THE toffee making heritage of the Blue Bird factory in Hunnington has been celebrated at the launch of showhomes for the development of the historic site.
The factory on Bromsgrove Road closed in 1998, after more than 70 years of production. The site is being transformed into a new neighbourhood of 86 homes, as part of Bellway’s Harvino development.
Margaret Harding and Val Mills, authors of a book exploring their live’s in the ‘model village’ homes built for factory employees nearby were special guests at the event on Saturday, March 2.
Their book, Growing Up in Blue Bird’s Garden Village, outlays their memories of life within the community and its history. Brenda Osbourn, who worked at the factory and whose family lived onsite, was also a special guest.
Other members of Romsley and Hunnington History Society – which published Margaret and Val’s book – were also invited, with treasurer Ruth Harper giving a talk about the history of the factory.
Marie Richards, sales director at Bellway West Midlands, said: “Celebrating the history of the site here at our Harvino development was a very fitting way to mark the opening of our showhome.
“The Blue Bird factory is commemorated in the name Harvino, which was the original name of the toffee brand, and we chose this name because we recognise how important this place is to local people who have many memories of its time as a working factory.
“Now this site is entering a new era as a modern neighbourhood of high-quality homes where new neighbours will settle in and new memories will be made.”
The names of all the house styles at Harvino development link to the colour blue, in honour of the Blue Bird toffee brand. The showhomes are the four-bedroom Turquoise and three-bedroom Azure designs.
