Westfield has unveiled plans for a £24m food court, Eat Central, at its Merry Hill shopping centre in the west Midlands.

It will comprise 16 food court units and three restaurants.

Operators Nandos, Hey Potato, KFC and Nineteen Ten Mexican Kitchen have already signed up.

The Eat Central area will be located at the heart of the centre and the restaurants will face a new centre entrance and car park which will be themed with street-side dining and landscaping.

Neil Huntington, development director for Westfield, said: ‘These operators form the basis for the diverse range of independent and national operators that we will introduce at Merry Hill.’

He added: ‘The success of the dining offers at Westfield Derby and Westfield London show the potential to evolve the traditional ‘food court’ model.’