'Chocolate box' village planned

Bournville has been named the nicest place to live in Britain

Housing chiefs hope to bring the genteel magic of a world famous urban village to a former industrial wasteland on the edges of a new town.

The bosses of Bournville Village Trust (BVT), the charitable foundation which manages the Birmingham estate, believe their proposals to create Lightmoor village will provide the final piece of the jigsaw in Telford.

The plans for the 178 acre site, close to the historic heart of the industrial revolution at Ironbridge Gorge, includes around 800 homes of which at least 25% will be affordable housing.

The homes will promote ecological and environmental standards and provide residents with the opportunity to work from home.

The BVT, which is running the project with English Partnerships, describes the proposals as "a mixed-use village centre" including shops and schools.

We have long hoped to create a second Bournville, where the best of the 21st century could be added to what we have achieved in the past, to create a development for now and for the future. Alan Shrimpton Director of Bournville Village Trust

David Etherington, spokesman for the joint venture project, said: "Like Bournville, this project will be under the long-term management of the BVT.

"It will be an urban village, very much in line with the thinking of Prince Charles about cohesive communities.

"This is the last major piece of the Telford jigsaw."

The Shropshire town, a new town created in the 1960s to accommodate the growing population in the county, could benefit from the community ethos brought to Bournville by Victorian philanthropist George Cadbury.

Major regeneration

The chocolate company's owner and founder established Bournville over 100 years ago to provide decent, affordable housing for ordinary working people in the south-west of Birmingham, close to his growing chocolate empire.

Recently billed as the nicest place to live in Britain, the village was the first purpose-built community in the UK, featuring 7,000 homes, a village green, leisure amenities and a parade of traditional community shops.

Bournville is a few miles from the city

Despite being only 40 years old Telford is undergoing major regeneration work.

Peter Murray, area director for English Partnerships, said: "We are looking to create a community that is economically, environmentally and socially sustainable that will be a place where people will want to live for generations to come."

Alan Shrimpton, director of BVT said: "We have long hoped to create a second Bournville, where the best of the 21st century could be added to what we have achieved in the past, to create a development for now and for the future.

"We can achieve this aim at Lightmoor."

It is expected that developers will begin work on the site early next year and the village will be completed within five years.