"Bournville was not just a factory village. It was a radical expression of belief in the potential for masterplanning to improve people’s lives"
- Nigel Booen - Boyer
By the late 19th century, the Cadbury brothers had seen their chocolate business flourish. The family needed space to build a new, commodious, modern factory that could accommodate their expanding business. As Quakers, the Cadburys aspired to more than pure profit; they wanted to challenge the status quo and save their workforce from a life that was squalid and depressing.
Bourneville was designed as a community entirely different from the typical Birmingham ‘back to back’ houses. Homes were spacious, well-designed and built with quality in mind and supported by schools, parks, recreation and sports facilities, and a village hall. It was one of the earliest forms of Corporate Social Responsibility; a 15-minute community in all but name – the principles, which went on to inspire the concept of garden cities, continue to this day.
So, as the government looks to roll out its growth agenda and create a new era of new towns, should Bourneville continue to inspire the relationship between residential and industrial development?
Bournville was not just a factory village. It was a radical expression of belief in the potential for masterplanning to improve people’s lives. Built from the 1890s by George Cadbury to house workers at the new Cadbury chocolate factory in Birmingham, it set a new precedent: that employers and masterplanners could create places that were not only functional but health-giving, beautiful and morally improving.
Cadbury’s motivation came from both Quaker values and practical observation. Industrial cities were overcrowded, unsanitary and often brutal. He believed people would be more productive, more loyal and more fulfilled if they were well housed and able to enjoy green space and fresh air.
With his brother Richard, George purchased 120 acres of land outside Birmingham to build a ‘garden village’ with generously sized houses, wide tree-lined roads and parks. The development also included schools, open-air swimming baths and a community hall and crucially, provided people to live close to their place of work in an environment which was ‘sustainable’ on many levels.
Should that concept be retained in the 21st century, as the Industrial Strategy, the Infrastructure Strategy and the emerging new towns take effect?
Over two centuries on from the birth of the industrial revolution that transformed the lives and fortunes of the Cadburys and their workforce, we still live in a world of new industries. Manufacturing is being replaced by data centres, clean energy generation and logistics hubs but the challenges remain: we still have a housing crisis, for example.
The housing concerns and solutions of the Victorians may look very different to those of our generation, but there remains a requirement for affordable, high-quality and sustainable homes in safe, walkable communities, close to places of work.
The commercial engines driving these new communities may be a world apart from the Cadbury brothers, but today’s industries also have the potential to fuel the new communities we need. In the new generation of garden cities, can Bournville provide the inspiration for the creation of new neighbourhoods today?
Why a 15-minute city is more than a buzzword
The echoes of Bournville’s holistic approach to community-making resonate strongly in today’s 15-minute city concept. Popularised by Paris’s mayor Anne Hidalgo, the 15-minute city proposes that work, shops, schools, healthcare and leisure should all be accessible within 15 minutes on foot or by bike. This idea has gained international traction as planners and developers look to reimagine settlement patterns.
The 15-minute city is more than an urban design fad. It is a principle that offers tangible social and environmental benefits. By restoring the value of local life, it reduces dependence on cars and encourages walking and cycling, improving public health and air quality. Social cohesion is fostered by encouraging face-to-face interaction in schools, cafes, parks, shops and places of work. Local economies benefit as independent shops and services enjoy steady footfall and local jobs reduce commuter stress and carbon emissions.
Environmentally, compact neighbourhoods make efficient use of land and infrastructure, easing pressure on roads and utilities. Green infrastructure - parks, street trees, active travel corridors - contributes to climate resilience and wellbeing, becoming essential in an era of extreme weather.
For architects and masterplanners, the 15-minute city is a toolkit for designing at the human scale. It supports density, connectivity and liveability as fundamental measures of success. While not every place can be a perfect 15-minute city, the principle guides the creation of adaptable, resilient communities fit for future challenges.
The enduring link between jobs and homes
The relationship between jobs and homes has always shaped places. From Roman trade routes to Britain’s mill towns, settlements grew around employment. Today’s economy is more mobile and digitised, but proximity remains key to functional, productive communities and the collaboration that is so crucial to the science and technology sectors.
This isn’t just convenience; it is about economic resilience, sustainability and social fabric. When people live far from work, long commutes sap productivity and wellbeing, increase car dependency and deepen inequalities as lower-income workers are priced out of the areas they serve.
Masterplanning for proximity creates mixed-economy communities where travel time is reduced, disposable income rises, workforce participation improves and local retail and services thrive. This aligns with policy goals to decarbonise transport and reduce regional disparities.
Mono-functional places - dormitory suburbs or business parks - have largely failed. Placemaking, which prioritises mixed use – for example, at Cambridge Science Park or London’s Knowledge Quarter - proves more adaptable, bringing footfall, fostering innovation and strengthening high streets and local centres.
New industry as a masterplanning anchor
High-tech sectors - data centres, gigafactories, life sciences hubs - offer new industrial anchors for settlements. These industries are geographically rooted; a gigafactory cannot be offshored, a data centre must be where power and connectivity are abundant, and life sciences clusters thrive near universities.
Such ‘sticky’ industries enable homes, schools and shops to follow. Co-location supports sustainable travel patterns, shorter commutes and multi-functional neighbourhoods. Aligning new towns with national industrial priorities can unlock funding and political support, blending regeneration and housebuilding with productivity and energy transition.
But this approach is not without risk. Tech jobs are often highly skilled, and the location of tech companies must be carefully matched to local demographics. Data centres and gigafactories demand vast land and energy, but the number of staff required varies considerably from that of a 19th-century chocolate factory. Furthermore, economic resilience means avoiding over-dependence on a single sector - places must be adaptable to future change.
When done well, tech-led new towns can be economic and social successes. But this requires considerable research and considered masterplanning.
Homes and innovation districts: a symbiotic relationship
Science and technology clusters have previously suffered from a spatial mismatch between jobs and housing. Workers have faced long commutes or housing unaffordability, weakening the broader benefits of innovation hubs.
Co-locating housing with science parks and R&D campuses reduces car dependence, encourages active travel and fosters social interaction. Clusters such as Harwell in Oxfordshire and Cambridge Biomedical Campus show the advantages of integrated homes, schools and community facilities.
Proximity aids talent retention, vital in competitive tech sectors. It also supports diverse local workforces by expanding apprenticeship and education catchments. Informal interactions between workers and residents create knowledge spillovers that boost innovation ecosystems.
Planning innovation districts alongside housing is complex but increasingly persuasive. They can become economically dynamic and socially resilient places, sending a signal that the UK values inclusive, long-term growth.
Can this approach give the UK a competitive edge?
Absolutely. International investors and high-growth firms seek not only research excellence but quality of life and talent pipelines. Our world-class academic institutions must be matched by liveable innovation ecosystems, just as Silicon Valley has.
Embedding homes, schools and transport within innovation districts reduces friction, supports collaboration and attracts people and capital. If our government is bold enough to masterplan this vision, it can secure a distinct competitive advantage in the global tech economy.
From Bournville to the data centre village
The legacy of Bournville’s model village endures in today’s quest to masterplan communities around new industries. Data centres, gigafactories and life sciences hubs are the engines of tomorrow’s economy. Integrating homes and amenities with these anchors can create resilient, healthy and sustainable places.
Masterplanning must go beyond siloed industrial or residential zones. It should weave together work, home and leisure in compact, connected neighbourhoods that echo the values of the 19th-century pioneers. A modern-day Bournville powered by digital infrastructure and shaped by 15-minute principles offers a compelling blueprint for the future.
Making tech towns places to live, not just work
Locating new towns around the high-tech industry is bold but necessary. Such settlements can underpin national productivity and energy goals while addressing housing shortages. Yet success depends on masterplanning for inclusion, infrastructure and adaptability.
We must avoid enclaves of affluence or places that hollow out after work hours. Instead, tech towns should foster vibrant, mixed-use communities where people can live well, work locally and connect easily. This approach will ensure that the next wave of new towns is places where both companies and communities thrive.
Shaping new towns for sustainable growth
The evolution from industrial villages to polycentric new towns and potentially to digitally powered communities highlights the need for masterplanning that embraces complexity. Jobs and homes must be planned in parallel.
By co-locating housing with innovation hubs, supported by green infrastructure and sustainable transport, we can develop new settlements fit for the challenges of the 21st century. These places will not just meet housing demand but drive economic resilience, social cohesion and environmental stewardship - a truly modern-day Bournville for the digital age.
