Five nostalgic pictures of Merry Hill shopping centre before the 2000s - and what it looks like now

The first phase of the Merry Hill Centre was completed by April 1986. It became home to the first free-standing Pizza Hut in the UK, one of the first drive-thru McDonald's takeaways and the largest Texas Homecare DIY store.

The building of the shopping centre all began in the mid-1980s as a major regeneration project in the West Midlands, constructed on the former site of Merry Hill Farm and adjacent to the defunct Round Oak Steelworks. It was established within a designated Enterprise Zone to boost employment after industrial closures.

Twin brothers Don and Roy Richardson, acquired Merry Hill farm in 1983. In 1984, the twins submitted their plans for a 'shopping city' at Merry Hill farm - raising a few eyebrows from those who assumed it would be for industrial development. 

The council's opposition Labour group opposed the plans, expressing concerns about the impact on neighbouring towns, but were outvoted just weeks before the ruling Conservative group lost control of the authority. Outgoing council leader Jack Edmonds instructed chief executive John Mulvehill to rubber-stamp the scheme before a new administration could reverse the decision. Mr Mulvehill resigned shortly after the details became public.

The second phase of the shopping centre began in 1986 and included a small shopping mall. On July 1, French hypermarket Carrefour opened at the site but it didn't last long. Within 18 months Carrefour sold all its UK stores to supermarket chain Gateway, which in turn passed many of them on to rival Asda, which still occupies the unit today.

The third phase of the centre was opened in 1989. Sainsbury's moved into the new mall in September 1989.

British Home Stores closed its shop in the town, opening at Merry Hill in November 1989. Debenhams, which had left Dudley in 1981, also opened a store in the new mall.

In August 1990, Marks & Spencer closed its branches in both Dudley and West Bromwich, ahead of a move to Merry Hill the following November. Dudley's three branches of Next also made the move, along with Littlewoods. By the time the new mall was fully occupied, Merry Hill had 250 retailers, and claimed to be the biggest shopping centre in Europe.  

In late 1990, the Richardsons sold the Merry Hill shopping centre to the Mountleigh group. A £22.5 million monorail opened in June 1991, running from the far end of the Waterfront to the Merry Hill centre.

The two-mile link had four stations, and caused quite a stir when it first opened. However, people soon became reluctant to pay for a journey they could quite easily walk. It closed in 1996, after just five years.

The Merry Hill centre still features more than 250 brands including a mix of major retailers and dining options. Last year the centre announced nearly 20,000 sq ft of new signings and reinvestments.

Leading the new signings is new jewellery brand Lovisa, which has signed for a 750 sq ft space.  Lovisa will join Merry Hill’s line-up of jewellery and accessory retailers, which includes H.Samuel, Warren James, and the newly upsized 6,000 sq ft Goldsmiths showroom, which opened in September. 

Flying Tiger has recently opened a 3,100 sq ft store on the Lower Mall, while Hotel Chocolat has relocated to the upper mall, unveiling an enhanced store concept. Despite this, the centre is also seeing some of its shops close down.

Claire's Accessories is closing down and fashion retailer Quiz is also shutting its Merry Hill branch after 10 years in its current location. Both shops have large discounts across items with Claire's offering 50% off selected items.