Merry Hill Shopping Centre closing in June 1990. A further blow came when the local council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough, announced that it was bringing in parking charges throughout the area; this turned more shoppers away from local town centres, and towards the Merry Hill Centre, where parking remains free. Though there have been plans for introducing parking charges at the centre, this has been criticised, ironically, due to fears of impacting trade. In 2008, Merry Hill Centre, along with nearby Brierley Hill, was redesignated as the 'strategic town centre' of the Dudley Borough, and thus the focus of future local government investment. The Merry
Merry Hill Shopping Centre Snow Hill, Kidderminster and Worcester via Stourbridge Junction. Various distance bus services from Merry Hill are operated by Arriva Midlands, Diamond Bus and National Express West Midlands. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) plans to open a new line of the West Midlands Metro from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill, with a new stop at Merry Hill. TfWM announced the new line will begin construction in 2019, with services beginning in 2023. The line will provide faster access to the shopping centre from Birmingham and Wolverhampton city centres. The areas around Next, TK Maxx, H&M, Eat Central, the amphitheatre and outside Debenhams