This is the shape of the future on the site of an iconic toffee factory that dominated the skyline for nearly a century. The Blue Bird site was torn down to make way for new homes, with images now released of how the estate, off the M5 near Bromsgrove, will look.
In 2021, developers were granted permission to build 108 homes on the Bromsgrove Road site, which was built in the 1920s by pioneering Birmingham businessman Sir Harry Vincent. Like the Cadbury site, the creation of the Blue Bird toffee factory saw a model village built alongside it, with a shop, post office, leisure facilities and welfare provision for its workers.
The factory closed in 1998 and the sprawling site was left derelict. Developer Bellway South Midlands confirmed last July that it had bought part of the factory site
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Aerial photos, released earlier this year by Bellway, showed the factory and warehouse buildings had been demolished to make way for 86 new homes. Meanwhile, the listed administration and welfare buildings had been left untouched as they were being retained to be converted into 22 apartments by another developer.
Issuing an update on the development this month, Bellway said the first properties at the 86-home scheme were released for sale in September and revealed computer-generated images of what the houses would look like. Marie Richards, sales director for Bellway West Midlands, said: “There is a lot of interest in the Harvino development as it is in a beautiful countryside location offering village life, with easy access to Birmingham and Halesowen.
"These images show what our new homes here will look like and there is a range of styles among them to suit different budgets and requirements. We know there is a lot of affection for the former Blue Bird factory, which opened in 1927 and closed in 1998.
"It inspired the name of the development as Harvino was the original brand name of the toffee they made here. Naming our home styles after shades of blue is another nod to the Blue Bird name.”
The development will feature two, three, four, and five-bedroom houses for sale and the properties in the newly-released images are called Aqua, Azure, Cobalt, Cornflower and Cyan. The scheme’s showhome is set to be launched early next year.
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