Masterplan approval granted for new Brabazon neighbourhood

South Gloucestershire Council has passed a resolution to grant planning approval for the revised masterplan for Brabazon, the thriving new neighbourhood for South Gloucestershire and Bristol being built by YTL Developments on the historic former Filton Airfield.

As the birthplace of Concorde and supersonic travel, home to over 100 years of aviation history, the former Filton Airfield is known worldwide for a community that changed the world. Under the plans, Brabazon will become a new urban destination that lives up to that legacy.

Bath-based Grant Associates has been closely involved in the vision for Brabazon - one of the largest brownfield sites in the UK - since 2015, working with YTL Developments to create the overall landscape strategy and masterplan for the new neighbourhood.

This pioneering new place aims to provide every generation with the space, connectivity and opportunity to continue to shape the future of South Gloucestershire and North Bristol. It will provide new homes, new jobs and renew the fabric of the community, driving local prosperity for the next century. 

Grant Associates' continued collaboration with the YTL team has been a great opportunity to create a landscape and place led approach to Brabazon. We have worked from concept through master-planning to the design and delivery of the first residential phases, green infrastructure and public spaces.  This outline planning approval is a key step in achieving greater housing density through placemaking to create a vibrant, well connected new community with exciting new public realm including town squares, parks, lakes, play spaces, active travel and tree lined streets.

Once YTL Developments, South Gloucestershire Council and National Highways have signed the Section 106 Agreement, Brabazon is forecast to create over £5billion of added economic value for the local area.

The approved plans should see Brabazon grow to over 6,000 new homes of every type and tenure and for every generation, from rental apartments to flats for first-time-buyers, open-market houses and properties for retirement living. There will be up to 2,000 beds for student accommodation, while high-quality affordable homes will make up 26.5% of properties, equating to over 1,700 architect-designed houses and apartments.

Crucially, the plans are based on a flexible framework so that development is phased alongside improved transport links. Three reviews stages are built into the approval to ensure that the number of homes built at Brabazon can only increase in line with the additional transport connections and community facilities needed to support those homes.

The plans – developed by a consortium of world-renowned architects and planners including  JRDV Urban International (US), alongside Bath-based Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (UK), SWA Group (US), Grant Associates (UK) and YTL Construction Design Group (Mal)– also include up to 3 million sq ft of commercial space: enough to support 30,000 jobs.

The local area is already home to Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN. The top 25 employers alone have over 45,000 staff working within a few miles of Brabazon, many in high-skilled engineering, aerospace and technology roles. Yet recently this world-leading commercial cluster has lacked the space to grow.

With three new schools and plans for a higher education or research campus alongside creative office spaces, laboratories and advanced manufacturing facilities, Brabazon will meet this need. It will act as a centre of learning and a launchpad for every type of business, from leading global firms local start-ups shaping the latest technologies.

Brabazon will also be a hub for culture, creativity and entertainment. You’ll be able to wander around independent stores, discover new cafes and restaurants or relax in over 86 acres of public space, from leafy squares to Brabazon Park: the largest new public park in the south west for 50 years. And at its heart will be the supersonic new YTL Arena Bristol, with a capacity of over 17,000.

Finally, Brabazon will be connected to Bristol city centre and beyond: over £100m is already being invested in the local transport network.

A new rail station will connect the neighbourhood to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes. Three MetroBus stops will link Brabazon with Bristol Parkway mainline train terminus, with the shops and restaurants at the South West’s largest retail centre Cribbs Causeway, and with the University of the West of England. And we will be creating 3 Kms of new segregated walking routes and cycle paths.

The approval of the new Masterplan for Brabazon is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It will transform not just North Bristol and South Gloucestershire, but the entirety of the West of England. The region desperately needs more homes. Brabazon will deliver 6,500, with over 1,700 being affordable. Local businesses need space to grow and expand: Brabazon will provide over 3 million sq ft of commercial space. That means that the local cluster of world-leading engineering, aerospace and technology firms can provide new opportunities for young talent. But if we are to tackle the climate crisis, we need to build more sustainable homes in the right places. Brabazon is on brownfield land along existing public transport corridors. Maximising its potential will ease pressure on the greenbelt. This decision paves the way for YTL Developments to build the new homes, offices, schools and community facilities we all need, and to do so in a way that is environmentally and economically sustainable.

“This is a historic place-shaping decision by the council for a major sustainable community with the necessary infrastructure to create a truly outstanding place. The plans for Brabazon will create a major new community for South Gloucestershire and a new quarter for the wider Bristol area, built on brownfield land. We have been working positively with YTL Developments and National Highways to ensure the right infrastructure will be in place. As well as delivering 6,500 high quality homes, 1,724 of these will be affordable homes for social rent and shared ownership, and there will be office and industrial floor space, which in conjunction with the construction work has the potential to create over 30,000 jobs. The development will help reduce reliance on car travel with metrobus and local buses serving the area along with the train station which already has secured planning permission. A community hub and health care facility will also be provided, along with parks, lakes and open spaces, with over 3,500 trees planted on the site.