The new Bristol town that could give Burnham a blueprint for devolution

{"text":[[{"start":8.24,"text":"In the summer of 2015, Malaysian conglomerate YTL Corporation was looking for a site in Bristol, south-west England, on which to build a hotel."}],[{"start":17.46,"text":"Ten years from now, the land it ended up buying a few miles north of the city centre might boast not just one hotel but three — as well as thousands of homes, schools, office buildings, an arena and a 15-acre park with a three-acre lake."}],[{"start":31.92,"text":"These are the plans for Brabazon, an urban regeneration project under way to revamp the 450-acre former Filton Airfield into a mixed-use development. Its origins preceded former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s push for centrally planned towns, but inclusion on the list of proposed “new towns” opened up further possibilities for expansion."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":52.16,"text":"Promised in Labour’s general election manifesto in 2024, the new towns programme was an attempt to spur housing delivery at scale, with seven sites selected across England for tens of thousands of homes."}],[{"start":64.38,"text":"Andy Burnham, however, is moving away from schemes run out of Whitehall and seeking to hand oversight of new towns to local mayors. The project in its current form is taking on new political significance as a large-scale example of the devolution agenda."}],[{"start":79.02,"text":"The Budget on Wednesday namechecked the West of England Combined Authority and mayor Helen Godwin’s plans for transport projects in the region, which has one of the fastest-growing economies in the country."}],[{"start":89.9,"text":"“New homes and a new train station are already being delivered in the West Innovation Arc, centred on Brabazon to the north of Bristol in its mayoral development zone,” the government said."}],[{"start":100.3,"text":"Armed with support from the combined authority, Colin Skellett, group chief executive of YTL UK Group, is not fazed by the prospect of losing central backing."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":109.74,"text":"The West Innovation Arc, in which Brabazon sits, is already a priority growth zone for the combined authority, and he said he was confident of the local support he has received."}],[{"start":119.06,"text":"“The plans remain the same,” he said. “The combination of us as a long-term developer and long-term investor working with a really good combined authority and mayor can make these things happen.”"}],[{"start":128.82,"text":"Helping matters is the firepower extended by the project’s owners: they have ploughed £1.25bn into the development and plan to spend another £2bn. Some 90 per cent of the investment is equity, with just a sliver of borrowed funds."}],[{"start":146.94,"text":"At first glance there may not seem many similarities between Kuala Lumpur and Bristol. But YTL had launched a large regeneration effort in Sentul, a former industrial area of the Malaysian capital, and was not daunted by a similar undertaking in Bristol, which is one of the largest brownfield developments in the UK, Skellett said."}],[{"start":167.38,"text":"“There was an expectation we would then sell off pieces to different developers,” he said. “Right from the start, they’ve been really clear: we are going to develop this. We’re going to master plan it for the very long term, and it makes a real difference.”"}],[{"start":180.82,"text":"YTL, owner of the Threadneedles Hotel in London, last year said it would invest £4bn in the UK — a pledge made during Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to the UK capital to mark a new free trade agreement."}],[{"start":195.54,"text":"The group named the site Brabazon in homage to the parcel of British aviation history on its doorstep. “We spent a lot of time talking to the local community, and the site needed to reflect the aerospace history,” Skellett said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":209.26,"text":"Filton Airfield was the birthplace of the Brabazon airliner, one of the largest aircraft in the world at the time of its maiden flight in 1949, and later the UK Concorde. One of the supersonic jets, which took its final flight in 2003, now towers over visitors in a museum not far from the development."}],[{"start":229.1,"text":"The historic Brabazon hangars, meanwhile, will be repurposed into a 20,000-seat arena to be opened in early 2029. Insurer Aviva purchased the naming rights for an undisclosed sum."}],[{"start":241.22,"text":"When designing the layout, Skellett’s team was mindful of installing connective paths and greenery throughout. “We are trying to design for 10 years’, 20 years’ time, when people don’t have a car,” he said."}],[{"start":251.74,"text":"Some 1,700 people live on the site, around 600 of them students who moved into purpose-built accommodation in September. While current planning permission allows for 6,500 homes, Skellett’s team is reworking the master plan to incorporate 25,000."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":269.58,"text":"Expansion will hinge on more public transport links: a new rail station is set to open this month, but more connectivity is needed with Bristol and beyond."}],[{"start":279.06,"text":"YTL anticipates demand for homes from employees at nearby companies including Airbus, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. Baldip Singh, who oversees Brabazon’s development and relocated from Malaysia for YTL in 2022, said that while most new residents were expected to come from Bristol and London, Hongkongers comprised up to 20 per cent of homebuyers — a product of word of mouth from Hongkongers in Bristol drawing new arrivals from the territory."}],[{"start":307.78,"text":"Although projects across the UK have been hobbled by spiralling building and financing costs, Singh said Brabazon had not been similarly affected, citing YTL’s ownership of a construction company that supplied materials on budget and on time."}],[{"start":322.26,"text":"Both houses with double-height ceilings and apartments are on offer, with some for purchase and others build-to-rent. Prices range from £455,000 for a two-bed to £675,000 for a four-bed. Kitchen windows look out on to communal gardens, positioned so parents can keep an eye on children."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":342.06,"text":"Such is the demand from Asian buyers that YTL is looking at offering laminate floors in addition to the traditional carpet on offer, replicating interior design in Hong Kong and other places."}],[{"start":353.5,"text":"“There is very high humidity in the Far East and a carpet doesn’t gel well; residents are used to hard surfaces,” Singh said."}],[{"start":361.14,"text":"Skellett, who previously ran water company Wessex Water, which YTL bought in 2002, said Brabazon would “probably” enrol in the recently announced Your First Home scheme, through which equity loans will be issued by the government to first-time buyers. “Anything that stimulates demand is welcome,” he said, praising the Budget’s emphasis on devolution."}],[{"start":381.3,"text":"Ministers are seeking to spur housebuilding, despite moving away from a manifesto promise of 1.5mn homes for delivery this parliament."}],[{"start":389.54,"text":"“The obsession with numbers in some ways is unhelpful,” Skellett said. “I understand people need to have targets. The most important thing is we build good-quality homes for people who need them.”"}],[{"start":408.94,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793512447_9427.mp3"}