In an interview with bournvillevillage.com for the 20th anniversary of Cadbury World Mr Baldwin said he was encouraged by Kraft’s plans to make the Bournville plant a centre of excellence and that Kraft were keen to develop the attraction that has brought 8 million visitors to Bournville over the years:

“I actually think it’s really exciting, we’ve got Kraft colleagues coming round a business that they weren’t aware of, that they’ve not got in other countries, that they’ve not seen operate elsewhere”.

Mr Baldwin also spoke about some of the difficulties the attraction faced when it first opened with concerns from residents regarding traffic levels. However, the introduction of timed-ticketing has meant there is very little queuing traffic around the Linden road entrance.

Mr Baldwin said: “In the early days there were relevant concerns but we’ve worked very closely with people and over 20 years we’ve had very few residents contact us with complaints over traffic, noise, pollution or anything that’s happening with Cadbury World”

To further celebrate this anniversary, families who visit Cadbury World on Saturday 4th September will be treated to face painters, children’s entertainers and another chance to taste Cadbury World’s infamous chocolate chilli drink. In addition a special photo display will take visitors down memory lane showing them how the popular attraction was first designed and built.

Here’s our full interview with Mr Baldwin:

One of the best ways to find out what’s happening in and around Bournville is to take time to read the notice boards on the Village Green. We’ll be making this a regular category on the website. Here’s some upcoming events and courses we’ve learned about:

Hay Green Allotments Open Day – it’s coming up to harvest time so these particular Bournville-based allotmenteers are having an open day between 10am – midday on Saturday 4th September. There’ll be produce and flowers, refreshments, cakes and jams and a tombola. Entrance is off High Heath close, off Heath road – link to map.

Bournville String Orchestra – On Saturday 4th September, 7.30pm (£10/£7) you can hear the orchestra at Barber Institute of Fine Arts at University of Birmingham. This is the orchestra’s annual charity concert. There’s a full preview of the concert over at The Stirrer website.

Tai Chi new beginners class – the Quaker meeting house (on Linden road, by the Green) is holding a beginners class in Tai Chi on Thursday 9th September at 8.15pm. There’s a talk as well as a demonstration about the benefits of this ‘living art’. For more information give the teacher a call (Alec Jones 07989 302837). More information at www.dragonspringtaichi.co.uk

Cantando Voices Summer Concert – St Francis Church (on Linden road, by the Green) is hosting a concert by Cantando Voices on Saturday 11th September at 7.30pm, cost £5 on the door. The programme includes Gilber and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury. You can just turn up or get firther information by calling 0121 4752042

Bournville Stitch and Knit club – starts on 16th September on Thursday afternoons from 1.45pm – 4.30pm at the Quaker meeting house (map). It’s £2 a session and you get a free tea or coffee as well. You can call Pat on 07842522708 for more details.

Bournville is the starting point for two upcoming bike rides around South Birmingham on the 5th and 15th of September (women only on this date). Beginning from Rowheath Pavilion carpark the 6.3 mile route takes in much of the paths and parks of Bournville and the Rea Valley cycle route before returning to the pavilion.

Sky Ride is an initiative of British Cycling and aims to get one million more people riding bikes by 2012. All Sky Ride events are free and the minimum age is 5 years old. Children aged under 5 can join in as long as they are appropriately strapped in an approved (BS standard) child seat or trailer.

The website description for ride highlights Bournville’s confectionery heritage:

“One for the chocolate lover! This 6.3 mile route takes you through some of the most beautiful parks in Birmingham en route to Bournville the chocolate capital of England! With a mixture of traffic free paths, canal towpaths and minor suburban roads this ride provides a family friendly feel. The beautiful little Victoria Park and Birmingham Botanical Gardens provides variety to this stunning bike ride.”

The ride on the 5th September is full but at the time of writing there are still places left on the women-only ride on 15th September.

View The Chocolate Trail Bike Ride in a larger map

Cadbury World grand opening in 1990: L-R: James Allen, Ian Saxby and Pat Powell

Bournville’s major visitor attraction, Cadbury World, is celebrating twenty years since its opening in August 1990. To celebrate, families who visit Cadbury World on 4th September will be treated to face painters, children’s entertainers and another chance to taste Cadbury World’s infamous chocolate chilli drink.

The launch of Cadbury World marked a new venture for Cadbury moving into the leisure industry but twenty years later it is one of the Midlands’ most popular destinations. Last year saw half a million visitors come to the attraction which is located just off Linden road within the factory complex.

The attraction has evolved and now has fourteen different zones, offering visitors the opportunity to climb aboard Cadbury World’s Cadabra ride or play in virtual chocolate rain in the interactive Purple Planet zone. The attraction encompasses a mix of learning, heritage and fun and new zones such as Essence and Advertising Avenue. In July 2003 another Cadbury World was opened in Dunedin, New Zealand.

A special photo display will take visitors down memory lane showing them how the popular attraction was first designed and built.

Lucy Giaquinto, Marketing Manager at Cadbury World said: “I feel incredibly privileged to be involved in celebrating this fantastic achievement. Cadbury World first opened to provide an opportunity for visitors to take a peek at what makes the nations favourite chocolate but its popularity has been phenomenal.”

For more information about a visit to Cadbury World visit www.cadburyworld.co.uk.

Bournville Young Singers are playing two shows on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe today (Tuesday 23rd) and tomorrow, following their successful appearance last year. They play at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church at 4.30pm.

The Singers are a community youth choir who aim to encourage children and young people to develop their vocal skills and musical knowledge and to participate in regular and varied concerts.

Their performance last year gained a positive review from The Herald Newspaper who described their wide repertoire – which included Native American chants, Nigerian and Zulu songs, TV theme tunes and more – as being “technically challenging [delivered] with, the odd nervous wobble aside, confidence, enthusiasm and a pleasing sound.”

The Edinburgh Fringe website also gives a useful description of their talents:

“From the famous chocolate suburb of Birmingham hails this exuberant group of talented youngsters, performing at their second Fringe a delicious palate of music from a harmonious array of origins. So come follow the music!”

Bournville College have published a new timelapse video of their new college being built on the former Longbridge works site. The video covers the first half of 2010. The college will move from its current Northfield site in 2011.

The new six-storey complex forms part of the wider regeneration of the former MG Rover plant. The development will see Bournville College bringing its existing three campuses together into one, purpose-built 250,000 sq ft building.

It is intended to cater for more than 15,000 students and will feature state-of-the-art facilities including a learning resource centre, business school, construction workshop and leisure and sports facilities.

The campus will occupy 4.2 acres and is due to open to students in September 2011.

Iconic Bournville Photo: Hannah Waldram

One year ago today we founded this website with a view to reflecting community life in this beautiful model village of ours. With so much vibrancy, history and local charm, the lack of coverage of what’s going on in the area felt like a real shame – we hoped the Bournville Village website would become a vital community resource, linking up partnerships and sharing information for the benefit of Bournville residents and visitors. We wanted to create a platform for the community, and increase social cohesion through social media. And look how far we’ve come!

The site has come on leaps and bounds in the last year and we hope you have enjoyed watching it grow.

Here are some of our highlights from the first year of Bournville Village.

• We kicked off with a bang in August last year when gun shots heard in the Woodlands Park road area shook the community – we were one of the first places for information from the police and reaction from residents
• We started reporting on the Bournville Council meetings
• As the Christmas season approached, the first frost began to fall over Cadbury’s management – and we sensed something big
• It’s Christmas! What time is Tesco open? Still our most popular post!
• When the Cadbury/Kraft story broke we were ready – giving the news a local feel and reflecting how it might affect residents as well as rounding up the national coverage of the story. We were subsequently asked by international news organisations to speak on radio, tv and in the BBC debate due to our local knowledge of the issue – the takeover dominated our blog in the early months of 2010
• Over the snow blitz we received national recognition for our map of gritting routes (which roads are prioritised by the council) made from local government data
• We quizzed the council over trees removed from Acacia and Willow road
• As the general election approached we looked at our local candidates and covered a number of hustings – later on we exposed the truth about the candidates’ election expenses and put them online for you to scrutinise too
• The head teacher of Bournvile school gave an exclusive interview on the history of the school
• This week we found out Linden and Maryvale Road are the most dangerous in the village from a freedom of information request
• We even managed to get the council to update their picture of Bournville on their website!

I’m sure you’ll agree the website has done a sterling job over the last year of holding the local authorities and politicians to account on behalf of residents as well as providing a reliable source for news, events and features which matter to Bournville.

But the site does not run itself. It’s mantained through the hard work, love and labour of local residents – at the moment editor Dave Harte is doing much of the leg work and now we’re appealing for more contributors to keep the site going. It’s not a one-man job – we want this to be a community project and for the site to be sustainable in the future we need your help.

There are a number of ways you can get involved:

You can email us dave@daveharte.com with a story, a tip off,  your contact details for a story, some information or just an offer to help

You can follow us on Twitter @bournvillenews

You can add a comment on the one of the posts on the blog

You could send us some photos, submit a freedom of information request or offer to help with web development of the site

You can write for us – it’s simple and easy – if you have a story or something to say just get in touch!

Bournvillevillage.com has received information from West Midlands Police about the volume of accidents on Linden Road and Watford Road in Bournville. The data was made available after a Freedom of Information request. It reveals the junction to be the most dangerous on this stretch.

We made a request for the data after concerns that accidents were on the increase along the stretch of road following two incidents in two months on the corner of Maryvale Road and Linden Road. In each case two vehicles were involved and they occurred very soon after new road safety marking were added to the area around Maryvale and Linden roads.

The data doesn’t include these recent incidents but they do show that the junction of Maryvale and Linden road is the most dangerous stretch with 19 accidents that resulted in an injury. The junction with Bournville Lane had 16 accidents also involving injuries. Both junctions were considered for highway upgrades that included traffic lights but a traffic calming scheme involving new lighting and signage was put in place instead.

There has been an overall decline in accidents between 2000 and 2010. In that period, along the whole stretch of Linden road and Watford road there were 58 accidents involving damage only, 20 involving pedestrians and 125 involving injury of some sort. Only one accident involved a fatality (in 2005 at the junction of Watford road and Cotteridge road).

Here are the links to the data:
Injury RTA’s on the Linden Road/Watford Road from 1 Jan 2000 to 31 May 2010 by Year and Severity

Injury RTA’s on the Linden Road/Watford Road from 1 Jan 2000 to 31 May 2010 where pedestrian involved

Damage Only RTA’s on Linden Road/Watford Road from 1 Jan 2000 to 31 May 2010

The original PDF file supplied by West Midlands Police is also available at this link.

The first of the recent accidents was on 15th June this year. A West Midlands Police spokesperson said:

A call came in at 10.18am on 15th June to reports of an Road Traffic Collision between a silver Nissan micra and a grey Toyota Avensis on Linden Road, Bournville. The driver of the nissan micra, a 60 year old man was taken to hospital with chest injuries. His injuries are not thought to be life threatening. The female driver of the toyota was also taken to hospital with minor injuries. Linden Road was closed following the accident.

The second recent accident happened in the same location:

Officers were called to a road traffic collision on Linden Road Bournville on Thursday 8 July 2010. The very low speed incident involved a red Volvo and a silver Hyundai. The male driver of the Volvo was taken to hospital suffering from back pain and a slight head injury. The female driver of the Hyundai was also taken to hospital with minor back pain.

These details are from the Bournville Harriers website:

Start time: Sunday 3rd October 10.00 am

Start/Finish: At Rowheath Pavilion, Heath Road, Bournville, Birmingham B30 1HH.

Course: A interesting 2 lap course around the paths and parks of Bournville. Multi-terrain, but primarily roads and paths. Will suit all abilities.

Facilities: Hot/Cold drinks and an excellent variety of refreshments, including cakes. Changing rooms available.

Memento: A momento for all finishers.

Entry Fee: £6/£9 (attached/unattached)
Entries will be accepted on the day up to 9.30am £7/£10 (attached/unattached)
unless race limit of 200 has been reached. (cheques payable to Bournville Harriers)
Entry forms are available at this link (PDF) or enter online at www.runnersworld.co.uk

Results Service: Online same day at bournvilleharriers.org.uk along with runner photos to download for free!
Prizes: First three men, first three women.
Vets men: first 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+
Vets women: first 35-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60+
Only one prize per person.

Entries to:
Race Secretary, Bournville Harriers, 30 Moneyhull Hall Rd, Birmingham B30 3QD
Closing date for postal entries is 24th September 2010.
Email: social@bournvilleharriers.org
Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope.
RUNNERS MUST BE OVER 16 ON THE DAY OF RACE.

Our neighbours in Stirchley have an exciting new initiative that we thought worth sharing with you:

South Birmingham is fast becoming a hotbed for grassroots food activities. An exciting new partnership between Birmingham City Council’s Town Centre Partnerships, local arts group Stirchley Happenings, South Birmingham Food Co-op and local cookery school and community bakery Loaf, is now about to add a vibrant community market in the city suburb of Stirchley to that melting pot.

The market joins local stalwarts such as the multi-award winning Moseley Farmers Market, Leverton & Halls organic cafe and Birmingham’s first organic butcher Rossiters in Bournville, in helping Birmingham’s grassroots food scene punch it’s own weight with the likes of Manchester, Bristol and London.

Stirchley Community Market, which launches on Tuesday the 27th July with it’s first market outside Stirchley United Working Mens Club on the Pershore Road (map) from 4-8pm, will feature stalls selling wholefoods, bread, hot Bangladeshi food, wood-fired pizza, artisan preserves, afro-caribbean produce, cupcakes, local fruit and vegetables, and local arts and crafts. The market will give the local community, as well as commuters on their way home from work, an opportunity to find out what Stirchley has to offer, meet some excellent food producers and craft makers from within Birmingham, and pick up some tasty groceries for their weekly shop.

The market has been established by individuals who live and work in and around Stirchley, so it will have a strong community feel to it, and several of the businesses attending the market operate as social businesses. Nancy Langfeldt the founder of South Birmingham Food Co-op, who will be selling wholefoods and store cupboard items at the market, said “Stirchley Community Market is a great opportunity for the Food Co-op to start selling directly to the public, and a brilliant chance for people to come down to Stirchley after work or school to enjoy some hot food, ethical shopping and community spirit!”

Stirchley has a long history as a place of interest, having formerly been a vibrant and important shopping centre for Cadbury’s workers, and the birthplace of the Midlands Cooperative Society. Despite suffering a similar fate to many suburban high streets in the recent economic downturn, Stirchley still offers a unique mix of independent shops and now a vibrant monthly market. Town Centre Manager for Stirchley, Cotteridge, and Selly Oak Matthew Powell said “a local community market is great news for Stirchley, and will support existing local businesses trying to promote Stirchley as a unique shopping destination”

The market will take place on the 4th Tuesday of the month from 4-8pm in July, August, and September 2010.

More information on Stirchley Community Market can be found on their website http://stirchleycommunitymarket.wordpress.com. Stirchley Community Market can be contacted on stirchleycommunitymarket@yahoo.co.uk