Merry Hill Shopping Centre and local council leaders have stated their aim to better connect and integrate Merry Hill with the traditional town centre of Brierley Hill. The Dudley Canal was re-routed in the late-1990s, and between 2002-2005, housing has been developed around the complex (several apartment blocks opposite the cinema as well as apartments and houses overlooking Pedmore Road). A new line of the West Midlands Metro tram system was scheduled to reach the site in 2011, but has been delayed indefinitely. In July 2017, plans were revealed to expand the centre to include more restaurants and to open a new Odeon cinema
Toombul Shopping Centre 2003, the centre was acquired by the Centro Properties Group in a stock trade deal involving Toombul and other Westfield properties in exchange for Centro's interest in the AMP Shopping Centre Trust. As a result, the centre changed its name from Westfield Toombul to Centro Toombul. In 2005, Centro announced a 2-stage extension to the centre. The first stage added an Aldi Food Store, Fresh Life fresh food mall and additional specialty stores. The second stage of expansion (which never commenced) was to add Diner's Life food court on the ground level and convert the old cinemas into a rooftop