 ¨C direct connections to towns e.g. Dudley, Stourbridge and West Bromwich as well as cities Birmingham andWolverhampton. ? Service also connects to the railway station ¨C 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.
  • 5. ? 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 ¨C 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 ¨C 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.
  • 6. ? 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 ¨C 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.
  • 7. ? 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 ¨C 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 EnvironmentalAssessment 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.