It's that 9 minute connection you ackonwledged

Do visitors not go to St Ives in the winter as well? We went there in March, and had this shuttle service existed then, our experience would have been much improved.

The report did not say why they had picked up the penguin.

Plans submitted for the first permanent office building at Brabazon

9th April 2025
2 min read
Plans have been submitted for a new Grade-A office building located next to the new train station at Brabazon.

The station office building will be the first permanent commercial space at Brabazon and marks the next step in delivering a thriving new, mixed-use neighbourhood for North Bristol.

Designed by AHR Architects, the eight-storey state-of-the-art building will deliver of 123,330 square feet of much-needed Grade- A office space for Bristol.

The building will be located above the new train station that will connect visitors and employees to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes.

Employees will also benefit from the amenities that they would expect of city centre office space. There will be a ground-floor retail-dining space, spilling out onto a landscaped public square and over 100 cycle spaces and shower facilities to encourage office staff to walk, run or cycle to work. And with the new Arena coming soon, the offices at Brabazon will offer all the lifestyle advantages needed to attract and retain high-skilled talent.

The ground floor will also house a manned train ticket office, making it just the third station to be staffed in the region after Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway.

Sustainability is at the heart of the plans, with the building targeting EPC A rating, BREEAM Outstanding and NABERS 5*A rating, as well as NABERS a WiredScore Platinum certification for connectivity.

As part of the approved masterplan for Brabazon, this thriving new neighbourhood will see the delivery of creative workspaces, shops, bars, cafes and restaurants, as well as over 6,500 new homes, up to 2,000 beds for student accommodation, the largest new public park in the Southwest for 50 years, and the supersonic new YTL Arena.

Seb Loyn, Planning & Development Director at YTL Developments said: “The first new Grade-A office space at Brabazon is a landmark moment for the new neighbourhood. Located next to the new train station at Brabazon, it will provide the area’s world-leading commercial cluster with the space, connectivity and opportunity to grow and expand.”

YTL Developments has submitted the planning application for the new office building this week. Subject to planning approval, construction is expected to complete in early 2028.

For the full press release, visit YTL Developments.

Anyone know why the Full Business case for the Portishead line which was due to be signed off March/April, has been put back to
july 2025... as reported by the Portishead railway group website ?

One of my pet hates in newspaper reports is "10am in the morning".   Well it wouldn't be the evening would it?

Work underway on another new train station

Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, visited Brabazon on Friday to see the start of work on another new train station for the West of England, with enabling works and site surveys underway.

Brabazon is the new neighbourhood for Bristol being built on the historic former Filton Airfield. The new station will not only serve the new urban community, but also the eagerly-anticipated 19,500 capacity YTL Arena Bristol. Once complete, accelerated to be potentially as soon as Autumn 2026, it should connect Brabazon to Bristol Temple Meads in less than 15 minutes. BAM, who constructed Ashley Down station (which opened last year), will be building the station.

Representatives of project partners YTL Developments, the award-winning developer behind Brabazon, as well as Network Rail and Great Western Railway (GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)) were joined by the Mayor, Dan Norris; local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament, or Mile Post (a method of measuring the railway in miles and chains from a starting point - usually London), depending on context), Claire Hazelgrove; and leader and co-leader of South Gloucestershire Council, Councillors Maggie Tyrell and Ian Boulton to mark the start of work on site on Friday 14th March.

Dan Norris, the Mayor of the West of England, said:

“Work is now underway 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. Designed to live up to the legacy of this former Airfield’s pioneering past, the approved plans for Brabazon include thousands of new homes, creative workplaces to support up to 30,000 jobs, as well as the largest new urban public park in the South West for over 50 years, equivalent in size to Bristol’s Castle Park.

Brabazon is one of the largest parcels of urban brownfield land in the country, perfectly placed to address the acute need for new homes across the West of England. It is also located on existing road, rail, bus and active travel links, making it ideally suited to become the most sustainable examples of urban regeneration in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom).

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.”

Great Western Railway Managing Director, Mark Hopwood, said:

"We’ve introduced more new stations than any other train company in recent years, and it’s fantastic that work has now begun on another one, further strengthening our award-winning partnership with the Mayoral Combined Authority and Network Rail.

"The development of Brabazon New Town and its new station highlights the crucial role that rail infrastructure plays in enabling growth, creating jobs, and providing much-needed housing. We are excited to see similar progress at Henbury and Portishead in the near future."

Marcus Jones, Western Route Director at Network Rail, said:

“In the last two years, we’ve built two new stations at Ashley Down and Portway Park & Ride, which are now being well-used by passengers. It’s fantastic to see the new station in north Filton moving forward. This will bring access to the railway to a whole new community at Brabazon and link people from elsewhere in Bristol, and further afield, to this exciting new town development and the eagerly awaited arena.”