Background information
Touchwood is a shopping centre in Solihull, on the south-east of the West Midlands Conurbation – the opposite side from Dudley. It is on redeveloped land in the town centre, close to the bus and railway stations, and with its own multi-storey car park.
While Dudley is one of the les prosperous parts of the Wet Midlands, Solihull is one of the more prosperous. Its area includes the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham International Airport. It has less derelict industrial land than Dudley and has far more employment in growing sectors of the economy. However, by the 1990s the town centre seemed rather old-fashioned and was struggle to cope with regional out-of-town developments such as Merry Hill. The Touchwood centre was the response.