Care home opens at former Cadbury Keynsham site

The Princess Royal officially opened the Chocolate Quarter on Friday

A retirement village has been officially opened on the site of the former Cadbury factory in Keynsham.

The Somerdale site had been home to a chocolate factory since 1935 but in 2011 food giant Kraft, which bought Cadbury in 2010, shut down production.

The site now has a 92-bed care home run by St Monica's Trust as well as a spa, restaurants and cinema.

Chief executive David Williams said: "It's surpassed our expectations. It's become a real part of the community."

'Marvellous'

The new development also showcases memorabilia from the old factory, so people can learn about its history.

"It's such a landmark in this area. It's important to this community that this factory has a life beyond the use it previously had," Sara Naylor-Wild from the trust said.

Mervyn Hawkins was a chocolate maker for 40 years. His wife Pat is now one of the care home's residents.

"It's marvellous. Everybody knows about this place now and a lot of the people who are in there now, I know," he said.

"I saw one lady in there and I haven't seen her since 1950, I used to jitterbug with her on College Green," he added.

Fry's originally set up the factory in 1935 but in the 1970s it was bought by Cadbury's.

When Kraft bought the chocolate company in 2010, it promised workers the factory would remain open.

However, the following year the US firm announced it would close down the site and move its production over to Poland.

Some 400 jobs were lost locally prompting criticism from residents and MPs.

The new £60m care home development was officially opened by the Princess Royal on Friday.

An art installation representing the sun was unveiled during the event