Bristol mixed-use scheme plans gather speed

Image: YTL Developments

YTL Developments launched a public consultation on December 9^th to help shape the future of Brabazon -the new neighborhood for Bristol (UK) being built on the former Filton Airfield.

The ‘YTL Developments’ stated that Brabazon is a thriving new neighborhood for Bristol. Brabazon is the first major UK mixed-use scheme for YTL Developments. Located in North Bristol, this new urban community has outline planning for 2,675 new homes, 62 acres of employment space, acres of parkland, new schools and education district, and a thriving town-center.

YTL Developments already has planning permission -granted in 2018 – to transform this historic local landmark into a new urban community.

Bristol (UK)-headquartered YTL Developments is a dedicated property development company that strives to build sustainable neighbourhoods.

The ‘YTL Developments’ further stated that under the existing consent, YTL Developments would build 2,675 new homes, 62 acres of commercial space to support 10,000 new jobs and new community facilities including three new schools, a library, doctor’s surgery and sports facilities, all surrounded by landscaped public squares and parkland.

In 2020, the company also received consent to reimagine the iconic Brabazon Hangars – where every UK Concorde was built – into a supersonic 17,000- capacity arena for Bristol.

Stated Seb Loyn, Planning and Development Director for YTL Developments, “In Bristol and South Gloucestershire we face a housing crisis, and the region needs to build over 100,000 homes in the next 10 years to meet demand. We also face a climate crisis, so it is not enough just to build homes: We must build them in the right places. That means on brownfield land along existing transport corridors, rather than on green fields in out-of-town locations.

Added Loyn, “And we have the opportunity to build back better following COVID-19, creating the space, the connectivity and the opportunity for local businesses across the region to drive prosperity for the next generation. Brabazon is perfectly placed to help Bristol and the wider regions tackle the challenges we all face.”
 
YTL Developments intends to submit an updated Masterplan application for Brabazon in February 2022. The key elements of the revised proposals are as follows:
 

Verdant surroundings

The proposals include plans for the largest new urban public park in the South West for 50 years. At 15 acres – equivalent in size to Castle Park – Brabazon Park will redefine quality public open space. Based around a three-acre lake, it will feature walking routes, water gardens, exercise areas, and children’s playgrounds, criss-crossed by wildlife corridors planted with native species.
 

Generating jobs

Brabazon is at the heart of a world-leading cluster of aerospace, engineering and technology companies. North Bristol’s top 25 employers alone have over 45,000 staff within a few miles of Brabazon, mostly working in high-skilled roles. For over 100 years, these cutting-edge companies – Rolls-Royce, Airbus, GKN, and others – have created jobs, opportunities and prosperity for the whole region.

But now there is almost no space for them to grow.

Brabazon already has consent for enough commercial space to support 10,000 jobs. The revised proposals include space to support up to 30,000 jobs.
 

More homes

For a generation, a lack of supply of new homes has forced up the cost of housing in Bristol. The West of England region needs to build over 100,000 new homes in the next 10 years to meet demand. Yet, at the current approved density, Brabazon – the largest brownfield site in the South West – would feel like a suburban rather than an urban location.

Brabazon is a constituent part of the Cribbs-Patchway New Neighbourhood (CPNN), which will deliver 5,700 new homes across North Bristol. Under CPNN, the land occupied by Patchway Trading Estate was earmarked for 1,000 new homes. However, that project is no longer expected to go ahead. The revised masterplan for Brabazon seeks to transfer those 1,000 homes to Brabazon, increasing its allocation to 3,675 homes, without increasing the total number of homes being built in North Bristol.

The revised plans will also include a flexible framework to allow the number of homes built at Brabazon to increase in stages beyond 3,675 up to a maximum of 6,500 should the frequency and capacity of public transport services and active travel routes (e.g., cycle paths) increase sufficiently to accommodate additional homes.
 

Sustainability strategies

Building more homes on brownfield sites like Brabazon eases pressure on the Green Belt. If the potential of brownfield land is not maximized, the region’s demand for new homes will mean more development on green fields in unsustainable out-of-town locations.

To be more sustainable, Brabazon is designed to be a 15-minute neighborhood where every daily essential – where you do your food shopping, where your kids go to school, where you’d go for an evening out – is a short walk or cycle ride away. Under the existing planning consent, over £100m is being invested in new infrastructure, designed to encourage public transport usage and minimize the need for private cars.

To date, 95 percent of new houses at Brabazon have been A-rated on their energy performance certificates (EPCs), thanks to features like solar panels, electric car-charging points and the latest Siemens appliances, as well as insulation that is 10 percent more efficient than regulations require. Nationally, only 2 percent of new homes currently reach the ‘A’ rating standard.

Continued Loyn, “Brabazon is the largest brownfield site in the South West at a time when our region’s Green Belt is under unprecedented pressure. It is located less than five miles from the City Centre, close to major employers like Airbus and Rolls-Royce at the heart of North Bristol’s high-skilled commercial cluster. It sits on major public transport corridors, including the M1 MetroBus route and Concorde Way cycle path. The new train service, connecting to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes, is due to be operating in 2023.”

Loyn further maintained, “Nowhere in the West of England is better placed than Brabazon to build the new homes, offices, schools, and community facilities we need, and to do so in a way that is environmentally and economically sustainable. Our revised masterplan will ensure Brabazon can do more to help the region tackle the housing shortage and climate change. By putting the right framework in place now, we can evolve the plans for Brabazon as future demand dictates. The revised planning application will also ensure we can only build at the same pace as new infrastructure and transport connections come forward.”
 
YTL Developments is inviting residents, local businesses and community groups to share their views, helping to shape the future of Brabazon and ensure the plans live up to the legacy of the Airfield’s pioneering past. To take part in the consultation, please share your views either:

• Online via the website – www.ytldevelopments.co.uk/brabazon-planning;
  • In-person at one of three consultation events taking place at YTL Developments’ Site Operations Centre, Gloucester Road North, Bristol, BS34 7QD:
  • January 8^th, 2022 – 11am to 4pm;
  • January 11^th, 2022 – 10 am to 12 noon; and
  • January 13^th, 2022 – 6 pm to 8 pm.

 
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