Subject to the outcome of a successful planning submission in 2012, The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, The Bournville Village Trust, and Birmingham City Council are expecting to push ahead with the new development by Spring 2013, providing over 200 jobs during construction. The Village could open by 2015 with 30 locally-recruited staff working within the new community.

The announcement follows the relocation of Bournville College to its new Longbridge Campus earlier this year, and the recent acquisition of the disused site by The Bournville Village Trust.

Partners believe the proposed six-acre Village represents an ideal regeneration opportunity for the Bristol Road site, following the demolition of the existing college buildings this month.  It would provide a state-of-the-art, sustainable community that could benefit over 300 older people, particularly those who are frail and with limited means, and would welcome social and active participation amongst all age groups within the local neighbourhood.

At its heart, a vibrant 18-facility Village Centre would include a restaurant, gym, well-being centre, IT facilities, shop, café and landscaped gardens.  Residents would have the opportunity to take part in a variety of activities including choir singing, Tai Chi, writing, drama, wheelchair aerobics and woodwork, all designed to support independence and improved social opportunities, especially for those at risk of isolation.

Qualified staff would provide care for up to a third of residents within their own Village home.  This would include an award-winning well-being service, specialist nursing care and dementia support.

The proposals have been carefully considered to ensure that residency would be affordable for all.  A wide choice of purchase, shared ownership and rental homes would be offered with an on-site benefits team providing specialist advice to ensure that all applicants, even those with an existing tenancy and minimum state pension, would be able to move in.  No resident would need to relinquish their home to pay for their care - an issue currently facing some 70,000 UK householders each year.

The Bournville Village Trust is already developing Lightmoor Village near Telford and believes the Bristol Road development offers the Trust an ideal opportunity to broaden its provision in this sector.

Peter Roach, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: "This gives us a once in a generation opportunity to do something very special, responding to the needs of our older community.  Our new project will cater for the needs of people who remain relatively active right through to those who need specialist nursing or dementia care.  This is a 5-year project which will sit in a lovely landscaped setting and the Trust is genuinely excited to have this opportunity".

For Birmingham City Council and The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, the Bournville project represents one of at least five planned villages across the City as part of a £200m development programme which will provide over 1,000 affordable homes for local older people.  The first Village, New Oscott (developed with Midland Heart), opened in 2010 and is already over-subscribed.

Birmingham City Council's Cabinet member for housing, Cllr John Lines, said: "This is our fifth retirement village and working with Bournville Village Trust and ExtraCare is a wonderful opportunity for our retired people in the south west of the city.

"I made a commitment to the people of Birmingham that I would build five retirement villages and I am honouring that promise."

The ExtraCare Charitable Trust currently operates 11 retirement villages across the Midlands and North.  In September 2011, results from a year-long study undertaken by The International Longevity Centre (ILC-UK) showed that ExtraCare residents experience a 24% reduction in social care needs within five years and are 50% less likely to enter institutional accommodation when compared with older people living in the community who are in receipt of domiciliary care.

Commenting on the Bournville proposals,  ExtraCare's Chief Executive Nick Abbey said:  "The Bournville Village Trust, ExtraCare and The City Council have a common ambition to provide good-quality homes within inspirational communities that are affordable especially for those in need.  Together, we are in a strong position to regenerate this site, providing a Village that transforms older peoples' lives and is actively involved with its surrounding community."

Picture: An artist's impression of the new Bournville retirement village.

- Ends-

- Notes to Editors-

The ExtraCare Charitable Trust - www.extracare.org.uk

Founded in 1988, The ExtraCare Charitable Trust is a registered charity based in Coventry. The Charity operates over 3,000 homes within 11 retirement villages and 17 smaller housing developments across the Midlands and the North.

Each housing scheme or village has 5 to 18 social, health and leisure facilities that are accessible to over 3,700 residents and up to 5,000 older people living in surrounding communities.

The Charity's vision is for older people to enjoy a healthier, active and more independent lifestyle in a network of inspirational communities, as a 21st century alternative to nursing homes.

The current timetable for the Charity's five-village programme in Birmingham is as follows:

New Oscott Village, Erdington (opened 2010)

Pannel Croft Village, Newtown (opens 2013)

Hagley Road Village, Harborne (opens 2014)

Bournville Village, Bristol Road, Bournville (opens 2015)

Shaftmoor Lane Village, Acocks Green (opens 2015-16)

Bournville Village Trust - www.bvt.org.uk

Bournville Village Trust was established in 1900 by George Cadbury to provide a balanced community of decent homes for men and women from a wide range of backgrounds.

Bournville, in South Birmingham, covers one thousand acres, contains nearly 8,000 dwellings and is managed by the Trust.

The Trust has also developed and is managing two new urban villages in inner city Birmingham at Bordesley and Bloomsbury, Nechells.  A third is underway at Lightmoor in Telford, Shropshire.

The Trust owns and manages housing schemes in Redditch, as well as over 500 properties in Shropshire.

Bournville Village Trust is a registered charity which puts quality of life for its residents at the heart of its mission for the future.

- Media Contacts-

The ExtraCare Charitable Trust:
Richard Tower:  0772 055 3658.
richard.tower@extracare.org.uk

Bournville Village Trust:
Caroline Maddox:  0121 634 1500 or 07866 727 138
caroline.maddox@matrix.co.uk

Birmingham City Council:
Karen Blanchette: 0121 303 6969 or 07766 922814
karen.blanchette@birmingham.gov.uk