Brabazon masterplan Filton Airfield, The Interchange YTL Developments Bristol, Gloucestershire regeneration news
9 December 2025
Construction Begins on Bristol’s Only New Build Grade A Office: The Interchange at Brabazone
Works have started on The Interchange, the first major commercial landmark at Brabazon and Bristol’s only new Grade A office building currently under construction. With Grade A vacancy at just 3.5% – the lowest level Bristol has seen in years – YTL Developments is delivering much-needed, sustainable workspace at scale. It will deliver 86,300 sq ft of high-specification offices, ready for occupation by the end of 2027.
L-R: Mike Stone & Ben Stiff YTL Construction UK, Natalie Atkinson YTL Developments, Aaron Turner YTL Construction UK, Tom Eddolls YTL Developments. The Interchange build site behind the hoarding & the YTL Arena in the background:
The Interchange will be ideally located directly beside the platform of the new train station at Brabazon, which is due to open in Autumn 2026 and will feature a staffed ticket office on the ground floor – the first in the region for 53 years since Bristol Parkway opened – and only the fourth in the West of England. Combined with fast Metrobus services, Brabazon sits at the heart of a transport network linking businesses regionally and nationally via the M4 and M5. Bristol Airport is also just a short drive away, making national and international travel easy.
The Interchange is being delivered by YTL Construction UK as part of a wider vision for Brabazon, a thriving new town that supports talent and growth. Businesses will benefit from a vibrant environment with homes, leisure, and green spaces, plus amenities on the doorstep including Mokoko cafe (January 2026), padel courts and an urban food and drink destination (Summer 2026). Major brands such as Waitrose are already committed, reinforcing Brabazon’s appeal as a business location.
The Interchange at Brabazon, Bristol, England
The Interchange will offer:
• Eight-storey, 86,300 sq ft, flexible floorplates from 2,600 sq ft
• EPC A, BREEAM Outstanding, NABERS 5*, WiredScore Platinum, SmartScore Gold, WELL Enabled space to meet the latest environmental and sustainability standards
• Private roof terrace, cafe, double-height reception, concierge, 24/7 access
• 152 cycle spaces and end of trip facilities, on-site parking with EV charging, excellent rail and road links
Brabazon also sits at the heart of the West of England Combined Authority’s ‘West Innovation Arc’ and North Bristol’s thriving business cluster, home to global names in aerospace, advanced engineering, technology and professional services. It offers access to a highly skilled workforce, supported by leading universities and research institutions.
With the YTL Arena expected to open in 2028, Brabazon will offer world-class entertainment and versatile spaces for exhibitions and conferences, creating new opportunities for client events and staff engagement.
Seb Loyn, Director of Planning & Development at YTL Developments, said: “Central Bristol is struggling to meet demand for premium commercial space, with Grade A vacancy at historic lows and rents at record highs. The Interchange offers a sustainable, connected alternative at Brabazon.”
John Thompson, Chief Executive, YTL Construction UK, said: “Breaking ground on The Interchange marks the start of a landmark project for Bristol. Our focus is on delivering exceptional quality and sustainability, creating spaces that enable businesses to grow and succeed.”
The Interchange sets a new standard for Bristol – combining first-class design, exceptional connectivity, and a vibrant new town environment.
For more information or to download a brochure visit: brabazon.co.uk/work/the-interchange-office.
Brabazon
Filton Airfield is steeped in history. Home to the Hurricane aircraft in WW2. Birthplace of Concorde and supersonic travel. Now it is being transformed into Brabazon, a thriving new town for Bristol and a place that changes everything.
The 400 acres of the Airfield will become the most exciting and sustainable new city district in the South West. You’ll be able to wander around independent stores, discover new restaurants or relax in leafy parks and open public squares.
Inspired by a revolutionary airplane that became an icon of engineering, YTL Developments will deliver up to 6,500 homes of every type and tenure. A range of creative workplaces will be a new home for Bristol’s next generation of pioneers, supporting up to 30,000 jobs at the heart of North Bristol’s world-leading commercial cluster. There will be new schools, community facilities, parks and public squares, while at its heart the supersonic new 20,000-capacity YTL Arena will put the city on the world stage for live music and entertainment.
Over £100 million is being invested to improve local infrastructure: A new railway station connecting Brabazon to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes will be opened potentially as soon as Autumn 2026. A dedicated metrobus will run straight through Brabazon, while the new town will be criss-crossed by walking routes and cycle paths. For more information, please visit www.brabazon.co.uk
National and international awards for Brabazon include ‘Best Use of Brownfield Land’ at The Planning Awards 2025, ‘Residential Development of the Year’ at the Bristol Property Awards 2025, ‘Large Housing Development of the Year’ at the Brick Awards 2024 and ‘Regeneration Scheme of the Year’ at the British Home Awards 2023.
YTL Developments
YTL Developments is a team of adventurous placemakers, creating exceptional developments where many generations can thrive. Our Pioneering Spirit unites us to enrich people’s lives by creating tomorrow’s communities. Read more information on our projects at www.ytldevelopments.co.uk
YTL Developments is part of YTL UK Group, which in turn is part of the global YTL Group. For 70 years, YTL’s work has stood the test of time — by transforming the right opportunities into lasting value. Guided by the Group’s core values of Honesty, Hard Work, Moral Responsibility, Togetherness, and Vitality, YTL continues to grow and expand across diverse industries and nations while enriching the communities we serve. As YTL celebrates 70 years, we remain committed to Building The Right Thing; and continue on the journey as we take YTL Beyond 70.
YTL UK Group is made up of a group of distinctive companies, each with ambitious plans for the future. Our portfolio of award-winning companies based predominantly in the South West, work across various sectors, including water, engineering, property and entertainment, and business services, and share a common aim of delivering excellence. YTL UK Group includes YTL Developments, YTL Construction, Wessex Water, GENeco, water2business, Wessex Searches, and Turnbull.
In addition, YTL Hotels owns some of the country’s most innovative luxury hotels such as The Gainsborough Bath Spa, Edinburgh’s The Glasshouse and Berkshire’s Monkey Island Estate.
The Interchange at Brabazon, Bristol, Gloucestershire information / images received 091225
+++
Previously on e-architect:
8 April 2022
More connected, More sustainable, More opportunities:
Updated masterplan for Brabazon to create the most exciting new city district in the Southwest
Location: former Filton Airfield – North Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Southwest England, UK
Design: architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Brabazon – City Green:
Updated Brabazon masterplan in South Gloucestershire
YTL Developments has submitted a planning application to update the masterplan for Brabazon: the new neighbourhood for Bristol being built on the historic former Filton Airfield.
YTL Developments originally announced plans to revise the masterplan for Brabazon in 2021. Since then, the team has spent months meeting with local people and businesses, charities, community groups and public bodies across Bristol and South Gloucestershire to create a shared vision for the most exciting new city district in the south west, with the supersonic YTL Arena Bristol at its heart.
Lake in Brabazon Park:
The revised masterplan, developed in collaboration with world-renowned, locally-based architects Feilden Clegg Bradley (FCB) Studios, was submitted for approval to South Gloucestershire Council on 6th April 2022.
YTL Developments already has planning permission – granted in 2018 – to develop Brabazon into a new community. In addition, 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.
Atkinson Grove – The Hangar District at Brabazon:
However, since then the housing crisis and climate emergency have only got more acute, while there is also a greater imperative to ‘level-up’ every region of the UK following the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the largest area of brownfield land in the south west, located along existing public transport routes and at the heart of a world-leading employment cluster less than 5 miles from Bristol city centre, Brabazon is perfectly placed to help Bristol and the wider region tackle the challenges we all face.
Yet under the current consented masterplan, Brabazon would remain a suburban location. The updated masterplan is designed to ensure instead that it becomes a new urban destination that lives up to the legacy of the former Airfield’s pioneering past, driving local prosperity for the next generation.
Aerial view of the new station at Brabazon (August 2021):
Seb Loyn, Planning & Development Director for YTL Developments says:
“Bristol and South Gloucestershire face a housing crisis and need to build more than 100,000 new homes within the next two decades.
“But it is not enough to just build homes: if we are to tackle the climate crisis, we need to make sure we build more sustainable homes in the right places. This means on brownfield land along existing transport corridors like at Brabazon, where public transport connections and active travel routes provide a genuine alternative to car-dependent lifestyles.
Brabazon Station:
“Brabazon sits on major public transport corridors, including the M1 MetroBus route and Concorde Way cycle path. A train service from the new rail station being built at Brabazon will connect to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes when operational in 2023.
“Nowhere in the West of England is better placed 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.
“Crucially, additional homes and offices will only be built as and when improved public transport connections come forward. The proposals submitted today have a series of checks and balance in place to ensure that increased density can only be delivered at the same time as the additional public transport needed to support it.”
The revised masterplan is designed to meet the needs of local people while also delivering on the objectives of both the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and South Gloucestershire Council’s Local Plan.
Brabazon – The Badminton House Type:
The overarching objective of the NPPF is to ensure development is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
Economically, the revised masterplan for Brabazon is forecast to create over £5billion of added economic value, with sufficient commercial space to support over 30,000 jobs. Socially, it represents a huge investment in the community that changed the world when it built Concorde, with three new schools, a health centre, community facilities and over 35 hectares of new public green spaces, including the largest new urban park in the south west for 50 years.
And environmentally, the new masterplan makes best use of the largest area of brownfield land in the south west and will catalyse major upgrades to public transport, when the alternative is unsustainable single-use development in out-of-town locations and on green belt land.
Brabazon aerial view:
The vision for Brabazon also aligns with South Gloucestershire Council’s Local Plan. With two new primary schools, one secondary school and provision for a major higher education or research institute, the revisions to the masterplan will help to give the best start in life for young people. As a multi-generational community, it will support those most in need to help themselves, with student accommodation for young people, through to retirement properties for older people.
At the same time, the flexible housing framework will encourage inclusive communities and sustainable growth, with the potential to deliver over 1,000 new affordable homes within a ’15-minute neighbourhood’, where every daily need or essential service is less than a 15 minute walk or bike ride away.
Brabazon landscaping:
Finally, it will create value for the community, with a range of new facilities including a GP surgery, a library and a community centre.
While the revised masterplan for Brabazon is being assessed by the planning authorities, YTL Developments is continuing to deliver the first phase of new homes at Brabazon, with record demand for its range of new houses and apartments that are designed to be different. Construction of YTL Arena Bristol is also expected to begin this year, while detailed planning applications have already been submitted for key infrastructure that already has outline consent, including the primary network of roads and cycle paths, the new rail station and Brabazon Park.
CPNN Map:
WHAT ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF THE UPDATED MASTERPLAN FOR BRABAZON?
The key elements of the revised masterplan for Brabazon are as follows:
More green space
The proposals include plans for the largest new urban public park in the Southwest 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.
The new station at Brabazon from the footbridge (August 2021):
More jobs and opportunities
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.
Brabazon – Master Bedroom (Show Home):
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 Southwest – 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.
Brabazon – New homes at The Hangar District:
More sustainable living
Building more homes on brownfield sites such as Brabazon eases pressure on the Green Belt. If we don’t maximise the potential of brownfield land, 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 neighbourhood where every daily essential – where you do your food shopping, where your children 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 minimise the need for private cars.
Infographic – Public Transport enabling increased density at Brabazon:
To date, 95% 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% more efficient than regulations require. Nationally, only 2% of new homes currently reach the ‘A’ rating standard.
For more information, visit: https://www.ytldevelopments.co.uk/brabazon-planning
31 July 2025
Brabazon public square, former Filton Airfield, South Gloucestershire, Southwest England, UK
Landscape Design: Grant Associates
image courtesy of YTL Developments
7 May 2021
The Navigator Building at Brabazon in South Gloucestershire
First new apartments go on sale at Brabazon
Location: Barnwell Crescent – former Filton Airfield – North Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Southwest England, UK
Design: architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Brabazon will be a thriving new neighbourhood for Bristol. With the first new houses approaching completion, YTL Developments is now launching The Navigator Building: the first offering of one and two-bedroom apartments at Brabazon.
images courtesy of YTL Developments
The Navigator Building at Brabazon
Brabazon masterplan, Filton Airfield, Bristol, Gloucestershire information / images from developer
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Previously on e-architect:
1 Nov 2017
Filton Airfield Masterplan in South Gloucestershire
Filton Airfield Regeneration
Design: Allies and Morrison ; Landscape design: Grant Associates
image courtesy of architects
Filton Airfield Masterplan
Location: Bristol Filton Airport, Gloucestershire, England, UK.
++
Bristol Architecture
Gloucestershire and Bristol Buildings – selection from e-architect:
Bristol Architecture News
YTL Arena Bristol Entertainment Complex
Design: Grimshaw ; Manica Architecture ; Grant Associates
image courtesy of architects
Radical Retrofit Office Building Bristol
Design: Sheppard Robson
image : NJY studio
Welcome Building Bristol workspace design
Design: Hassell
image courtesy of architects practice
Temple Quarter Development Bristol
Design: Sheppard Robson
image © Levytskyi + Aloshyna visualisers
Bristol Beacon Concert Hall and Music Hub
Architecture: Levitt Bernstein
photo © Tim Crocker
Forest Green Rovers Eco-park Gloucestershire
Design: Zaha Hadid Architects
++
County Architecture near to Gloucestershire
Buckinghamshire Buildings
Northamptonshire Buildings
Wiltshire Buildings
English Building Designs
New English Buildings : current, chronological list
English Architecture News
English Architect
Comments / photos for the Brabazon masterplan, Filton Airfield, Bristol, South Gloucestershire page welcome
