Brabazon is the neighbourhood being built on the former Filton Airfield. The new train station there will serve the new urban communit and the 19,500 capacity YTL Arena Bristol. Once complete, it should connect Brabazon to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes.
Representatives of project partners YTL Developments, the developer behind Brabazon, as well as Network Rail and Great Western Railway were joined by Metro Mayor Dan Norris, local MP Claire Hazelgrove, and leader and co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Cllrs Maggie Tyrell and Ian Boulton, to mark the start of work on site.
Dan Norris said: “Work is now under way on yet another new train station for the West of England. I’m proud to have opened two new stations in as many years, including the first new one in Bristol in almost a century, but there’s plenty more coming down the track for our region.
“My Mayoral Combined Authority is going full steam ahead to open this station too – serving the new town at Brabazon and helping people get to the new arena. The West of England is continuing to secure major investment to create new jobs and economic growth now and over the coming years.”
The start of work on the new station is a critical milestone in the delivery of the new urban community at Brabazon. The start of work on the station comes after the YTL Group confirmed in January that it would be investing £4 billion across its UK businesses over the next five years.
Colin Skellett, YTL’s UK group chief executive said: “Brabazon is where the pioneers of aerospace created the future. Today the next generation of pioneers are shaping the way we will live, work and play in the 21st century.
“The West of England faces a housing crisis, so Brabazon, the region’s largest Brownfield site, is part of the solution.
“Less than five miles from the centre of Bristol, at the heart of a world leading cluster of aerospace, engineering and technology companies and with a rail line, metrobus route and cycle paths. The new train station is essential to our shared vision to create the UK’s most sustainable new town.”