Mell Square

Mell Square is like so many shopping centres in Britain — rundown, built in the 70s or 80s, and not updated or repaired much since.
It’s dark and gloomy, with dirty floors, poorly tiled walls, and an entrance that’s nearly impossible to find unless you happen upon it by chance.
However, if you DO happen upon it by chance, there are a few really great shops inside to recommend it. First of all, if you’re out in Solihull town centre doing some shopping at the much nicer Touchwood Centre, and you find you need groceries, instead of heading to a proper shop and having to park again, there is a Sainsbury’s inside Mell Square, just minutes from town centre.
There is a New Look, which is one of the largest ones I’ve seen, with really helpful staff, and a great selection of stuff what girls like.
The Julian Graves booth offers all the fruits and nuts you could ever want. In addition to the Clark’s outside of the centre, there is another one inside, and a few other shops that obviously haven’t stood out in my mind!
Mell Square should either be completely renovated (as it’s a hideous oncrete eye sore on the outside), or knocked down, and it’s shops moved elsewhere. The shops are all useful — the centre is not.

Mell Square is often quite forgotten since the opening of Touchwood, and many people (and shops) have flocked there instead.
However, Mell Square still offers many excellent high street stores, without the hustle and bustle that often comes with Touchwood including Dorothy Perkins, BHS, Boots, HMV and Marks and Spencer’s.
It is easy to access other forgotten shopping areas from Mell Square, such as Drury Lane you can then see the full range of shops Solihull has to offer after the hype of Touchwood.
Mell Square has its own car park, which is often less full than Touchwood or John Lewis. From here you can access House of Fraser department store.

Personally I think Mell Square is much better than touchwood all the same kinds of shops as in touchwood but not half the people! Havent WILLINGLY been into touchwood for years!
Also great parking options varied shops and not too busyunlike touchwood!
Also the shops rent/​lease is much cheaper in mell square than touchwood!
Just a shame the fountain went after so many years! Realsitically there is every type of shop (travel agents, banks, household, fashion, specialist, groceries, jewellers, toys etc) in mell sqare or on the various streets off it: windy alley, drury lane etc. I cant actually think of a type of shop it is lacking!

Even since Touchwood has opened I still visit the shops around Mell Square. In the middle you will see a large Costa coffee shop surrounded by shops such as HMV, Woolworths, Boots, W H Smith, Au Natural, Bhs, Dorothy Perkins and Burtons, Partyland, Bön Marche amongst others. This is also the place they turn the Christmas lights on each year and will be doing so again on Thursday27th November. During the summer school holidays they do free events here every Thursday and usually have an inflatable slide and face painting as well as some art activities for children to do. There is also a farmers market every now and again which runs along Mell Square and on a Saturday a kids ride and there was even a Carousel there recently