Bournville masterplan
Client: Bournville Heritage Places and Spaces
Location: Bournville, Birmingham, West Midlands
Status: Complete
Burrell Foley Fischer, working with Donald Insall Associates, have been developing a long-term plan for how Bournville’s heritage buildings and green spaces could be repurposed for the benefit of the community. This is a joint vision between Bournville Village Trust, Mondelez International and the Bournville community.
Of the 2,078 people who took part in the consultation in late 2024, on average 81% of people were in favour of the overall project. These include suggestions for a restaurant in Bournville Pavilion, a wellbeing centre at the Claypits Pool and more sports and facilities for young people at Rowheath Pavilion.
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By the late 18th century, brothers George and Richard Cadbury had seen the chocolate business, started by their father John, flourish thanks to the quality of their cocoa. Unlike most factory owners of the time, unmoved by the poor working and living conditions of their employees, the Cadbury brothers were different. They had a deep-seated concern about the way so many people were forced to work and live in overcrowded, dirty and dangerous places.
In 1893, the Cadburys bought 120 acres of land close to their new factory and started to plan a model village to, in their words, ‘alleviate the evils of modern, more cramped living.’ Designed to be totally different to the typical ‘back to backs’, houses in Bournville were spacious, well-designed, and built with quality in mind. As the village grew, so did the facilities it offered, with schools, parks, recreation grounds, sports facilities and village halls all springing to life.
George and Richard had set out to give people a better quality of life, and in Bournville they did just that. So much so that Bournville later became a blueprint for many other model villages in Britain. Many have credited it with laying the foundations for the development of garden cities and introducing the benefits of open space into modern town planning.
Today the Bournville Village Trust and Modelelez International (the current owners of Cadbury) continue to be custodians of the village and have begun looking at the best options for providing; improved sports and youth provision; more community and recreation facilities; and more social and leisure facilities.