To pass to the all-important financial side of the matter, the balance sheet for 1909 gives the following results:

BOURNVILLE VILLAGE TRUST INCOME
AND EXPENDITURE, YEAR ENDED
DECEMBER 31ST, 1909

Income.Expenditure.
Total rents£9,249Salaries£1,313
Other incomes1,042Office expenses164
Rates, taxes, etc.754
Maintenance, repairs and renewals1,531
Legal expenses73
Miscellaneous143
Maintenance of roads and open spaces244
Depreciation on fencing, etc.229
£10,291£4,451

Balance excess of Income over Expenditure, £5,840.

The whole of this surplus profit is devoted to building new houses and to buying and developing more land, so that Bournville automatically increases in size year by year. At the present time it is growing at the rate of about 50 houses, or say, 250 persons, per annum, and the rate of increase will, of course, be progressive.

In considering the above figures it must be remembered that the Bournville Trust in 1900 had the whole estate handed over to it by Mr Cadbury as an absolute gift. No capital charges had therefore to be met. I am informed by Mr L. P. Appleton, the building manager, however, that, with regard to the houses erected by the Trust itself, they all show a net return of 4 per cent. on the capital, after providing for ground rent, rates and taxes, repairs, management and all out-goings.[49]

The respective parts played by land and capital in such a scheme should be carefully noted. If a municipality acquired land at £100 per acre, and laid out roads and sewers at a cost of £400 per acre, and erected upon each acre ten houses costing £280 each, the total outlay per acre would be £3,300, and per house £330. How little a considerable variation in the cost of land affects the result will be realized from the following table:

Cost of Land per Acre.Cost of Land per House. 10 to the Acre.Cost of Roads, Sewers etc., per House (£400 per Acre).Cost of building House.Total cost of each House and its Land.
£££££
50540280325
1001040280330
2002040280340
3003040280350