The event also featured community leaders, including the CEOs of Southern Brooks Community Partnership and the Southmead Development Trust, while the local business community was represented by staff from Airbus, Network Rail and GWR. Network Rail are building a new train station within walking distance of the new homes at Brabazon that will connect to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes.
Speaking to guests outside the historic listed aircraft hangar 16U, Cllr Savage said: “Filton Airfield is steeped in history. Today this part of South Gloucestershire is a world-leading hub for engineering and innovation. The new neighbourhood at Brabazon will provide the homes, offices and infrastructure to allow that amazing commercial cluster to continue to grow."
He added: "This is a major investment into our local community. The project will create new homes and new opportunities and our shared vision is that it will be a place that all local workers, residents and visitors will feel proud of.”
There will be 278 homes within the first phase of this new urban community, which has been designed by globally renowned local architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. The firm is perhaps best known for its work on Bath Abbey and the headquarters of the National Trust, and is one of only a handful of firms to have won the industry’s most coveted award, the Stirling Prize.
The range of one and two-bedroom apartments, and two, three and four-bedroom homes feature generous rooms and windows with soaring double-height spaces in selected properties. Set on the edge of a new public park, and arranged among tree-lined avenues and an open square, the first phase at Brabazon aims to set a new standard for quality development in the South West.
This first phase is just the start of the transformation of the former Airfield: over the next 20 years, Brabazon is set to become one of the South West’s most exciting new neighbourhoods. Connected to Bristol and beyond by new public transport links, home to innovative businesses, vibrant independent shops and creative cafes and restaurants, it will offer all the energy and edge of city living. Yet, the new library, schools, health centre and sports facilities, all set amongst landscaped public squares and parkland, will ensure that it remains a comfortable and characterful community.