Green light for massive expansion of Filton airfield redevelopment at Bristol

Malaysian developer YTL Developments has been given the given light to massively increase the size of its mixed-use development on Bristol’s historic Filton airfield.

Plans by architects including Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios would see the number of homes on the Brabazon scheme more than doubled from 2,675 in a previous consent to 6,500 in buildings up to 30 storeys in height.

A 55,000 sq m further education building has also been added to the plans, along with an increase in the number of extra care homes from 70 to 600, while the amount of office space has been boosted from 500 sq m to some 270,000 sq m.

Filton airfield was the birthplace of Concorde and supersonic travel, with the scheme named Brabazon after the famous Bristol Brabazon airliner.

The huge expansion of the proposals comes in a fresh outline application approved yesterday by South Gloucestershire council which has superseded a former outline consent granted in 2018.

While the numbers of homes and the amount of office space in the new application has increased significantly, the site boundaries remain unchanged. 

According to planning documents, the increased density has been achieved primarily through increasing maximum building heights and density of development zones while incorporating more of a mixed use approach between various land uses.

The tallest buildings will be in the east of the site at around 18 storeys, with two blocks expected to reach 30 storeys, while buildings in the western half of the site will generally be lower at a maximum of between four and seven storeys.

Other architects and urban planners working on the scheme include US-based SWA Group, Grant Associates and YTL’s in-house practice YTL Construction Design Group, which is based in Malaysia.

A new rail station will also be included in the plans, connecting the new district with Bristol Temple Meads, along with three bus stops and 3km of new walking routes and cycle paths.

YTL Developments planning and development director Seb Loyn said Brabazon was a once-in-a-generation opportunity that would transform not just Bristol but the “entirety of the West of England”.

Chris Willmore, councillor responsible for planning at South Gloucestershire council, hailed yesterday’s approval as a “historic place-shaping decision by the council for a major sustainable community with the necessary infrastructure to create a truly outstanding place”.

Planning permission has already been granted for the construction of a 17,000-capacity arena, the YTL Arena Bristol, on the site of a former hangar on the airfield.

Schemes already under construction on the site include 300 homes as part of the Hangar District, office space in shipping containers known as Boxworks, and a new road network.