Carol lives the sweet life in new home on former toffee factory site

Publication Date: 08-07-2025 09:00

Carol lives the sweet life in new home on former toffee factory site

Three-storey living might not seem the obvious choice for someone looking to downsize in retirement – but for Carol Edge, it was the perfect solution.

The retired housing officer was looking for a more manageable property with a smaller garden than her three-bedroom detached house in Quinton, on the edge of Birmingham.

And she found the ideal place in the shape of a three-storey, three-bedroom townhouse at Bellway’s Harvino development in nearby Hunnington.

Not only is the open-plan layout on the ground floor easy to clean and manage, but the second-floor bedroom with en suite shower room acts as the perfect guest room for when her grandchildren come round to stay.

“Although this house is also three bedrooms it feels compact and it’s easy to manage,” said Carol.

“My favourite thing is the downstairs layout. The through lounge, kitchen-diner is easy to keep clean and tidy.”

Having decided that she wanted to downsize, Carol had taken a keen interest in the Harvino development ever since Bellway started building on the former Blue Bird Toffee factory site.

“I’d been watching this site from the word go,” she said.

The area around Harvino was familiar to her as she used to go to watch her son play cricket at the cricket ground opposite the toffee factory more than 20 years ago. “I love the location,” she added.

Carol was initially looking to buy a two-bedroom property but discovered that of the four two-bedroom homes set to be built at the development, one was already taken and the other three were not scheduled to be completed until later this year.

Keen to get moving as soon as she could, she had a look around the three-bedroom Azure townhouse and knew it was the right place for her as soon as she stepped inside.

“When I came in, I thought ‘this will be perfect’. It’s a homely little house and I could visualise my furniture in it,” she said.

Carol bought her new home for £349,000, using the £300,000 she received for selling her old place, an £18,000 contribution from Bellway, and £31,000 from her own savings to purchase without a mortgage.

Having set aside the main bedroom on the top floor for her grandchildren, Carol has taken the double bedroom on the first floor – which also features a single bedroom and the main bathroom – for herself.

As planned, the garden is easier to look after because the size suits her better. 

And Carol also appreciates the energy efficiency of the property, saying that the place is all warmed up within 10 minutes of putting the heating on.

Having not moved far she is familiar with the area and likes what it has to offer. She said: “With this location it’s basically countryside, but there’s everything close by. Halesowen is down the road for shopping or Bromsgrove is not far. There is a farm shop nearby and a little Co-op if you need some milk just up the road, and a nice butcher’s.”

A selection of three and four-bedroom houses are currently available at Harvino, with prices starting from £410,000.

To find out more, visit https://www.bellway.co.uk/new-homes/west-midlands/harvino or call the sales team on 0121 756 7310.