Merry Hill Shopping Centre had agreed to become tenants of a new department store in the final phase of the shopping complex. It opened on 23 October 1990, replacing the recently closed stores in nearby towns West Bromwich and Dudley; the retailer had hoped that its Merry Hill store could co-exist with the West Bromwich and Dudley stores, but the onset of the recession and a general downturn in trade in these towns led to the closure of both stores on 25 August 1990. On 24 December 1990, the shopping centre was sold to Mountleigh. Development of the steelworks site did not commence until
Westfield Helensvale Bay Shopping Village). The Gold Coast City Council argued that the planned Westfield Coomera (about up the M1) would cater for the catchment. Westfield Helensvale was built mainly because Coomera Town Centre, which is planned to be the true heart of the region, was hitting obstacles in the ways of planning. Part of the outcome of that debate was that part of the Westfield Centre was meant to have the appearance of an outdoor shopping street connecting the train station through to the older Helensvale shops nearby. However, since the older shops are located across a major road they have