A previously derelict site in Birmingham has been transformed into a multi-million pound care and health village creating a health and wellbeing centre, hundreds of homes and new jobs.

The site on Bristol Road South in Bournville was previously occupied by Bournville College but became vacant when it moved to Longbridge.

Following a seven year regeneration project, master-planned by Bournville Village Trust, the land is now home to College Green – a 60m state-of-the-art care and health village.

It includes a 212-apartment retirement village with a range of social and leisure facilities for older people, a care home with 80 ensuite rooms specialising in dementia care and 19 independent living homes.

College Green also includes a health and wellbeing centre incorporating the College Green Medical Practice which will serve patients across the local area.

The dementia-friendly Practice will provide general medical services as well as Covid vaccinations, cryotherapy, minor surgery and a full range of contraception services.

There will also be a team of clinical pharmacists, a social prescriber, drug and alcohol services support worker and care co-ordinators and a paramedic will also be permanently joining the Practice s team.

The village which is home to over 300 people, has created around 100 jobs and has been made possible by a number of organisations working in partnership to deliver it. These organisations include the ExtraCare Charitable Trust, Avery Healthcare, GPs and the NHS Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group.

With costs to the NHS of poor housing amongst older people thought to equate to 624m each year*, it is hoped College Green will help to address inappropriate housing, isolation, loneliness and poor health by providing state of the art homes and facilities for older people.

Duncan Cadbury, Trustee and former Chair of Bournville Village Trust, said: We are so pleased to see the completion of College Green, creating a new community where older people can thrive and good-quality housing and healthcare is the focus.

This wonderful community is now providing a range of housing and care options designed specifically for older people and a fantastic new health and wellbeing centre that will benefit not just those living at College Green but the much wider community.

College Green would not have been possible without the partnership of so many great organisations each committed to the improvement of people s health and wellbeing.

Mick Laverty, Chief Executive of The ExtraCare Charitable Trust, said: Our charity s mission is creating sustainable communities that provide homes older people want, lifestyles they can enjoy and care if it’s needed. It has been fantastic to be a part of the College Green development, which supports our charitable aims.

This community offers our residents the opportunity to enjoy the facilities on their doorstep, whether it s socialising in the bistro, volunteering in the village shop, taking part in a fitness session or singing in a choir but also take advantage of local amenities such as the health centre.

Like in our other retirement communities, facilities at Bournville Gardens Village will also be open to the wider community, enabling the village to become a social hub for families, friends and volunteers representing all age groups.

Dr Philip Western, Senior GP Partner at College Green Medical Centre, said: We are delighted to finally move into our new building. The move means a better working environment for our staff and most importantly a better experience for our patients.

The importance of Primary Care has never been greater and we will now be able to provide more services to the people in the community.

In the autumn, College Green Medical Centre will host a community event to celebrate its opening. The event will be open to all members of the community and more details will be available at www.cgmp.digipractice.org shortly.

Bournville Village Trust is a community-based housing association and registered charity. Its mission is to create and sustain communities where people can thrive.

The charity provides services to 8,000 homes and 25,000 people in Birmingham and Shropshire. For more information about Bournville Village Trust, go to www.bvt.org.uk