Cadbury as a cost-saving measure. In 1992, the company leased the space for £55 per ; by 2002 this had reached £68.75 per square foot. Bournville employs almost 1,000 people. In 2014, Mondelez announced a £75 million investment in the site. Bournville is home to Mondelez's Global Centre of Excellence for Chocolate research and development, so every new chocolate product created by the company anywhere in the world starts life at the Birmingham plant. The confectionery business in the UK is called Cadbury (formerly Cadbury Trebor Bassett) and, as of August 2004, had eight factories and 3,000 staff in the UK.
Birmingham Gay Village May 2009, Birmingham City Council approved plans for a environmental improvement scheme at the heart of the city's Gay Village area. The changes included extending the avenue of street trees to the full length of Hurst Street and parts of Kent Street; widening pavements to create space for café bars to provide outdoor seating and brighter street lighting with decorative lanterns. Annually over the Spring bank holiday weekend upwards of 70,000 people flock to the area for Birmingham Pride. Birmingham Pride was the largest free Pride event in the UK before 2013, when an entry fee was introduced for entry