Chelsfield Investments has dismissed as “impossible” coach and bus company Centro’s demand that shoppers at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre near Dudley in the West Midlands should face car park charges if the £100m expansion goes ahead.
Robin Butler of Chelsfield said: “We have been in discussion with Centro for a considerable period of time and we told them that we don’t have the ability to charge shoppers for car park space as contracts signed by the lessors forbid us doing so.”
Centro made its demand at the opening of a public inquiry into the plan to create Europe’s biggest shopping complex at Merry Hill. At present, the complex provides 139,250 sq m (1.5m sq ft) of shopping space and 6,000 free car parking spaces. Chelsfield plans to increase the store by 41,805 sq m (450,000 sq ft) with an additional 2,000 car spaces.
But the scheme faces opposition from 17 Midland Councils and 12 property developers, all represented by Martin Kingston QC.
According to Kingston, the obections to Chelsfield’s proposals hinge on the argument that increased development at Merry Hill “will take investment away from other centres and sap retailer confidence in towns and city centres which are already showing massive under-utilisation”.
However, Hugh Richards of Centro argued that the expansion did not make enough provisions for bus and train passengers.
Dudley Council had already granted Chelsfield outline planning permission for the scheme but last December, the Environment Secretary John Gummer ordered a public inquiry. It is expected to last six weeks.
EGi News 07/06/96
