Cadbury Barn Trust logo

Site design and Birmingham City Council Consultation on
developments at the entrance of Manor Farm Park

Thank you to the hundreds of people who resonded to our plea to support our plans in the recent Council consultation. Well over 400 responses were received, the vast majority very positive. We will keep you posted on the next steps taken by the Council.

Context and importance of the City Council consultation


Building on the work of the Friends of Manor Farm Park and other Stakeholders, the Cadbury Barn Trust for several years has been pressing Birmingham City Council to apply to the Charity Commission for a variation to the terms of George Cadbury’s will. This variation is needed in order to allow the Council to lease part of the site containing surplus and disused buildings to the Trust, and also to permit trading activities to take place there (needed to enable the development to be financially viable.)


Before applying, the Council needed to undertake a further public consultation to demonstrate to the Charity Commission that there is demand and support from park users and local residents. This has now been completed with well over 400 positive responses, and the report is awaited.

Thank you for your help in expressing your support for the proposed developments, specifically the Cadbury Barn Trust’s plans for the Bristol Road entrance, along with those of our partner the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing.

Our vision for new community facilities,
consistent with George Cadbury’s gift

Overall site design

The Cadbury Barn Trust has developed a vision for the main entrance to the park. This would see part of the site redeveloped to create indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, a community café and toilets and, in a joint venture with the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing, an educational resource to teach and promote bell ringing utilising digital simulators in a modern, secular, environment.


The buildings no longer needed by the Council are all those on the left hand side of the entrance road from Bristol Road. Those on the right will remain for use as the Parks Department depot.

New build

The Trust’s current proposal is to create a new community space, probably in two phases in two pods in the far corner of the car park directly overlooking the park. The first module would contain a café and toilets, with the eating area also available for specific activities at pre arranged times.


There would be a partially covered outdoor eating area and open terrace. The second module would be connected and provide a single larger space for meetings and activities.

The two storey building

The existing two storey building will in time be converted to additional space to be used for meeting rooms, events, exhibition space and possible rental of shared office space on the upper floor for community organisations or social enterprises.

The single storey building

The adjacent single storey building would be demolished, releasing space for car parking offsetting spaces lost with the new build.



Overall plan

The proposed amenities at the entrance will facilitate a wide range of recreational, educational and cultural activities to promote good health and wellbeing, while creating a modern leisure venue with much needed toilets and refreshment facilities for users. The unsightly and neglected buildings at the park’s entrance would be remodelled, making a visit to the park more inviting, enjoyable and safer. The project will also create some new job opportunities.

Complementary amenities

Along with the buildings and activities described we hope to include additional amenities for visitors to the park. These would include free WiFi, electric car charging, defibrillator, external water points for dogs and humans, safe covered storage for buggies, bikes and dogs, and additional outside seats, bins and landscaping.

The Lodge

The Lodge house, (the building nearest the entrance), would be taken over by the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing and converted into teaching and meeting space, which would have digitally simulated bells and be silent to the outside.


In time an iconic new ‘Bell Tower’ would be added at the front right corner. They would designate this as the Birmingham University of Bell Ringing. This would be a state of the art building including total sound proofing and variable sound control. These modern methods of sound management will mean that passers by and local residents will not hear the bells. The garden behind it would remain as a cultivated public space.


For more details about their plans please visit Birmingham School of Bell Ringing

Overall site design

The Cadbury Barn Trust has developed a vision for the main entrance to the park. This would see part of the site redeveloped to create indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, a community café and toilets and, in a joint venture with the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing, an educational resource to teach and promote bell ringing utilising digital simulators in a modern, secular, environment.


The buildings no longer needed by the Council are all those on the left hand side of the entrance road from Bristol Road. Those on the right will remain for use as the Parks Department depot.

New build

The Trust’s current proposal is to create a new community space, probably in two phases in two pods in the far corner of the car park directly overlooking the park. The first module would contain a café and toilets, with the eating area also available for specific activities at pre arranged times.


There would be a partially covered outdoor eating area and open terrace. The second module would be connected and provide a single larger space for meetings and activities.

New build

The Trust’s current proposal is to create a new community space, probably in two phases in two pods in the far corner of the car park directly overlooking the park. The first module would contain a café and toilets, with the eating area also available for specific activities at pre arranged times.


There would be a partially covered outdoor eating area and open terrace. The second module would be connected and provide a single larger space for meetings and activities.

The two storey building

The existing two storey building will in time be converted to additional space to be used for meeting rooms, events, exhibition space and possible rental of shared office space on the upper floor for community organisations or social enterprises.


The single storey building

The adjacent single storey building would be demolished, releasing space for car parking offsetting spaces lost with the new build.

The proposed amenities at the entrance will facilitate a wide range of recreational, educational and cultural activities to promote good health and wellbeing, while creating a modern leisure venue with much needed toilets and refreshment facilities for users. The unsightly and neglected buildings at the park’s entrance would be remodelled, making a visit to the park more inviting, enjoyable and safer. The project will also create some new job opportunities.

The Lodge

The Lodge house nearest the entrance would be taken over by the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing and converted into teaching and meeting space, and in time an iconic new ‘Bell Tower’ would be added at the front right corner. This would be a state of the art building including digital simulators and sound proofing to enable total sound control. Modern methods of sound management will mean that passers by and local residents will not hear the bells. The garden behind it would remain as a cultivated public space.

For more details please visit Birmingham University of Bell Ringing


The single storey building

The adjacent single storey building would be demolished, releasing space for car parking offsetting spaces lost with the new build.


Overall plan

The proposed amenities at the entrance will facilitate a wide range of recreational, educational and cultural activities to promote good health and wellbeing, while creating a modern leisure venue with much needed toilets and refreshment facilities for users. The unsightly and neglected buildings at the park’s entrance would be remodelled, making a visit to the park more inviting, enjoyable and safer. The project will also create some new job opportunities.


Complementary amenities

Along with the buildings and activities described we hope to include additional amenities for visitors to the park. These would include free WiFi, electric car charging, defibrillator, external water points for dogs and humans, safe covered storage for buggies, bikes and dogs, and additional outside seats, bins and landscaping.


The two storey building

The existing two storey building will in time be converted to additional space to be used for meeting rooms, events, exhibition space and possible rental of shared office space on the upper floor for community organisations or social enterprises.



The Lodge

The Lodge house, (the building nearest the entrance), would be taken over by the Birmingham School of Bell Ringing and converted into teaching and meeting space, which would have digitally simulated bells and be silent to the outside.

In time an iconic new ‘Bell Tower’ would be added at the front right corner. They would designate this as the Birmingham University of Bell Ringing. This would be a state of the art building including total sound proofing and variable sound control. These modern methods of sound management will mean that passers by and local residents will not hear the bells. The garden behind it would remain as a cultivated public space.

For more details about their plans please visit Birmingham School of Bell Ringing

Activities facilitated by our proposals for community space

Previous consultations have found an overwhelming demand for community facilities to be provided for park users and local residents.  This would be consistent with George Cadbury’s gift to the people of Birmingham made one hundred years ago this year but relevant to current day needs and expectations of community space and a public park.

The kinds of activities we would expect to become available could include, but are certainly not limited to: Parent and toddler group, older people’s lunch club, after school club, story telling, bushcraft, conservation activities, art exhibitions, farmers’ markets, craft fairs, mental health support, local history and heritage presentations and displays, information on local wildlife, cycling club, yoga classes, Zumba and many many more!


Why we believe partnering with the Birmingham

School of Bell Ringing is a good fit for the site

  • The Cadbury Barn Trust does not believe that the Lodge could provide the community facilities we are aiming for and have no alternative proposals for its use.
  • Birmingham School of Bell Ringing would restore and convert the Lodge to an educational facility.
  • An iconic Bell tower created next to it would be an attractive new feature at the park entrance, which is currently marred by the dilapidated state of the Lodge and is otherwise unremarkable and easily missed.
  • Birmingham School of Bell Ringing’s ethos and values are consistent with our own.
  • The proposed University of Bell Ringing will bring new users to the park, which may lead to greater use of the amenities which the CBT will be providing.
  • Modern methods mean that the sound of bells would be silent or barely audible to park users and local residents so would not cause a nuisance.


  • Much of their activity will take place in the evening which would help deter vandalism on the site by having an active people presence once park users have left.
  • We know that George Cadbury enjoyed the sound of bells; he purchased the Carillon for the pleasure of the people of Bournville is still enjoyed today. We feel he would approve of this development for the enjoyment of local people in the park which he donated. He also was a strong believer in education, and the University of Bell Ringing would be an educational resource.
  • The Bristol Road corridor is already home to a number of other educational establishments including the University of Birmingham, Fircroft College and the Woodbrooke Centre.


We hope you will support the inclusion of the Birmingham School of Bell Ringers in the overall site plans.


Links to other info including

CBT/BSoBR website

Next steps following the consultation

Given the public support for the proposals, the City Council should now apply to the Charity Commission for permission to enable the Cadbury Barn Trust / Birmingham School of Bell Ringers to lease part of the site as indicated. We are still waiting to hear when this application will be made.


The partnership would then obtain a lease from the City Council and raise funds to supplement existing monies earmarked for community developments in the park to complete the project. We would appoint architects and landscapers to develop the plans and would then seek further views from the public on the proposed designs. We would appoint building contractors to create the first phase of development. We would seek catering contractors to provide the café. There would be appointments of a project manager and eventually a site manager to manage the facility once open.

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.

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