Bournville Village Trust secures £900,000 grant to improve homes

One of the Midlands’ longest-serving charitable trusts has been awarded £900,000 from the West Midlands Combined Authority to make improvements to its social housing.

Bournville Village Trust will match fund a warm homes grant to spend a total of £1.8m on improving at least 118 of its homes.

The money will be used to improve the energy efficiency of the trust's homes, and at the same time bring down energy use and costs for its customers.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA chair, said: “Too many working families are living in homes that cost a fortune to heat and still don’t keep them warm enough. That’s not right in one of the richest countries in the world. This investment means lower bills, warmer homes and less worry for hundreds of families.

“George Cadbury believed working people deserved decent homes and a decent quality of life - not just a wage packet. That principle still matters today. We’re carrying that legacy forward by investing in people, cutting fuel poverty and making sure the transition to greener energy actually improves everyday life for working families.”

Chris Hanson, head of asset management at Bournville Village Trust, with resident John Webb, whose homes has recently benefited from a new front door.

The WMCA grant is part of a £167 million energy efficiency fund for the region from government to upgrade 15,000 of the oldest and coldest social and privately-owned homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.

A further 532 homes are also expected to see improvement works done to them in the next two years.

Self-funded by Bournville Village Trust, these works will bring the total number of homes benefitting from the warm homes programme to 650.

The charitable trust has already invested over £14m since 2024 on improving its social rented homes to make sure they are well-maintained, safe and comfortable for hundreds of families.

Work has included fitting over 1,000 new doors to homes, new windows to 450 plus properties and new boilers to over 300 homes. It has also installed nearly 450 new kitchens and over 200 new bathrooms.

Pete Richmond, chief eecutive of Bournville Village Trust, said: “Over the last two years we have invested millions of pounds on improving our social rented homes, making sure they’re well-maintained and comfortable. This year alone, we will spend nearly £8m on fitting new doors, windows, boilers, kitchens and bathrooms.

“This grant from the West Midlands Combined Authority will help us to take the next step in the journey to improve our homes, allowing us to invest in works that make properties more energy efficient, warmer to live in and cheaper to heat.

“With significant increases in energy bills over the past few years and global uncertainty on the price of gas and energy bills, investing in our homes in this way has never been more important to us and our customers.”

Bournville Village Trust works within more than a dozen diverse communities in south and central Birmingham and Telford and aims to create and sustain communities where people can thrive.

It was founded by social reformer and chocolate maker George Cadbury in 1900 and provides services - including managing 3,700 social rented homes - to 25,000 people.