Filton Airfield, Bristol

[whole diary]

[Lee]

The biggest single housing development in South Gloucestershire since Bradley Stoke has been given the green light by planners. Some 2,200 homes will be built on the huge Northfields site at Filton airfield (link below.)
http://thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145365&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145191&contentPK=18921244&folderPk=83726&pNodeId=144922

Some quotes from FOSBR^▸ (Friends of Suburban Bristol Railways) members :

"South Gloucestershire is already a traffic nightmare - virtually a no go area during peak hours most days, so this will futher impact on an already very poor situation.

Rail wise, new business from this development will be attracted to Bristol Parkway / Filton Abbeywood or possibly Patchway (where facilities are poor, but the local service is actually not so bad).

The major option for a development based on Filton Airport though would be the old Filton North Platform or Henbury station on the Avonmouth direct line (currently freight only). Needless to say, it doesn't look like this option is even being mooted."

"This development makes it vital to ensure that the passenger service from Filton to Avonmouth via Henbury is reinstated. At present Patchway has hourly trains on the Cardiff - Temple Meads service, but I think that's it. I often get the train from Abbeywood to Cardiff and have seen that Patchway is reasonably well used. Presumably any new service would require further tracks from Abbeywood to Temple Meads. That's the kind of thing that should have been included in the contract between the developers and the council."

"The proposed site is east of the main Filton runway with The Henbury loop line running through the airfield on the west side of the runway.

When Filton airfield was being considered as a passenger airport some years ago Railtrack upgraded the airfield station and I worked on the tender for a new passenger terminal next to the station. The station site is not far from the A38 so could be a good alternative for local residents to use as long as the airport owners agree."

[Lee]

Construction work is set to start next month on the massive ^50 million scheme to build 2,200 homes at Filton Airfield (link below.)
http://thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=145365&command=displayContent&sourceNode=145191&contentPK=20247880&folderPk=83726&pNodeId=144922

Bovis Homes has now had the go-ahead for the development, which will bring about 6,000 residents into Filton and Patchway and give the community a new town centre.

[Lee]

Planning consultant Graham Parker believes wording in the Regional Spatial Strategy allows for an upgrade of Filton Airfield to a commercial airport (link below.)
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Second-Bristol-airport-ready/article-379127-detail/article.html

Mr Parker, director of CSJ Planning, is against the creation of a commercial airport at the BAE Systems-owned Filton site because his client, developer Deeley Freed, wants to build 2,000 homes close to the airfield at Cribbs Causeway.

Spokesmen for both Filton Airfield's owners and Bristol International Airport have dismissed the suggestion.

MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Bristol North West Doug Naysmith, whose constituency includes Filton, says there is "no chance" it could become a commercial airport.

Nadia Nuaimi, spokeswoman for the Government Office for the South West, said there was an ambition to integrate the airfield more fully into the South West transport network.

When plans to create a commercial airport in Filton emerged in the mid-1990s, there was widespread anger among residents living near the 400-acre aerodrome.

A planning inspector recommended planning permission be refused on the grounds that the airfield's location was unsuitable after a ^1-million public inquiry between October 1994 and January 1995.

The plans would have seen up to 23,000 aircraft movements each year at Filton ^ about 63 flights a day.

Bristol International Airport currently handles around 240 flights a day, more than 87,000 per year.

A 13,500-strong group, Campaign Against Filton Commercial Airport, fought the plans for five years.

Its chairman, Gyles Harris, believes the airfield will not be upgraded as too many homes are being built in the area.

Developer Bovis has started work on 2,000 homes a few hundred metres from the airfield's 2,467m runway and Persimmon Homes is also hoping to build 2,500 homes nearby (related link below.)
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=989.msg4762#msg4762

[bemmy]

I can't believe the government would resurrect this plan. They made it very clear in the 90s that Filton, with its excellent rail and motorway links, was not suitable for a commercial airport, while Lulsgate, with its rural setting and access limited to the crowded A38, was ideal....  So they built a lovely new terminal at Lulsgate, extended the runway, and diverted the A38 round it -- all work that would not have been necessary at Filton.

In fact the lesson seems to be: the less people live near an airport, the less will campaign against it.... therefore an airport must be sited where less people live, regardless of any other consideration.

[Lee]

You will be interested in these quotes from the article link below, bemmy :
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/won-airfield-win/article-382100-detail/article.html

The suggestion of a new commercial airport at Filton has also been dismissed elsewhere but while many say the location is unsuitable because homes surround the airfield, some have welcomed the idea.

One reader, from Bradley Stoke, commented on the story on this (the Evening Post) website, saying: "Filton Airfield is so right to be made into a commercial airport. "It has a far better infrastructure than Bristol International with better access to the motorways, there is even a railway line that runs around the perimeter and a dual carriageway leading to the entrance."

Another reader said: "In this day and age and with the economy as it is you have to maximise the resources you have. And here we have a runway, land and excellent transport infrastructure waiting on a plate, what exactly is the problem here?"

[bemmy]

Interesting that there were a number of comments from people in Filton and Bradley Stoke in favour of developing Filton Airport.... but I guess the nimby's have louder voices. No doubt the worthy councillors and residents who stopped the plan last time round never catch a plane, as they must be keenly aware of the suffering of those living around Lulsgate, with the number of flights there being something like ten times what it was a couple of decades ago.

People get used to noise -- I used to live inbetween the Bath Road and the Wells Road (two of the major routes out of Bristol) and when I was on the phone people would comment about the almost constant sirens at my end of the line... something I wouldn't have noticed if they hadn't mentioned it.

It's quite conceivable that such an airport could have become one of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s top airports, on a par with Manchester or Birmingham, as it would be within easy reach of South Wales and the whole of the westcountry, and of course it's able to accommodate planes of any size. Developing regional airports like this could reduce the ridiculous amount of people converging on Heathrow and Gatwick and make expansion of those airports unnecessary. For Bristol, a knock on effect could have been a major improvement in local rail services, as the large numbers travelling to and from the airport could make local services more viable.

Never let it be said that Bristol has ever failed to miss an opportunity to become a bit more like a regional capital. But of course the regional capital of the westcountry is London.

[eightf48544]

What happens to the Avonmouth branch?

[Lee]

What happens to the Avonmouth branch?

An aspiration of Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways is to have a half-hourly Portishead-Bristol-Clifton Down-Avonmouth service, with extensions to Severn Beach/Bristol Parkway via Henbury (a suggestion is hourly to each.) An upgraded Filton Airfield (in theory I stress, given the obvious environmental and residential concerns) could be served by a station at North Filton (link below.)
http://www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org/FOSBR_future_of_network_map.pdf

[eightf48544]

What happens to the Avonmouth branch?

An aspiration of Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways is to have a half-hourly Portishead-Bristol-Clifton Down-Avonmouth service, with extensions to Severn Beach/Bristol Parkway via Henbury (a suggestion is hourly to each.) An upgraded Filton Airfield (in theory I stress, given the obvious environmental and residential concerns) could be served by a station at North Filton (link below.)
http://www.portisheadrailwaygroup.org/FOSBR_future_of_network_map.pdf

I thought the Avonmouth branch went across a taxiway or something I've been across on a railtour and we seemed to be well inside the airport perimeter.

[Lee]

Quote from the link below :
http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=989.msg4762#msg4762

"The proposed site (of a housing development) is east of the main Filton runway with The Henbury loop line running through the airfield on the west side of the runway.

When Filton airfield was being considered as a passenger airport some years ago Railtrack upgraded the airfield station and I worked on the tender for a new passenger terminal next to the station. The station site is not far from the A38 so could be a good alternative for local residents to use as long as the airport owners agree."

[Lee]

From a Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways member :

I notice that Filton west junction may need an upgrade if the Port of Bristol is to expand as this would require increased rail capacity. At the moment there is work going on west of the former Filton station site, (on the line towards Henbury) and it looks as they are increasing the width of the embankment, implying that the line is being double-tracked at this point. Does anyone know what's being done?

[Lee]

The first glimpse of what Bristol International Airport will look like once a ^70-million expansion plan has been completed were made public yesterday (link below.)
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-Airport-s-75m-expansion-plans-unveiled/article-420758-detail/article.html

If the ambitious scheme is given the go-ahead it will more than double the size of the airport and will see passenger numbers increase to 10 million within the next eight years.

[John R]

Obviously they are confident that the downturn in air traffic is only temporary.

[stebbo]

Given its proximity to Bristol and the great transport links, not to mention its runway length, development of Filton as a replacement for Lulsgate would seem a no brainer, wouldn't it........?

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bristol's Filton airport to close from end of 2012

Bristol's Filton airport is to close from the end of 2012 following a review of its commercial and economic viability.

A BAE Systems spokesman said all users of the airfield had been informed and the airport's 19 employees had been told of the closure.

Jack Lopresti, Conservative MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) for Filton and Bradley Stoke, said he was disappointed at the news. "The closure means the end to over 100 years of use as an aerodrome," he said. "It's a huge part of our aviation history. We must of course respect and honour the past but always keep looking to the future, which Filton has always done and thrived.

"Clearly the priority is to make sure that the airfield's closure does not have an adverse affect on the local economy and the South West's standing as the home to the British Aviation Industry," Mr Lopresti added.

The airfield, which opened in 1910, is mainly used for corporate passengers, training flights and aircraft maintenance operations. It is also used by the police helicopter operated on behalf of Avon and Somerset police and Gloucestershire Constabulary. A separate helicopter run by the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity is also based at the South Gloucestershire site.

Bristol's main passenger airport, at Lulsgate, North Somerset, is not affected by the decision.

BAE Systems would not comment further but in a statement said it regretted the impact it would have on its 19 employees. "We will work with them to explore employment opportunities.

"We recognise the importance of Filton airfield to the local residential and business community and understand the concerns its closure may have," the company spokesman added.

Aircraft maker Airbus - which has a site at Filton and uses the airfield - said it had been in contact with BAE over the decision and was working to ensure a smooth transition to new working systems and practices.

A spokesman said: "We're confident that once the airfield closes we will have in place a range of effective mitigation measures that will allow our work here to continue effectively and efficiently, without any major disruption. Airbus is fully committed to its site at Filton which is a global centre of engineering and design excellence. This is clearly illustrated by our recent decision to build a multi-million pound business park at Filton and the continued investment in state of the art facilities such as the A350XWB Landing Gear Test Facility."