Our purpose

Campaigning to bring back amenities to Manor Farm Park, and to promote activities improving health and wellbeing.


Environment Agency flood plans

for Manor Farm Park

The Environment Agency Flood Alleviation Plans threaten three Bournville Parks. Our partners, Friends of Manor Farm Park, are seeking the views of local residents and park users on the proposals. To find out more and acccess the latest updates please visit www.friendsofmanorfarmpark.org.uk .

Our background

Manor Farm Park and

its Cadbury heritage


Manor Farm Park in Northfield, Birmingham comprises 50 acres of parkland including woods, ornamental trees, streams, a lake and varied terrain and natural features as well as geological features, and evidence of historic agricultural land use, and ancient hedgerows.


The park was donated in trust to Birmingham City Council in George Cadbury’s will and passed to the Council on the death of his widow Dame Elizabeth Cadbury. This included the Cadbury Barn which had been built by the couple in 1895 to provide refreshments for visitors in particular those from the inner city who were invited to enjoy “a day in the country”. The site was also used for the training of members of the Friends Ambulance Unit during World War 2, which was entirely in line with George Cadbury’s philanthropy and ethos. You can read more about the Cadbury legacy here.

The Cadbury Barn Trust charity


The Cadbury Barn Trust was established in 2020 following several years of discussions between a Stakeholder Group of interested parties and Birmingham City Council about how facilities for park users could be provided at the main entrance to Manor Farm Park. It is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registration number 1190666.


A number of consultations over the years confirm that people want refreshments, toilets and community space to facilitate a range of activities based in the park. Originally we planned to provide these by restoring and repurposing the Cadbury Barn.




The loss of the Cadbury Barn


Sadly arsonists destroyed the Barn in 2017 but the Stakeholder group agreed that their aim remained, to provide refreshment and toilet facilities appropriate to the modern day needs and desires of park users and the local community. The Cadbury Barn Trust was established to move forwards and find an alternative approach to meeting those needs.

Our Plans

The Council holds a sum of money for community use in the park. We are in discussions with officers and councillors about the future use of the existing buildings, and the best way to deploy these funds for the benefit of the community. This  led to the rectent public consultation which is now closed, but you can still click here for more details of the proposals.

We have exciting plans to build new refreshment and welfare facilities, community space and other amenities including toilets in Manor Farm Park to enhance the health and social welfare of park users and the wider community. 

Initially we are trying to secure temporary buildings to provide  toilets, refreshments, storage and possibly meeting space during limited hours only. 

 Longer term, through a combination of demolition, refurbishment and new build, we aim to have a purpose-built community centre that provides an attractive and comfortable venue for social, sporting, and cultural events. Click here to go to our Site Design page for more details.

The park is tremendously valued by the community of the surrounding areas, and heavily used for walking and recreation. Park users have told us they are eagerly looking for the sort of improvements we have in mind.

We are also partnering with the Birmingham School of Bell Ringers who are looking to take on the Lodge and create an iconic new Bell Tower at the entrance.

News

Updates from our Chair, John Stewart

UPDATE WINTER 2022

George Cadbury’s Centenary

 A memorial service in Bournville this October marked George Cadbury’s death on 24 October 1922. We owe much to the vision and work of this man; of course, he developed chocolate as a major consumer item but there is much else that he left us. For example, the design of Bournville as the suburb we know today was largely down to George’s vision for simple beautiful designs and the work of his architect William Harvey Alexander who transferred it into reality. He also left part of the estate for the Manor House to Birmingham Corporation which, in 1955, become Manor Farm Park.

 

But, as Cadbury Trustee Peter Douglas-Osborne argues in an article for the Birmingham Post, George’s legacy probably shaped the design of modern cities across the world. The Garden City Movement was thought to have started in 1903 with the building of Letchworth in Hertfordshire. However, Peter’s research shows that the Garden City Movement drew heavily on the principles George used to build the Bournville estate which started in 1879. George was a modest man who refused a Lordship and an honorary degree from the University of Birmingham and it comes as no surprise that he did not take credit for a movement that clearly was inspired by his own work in to create our Bournville.

 

Summer activities programme 2022

The Trust ran its first Summer Activity Programme this year. We put on a range of activities for all ages and had over 320 attendees. Foraging, Tree Identification, Forest School sessions for under 5s, Art for Adults and Yoga were all well attended. Of course, the great summer weather helped but everyone enjoyed the sessions and the park. Thanks go to the Celebrating Communities Fund that provided the funding for the sessions.

 

The Trust hopes to run a similar programme next summer and we are confident that by then we will have installed a welfare unit with a kitchen and toilet to support the activities.

 

A step closer to getting a community centre in the park

 Earlier in the year we responded to the Council’s consultation about the future of the Farm Buildings; there were over 300 responses, most of which were positive. We have now heard that the City Council has applied to the Charity Commission to seek a variation to the original deeds that would enable the Cadbury Barn Trust and the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing to develop the site for users of the park. We expect the Commission to reply next year.

 

Helping the Trust

Trustee John Stewart took over as chair from Lesley Pattenson in the summer. The Trust would like to thank Lesley for her hard work and leadership of the Trust, especially for her determination to form the Trust. Lesley remains as a Trustee.

We would like to welcome Julie Johnson-White as a Trustee. Julie has many years of experience in local government and the civil service and knows the local area very well. We are also talking to two more prospective Trustees who we hope will join us very soon.

 

As we get nearer to realising the objectives of the Trust, we are looking for more people to take part in it work. Soon we hope to be talking to the Council about a lease for the site and developing plans for renovating some of the existing buildings and creating new ones. We would like to hear from anyone with legal or property development experience who could help us to bring our vision to life.

Temporary container to provide interim amenities now fully funded

With the support of the Birmingham City Council Parks Department, we received planning approval to site two temporary containers in the car park.


The first, a storage container, was installed in the park in April 2022, see photos below. 


We subsequently secured enough grant funding to purchase and install a second container with welfare facilities including a toilet, kitchenette and storage in order to support events in the park organised by ourselves or the Friends of Manor Farm Park. See proposed location in red, nera the Shelter. It will not reduce parking spaces.


We have been having ongoing discussions with the Council to work out the logistics of installing this container and connecting it to the utilities. The red rectangle in the photo shows its proposed location.

We hope to see progress in 2024.

The Arts Council Jubilee Fund


Thanks to the adults and children who helped design, paint and decorate the new storage container alongside artists from the Northfield Arts Forum. The container is proving invaluable in saving time for volunteers from the Friends and the Cadbury Barn Trust who no longer have to carry equipment, displays and other materials from their homes when needed.


After some delays in creating and installing the

new entrance feature for the park 'The Jubilee Gate', it was installed in late 2023. 



Cadbury Barn Trust progress since inception in 2020, to 2024

We have made much progress since the Cadbury Barn Trust was  incorporated as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) in July 2020.


  • We have worked with Birmingham City Council on plans for temporary facilities to include a toilet, kitchenette and storage in order to support events in the park.
  • Our planning application to site these two containers in the corner of the car park  was successful, no doubt partly due to the support of many local people.
  • We created a partnership with the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing to develop plans for the site.
  • We have produced outline plans for the development of the site and how to manage it.
  • We have received National Lottery Awards for All funding for project management support.
  • We  also secured a small grant from the Harry Payne Trust for marketing and publicity and from the Cooke and Wolstenolme Trust towards the interim welfare container.
  • We gained grants to fund our 2022 and 2023 Summer Activities programme.
  • We have secured funds to enable us to purchase and install the interim welfare container.
  • We secured an Arts Council grant to paint the continers and fund a new entrance feature, 'The Jubileee Gate' which was installed in 2023.
  • We collaborated with the Friends of Manor Farm Park on the Heritage Trail which can be accessed by QR codes; 10000 leaflets were produced, many already distributed, but more are also available.
  • A video about the park and its history has been produced as part of the Heritage Lottery funding.
  • We worked with the Council on their Public Consultation in 2022. We have asked them to submit an application to the Charities Commission requesting the variation to George Cadbury's will that is required to enable the Council to lease us part of the site.
  • The Cadbury Barn Trust gave an update on progress during the Friends of Manor Farm Park Annual General Meetings in July 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Please watch our video below

Manor Farm Park Heritage Trail

The Manor Farm Park Heritage Trail has been created, thanks to a Heritage Lottery Grant.



A series of QR codes have been

sited around the park at key points and leaflets about the heritage trail have been delivered to local residents. They can also be requested by emailing secretary@friendsofmanorfarmpark.org.uk 

Please follow and post on the new Manor Farm Park Instagram account – which will show photos, news and promote events happening in the park, whether organised by ourselves, the Friends, or other organisations: #manorfarmpark #cadburybarntrust #friendsofmanorfarmpark

How you can get involved


If you are interested in getting involved in the project and have skills, experience and enthusiasm and time to put in a few hours each month, we would love to hear from you. Roles range from Trustee of the Board to advisors, fundraisers, posting on social media and in due course, more practical roles. We are seeking to diversify our Board, as we are underrepresented by people from different ethnic backgrounds and cultures, younger people, and women. We also need people with skills in law, property or charity law, property development or building. Contact John Stewart, the Chair of the Board, to discuss.

Our Board of Trustees

The trustees of the charity are drawn from the local area and include professional, business and political people with wide experience in finance, construction, health, heritage, social affairs and recreation. They are:

Lesley Pattenson

Trustee, former Chair to July 2022

John Stewart 

Chair (from July 2022)

Peter Ullathorne

Treasurer

Peter Mayer

Trustee

Peter
Douglas Osborn

Trustee

Evan Joanette

Trustee

Frances Grudzinska

Trustee

Anita Nicholls

Part-time Project Manager

Abiola Aberibigbe

Trustee

We are actively seeking new trustees from a diverse range of backgrounds and with a variety of relevant experience 
– contact Anita on cadburybarnmanager@gmail.com to discuss this opportunity to serve and support your local community.

Our partners

 Our key partners are:                                     


The Friends of Manor Farm Park is  a long established organisation which
helps maintain the park environment
and organise activities in the park.


For information on the Friends

Birmingham City Council's Parks' Department managers and local councillors are supportive of our plans and have worked closely with us over many years.

We also have the support of:


  •  Bournville Village Trust
  • The Active Wellbeing Society
  • Northfield Community Partnership
  • Manor Farm Sports Club
  • Birmingham School of Bellringers
  • Friends of Bournville.

Our funders include:

Governance

Cadbury Barn Trust is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation registered by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 1190666. 

Registered office  5, B29 4JX


Bankers: Unity Trust Bank plc

The Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for:
2020/2021 can be accessed by clicking
here;  2021/2022 here
2022/23
here


The Trust's policies can be accessed here.


Contact

We would love to hear from you, whether you have questions, suggestions or offers of help. 

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