Merry Hill at 40
Roy and Don Richardson dreamt big in the 1980s. They had been in business together since 1948, undertaking a wide variety of development projects throughout the Midlands.
They had seen the American retail revolution and reckoned it would work by transforming an area of industrial wasteland in the Black Country. And they did. Just a few years after the Round Oak Steelworks in Brierley Hill closed, the Merry Hill Shopping Centre, a cutting edge shopping experience never before seen in the UK, was born.
Their vision for an Americana shopping centre would not only buck the trend of traditional retail in the UK but would also put the Black Country firmly on the map as a great place to do business.
Don and Roy Richardson planning the Merry Hill Shopping Centre 1986
Brierley Hill was personal for Roy and Don. They grew up there in the 1930’s at a time when gigantic steelworks and heavy industry dominated the area. It was effectively their back yard and they knew generations of families who had worked at the Round Oak Steelworks.
So when it closed in 1982, with the loss of more than 1,000 jobs, the Richardson twins saw an opportunity to both bring a derelict site back to life and employment back to the region.
The area was identified in 1982 as one of the government’s enterprise zones, designed to regenerate heavy industrial areas. It was a labour of love and also hard graft for Roy and Don. Just a couple of years after they had bought 400 acres of disused steelworks, the twins had started construction of the first two phases of the Merry Hill shopping centre development. National government, the local authority, retailers and most importantly local people could see what the future looked like for the site that had lain vacant since Round Oak steelworks had closed 18 months before.
By 1989 and through eight phases of development, the Richardsons had created one of Europe’s largest and most exciting shopping and leisure centres.
To read more download our '40 Years of Merry Hill' anniversary brochure click the link below:
