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It’ll be a nightmare’: Fears mega town with 25,000 homes will bring roads to a standstill and inundate schools and GP surgeries with massive influx of residents

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By TOM COTTERILL, SENIOR REPORTER

Published: 00:41 BST, 2 October 2025 | Updated: 00:43 BST, 2 October 2025

Fears have been raised a new ‘mega-town’ for 25,000 homes dubbed an ‘abomination’ and ‘tomorrow ghetto’ could bring Bristol’s roads to a grinding halt.

The sprawling development, being built on a disused Second World War airfield to the north of the city, has been given the green light.

Designed by Malaysian-owned firm YTL Group, which is run by a multi-billion pound property dynasty, the scheme already has approval to build up to 6,500 homes.

However, long-term blueprints for the expansive ‘Brabazon’ community could see it swelling to 25,000 properties, as well as a 19,500-seat arena.

The £2billion development was named as one of 12 new towns earmarked by Labour to be created across the country, which said Brabazon could accommodate 25,000 homes.

But the project has been blasted for its scope, with Bristol’s Conservative group leader warning it’ll create a gridlock ‘nightmare’ for the city and was a ‘f***ing stupid’.

‘Whoever came up with this plan must have been on acid,’ Councillor Mark Weston told the Daily Mail. ‘Someone has got pound signs in their eyes and is letting their imagination run wild… this is too densely populated and will never work.

‘Local roads simply cannot cope with this… the development will cover the north of Bristol in traffic and bring it to a grinding halt. It’ll be a nightmare.’

He added: ‘This isn’t just pie in the sky; it’s something for the birds – and even they would be incredulous at it.’

Brabazon New Town, in South Gloucestershire is anticipated to be completed by autumn 2026 and is part of the West Innovation Arc (WIA) developments

The new town will be built on the former Filton airfield, where Hurricane fighter planes used to fend of Hitler’s marauding Luftwaffe attacks in the war were once based.

The project is set to create 30,000 new jobs in the area and boost the local economy by £5billion and could be finished by autumn 2028.

Meanwhile, more than £100million is being invested to help local infrastructure which includes a new railway station and a bus service.

However, some locals have vented their fury, warning the site could become a cramped ‘semi-slum’, that will pile pressure on the area’s schools and GP surgeries.

One resident said: ‘The words “tomorrow ghetto” comes to mind. I am sure the properties are beautiful inside but combined on the outside they are depressing the landscape.’

Brian Blestowe, a former Avon county councillor who has lived locally for 60 years, also voiced his fears.

‘The bit of the airfield that’s been developed so far is now turning into a semi-slum,’ he told a council meeting in February. ‘I’m very worried that the whole area will become very downgraded with the sort of plans you’ve got at the moment.’

Plans for Brabazon were first mooted almost decade ago but has since ballooned enormously in scope.

The airfield – which was also the birthplace of the supersonic Concorde jet – had been earmarked by South Gloucestershire Council for 2,675 new homes since 2017.

The new destination is being built on the former Filton Airfield, in north Bristol, by YTL, who is handling the construction

Inside the new UK mega town with 25,000 homes set to be built

However, after YTL took over the land, the number of homes has swelled to 6,500 – and now developers are looking to construct up to 25,000 there.

Proposals for the increased size are still very much in the early stages, with no detailed plans yet revealed. Daily Mail understands any scheme would need to factor in suitable infrastructure to support the scale of housebuilding – which could include improved roads.

Work has already started on the already-approved phase of the development, with a hundreds of properties having already been built.

It comes as Bristol battles with a record-breaking property crisis, with some 21,000 households still waiting for social housing to free up.

Critics fear the Brabazon town will do little to tackle this and could actually exacerbate the crisis.

Currently, of the 6,500 homes green lit so far, about 1,700 will be affordable – made up of a mix of rented and shared ownership homes.

However, YTL admitted it has no concrete figure yet for what the numbers will look like for its grander 25,000-home ambition, casting fresh concerns over the scheme.

Meanwhile, those seeking to pay for new homes will have to pay over the average rate for a property in Bristol.

Two-bedroom flats are on the market from £317,000 – above the £287,000 average listed for flats in the city on RightMove.

Likewise, the average house price in Bristol according to the Office for National Statistics is £349,000.

However, a two-bedroom house in the new town will currently set buyers back £430,000, with three-bedroom properties ranging from between £495,000 to £525,000, YTL’s marketing says.

Meanwhile, a four-bedroom townhouse will cost up to £690,000 – almost double Bristol’s average house price.

Planning permission has been granted for 6,500 homes so far, and the number could reach up to 25,000 in the future

Villagers go to war with developer amid plans for 1,600 homes that will ‘destroy’ countryside

The town, first mooted as ‘car-free’, will now have parking spaces for residents.

However, developers behind the scheme say additional cycle paths and walking routes are also set to be added.

As for education, there will be three new schools as well as ‘community facilities to support lifelong learning,’ according to YTL.

The mega town will also boast a live entertainment facility which is big enough to see 20,000 people.

It will include an impressive aerospace-themed digital entertainment hub, as well as exhibition areas and conferencing space.

Business could also boom, too, with 3.6million square foot of space set aside for commercial purposes including shops and offices.

Locals will have access to a network of parks and outdoor areas and be able to enjoy plenty of green space.

Plans include a 15-acre Brabazon Park and lake, which will be the largest in the South West for around 50 years.

Seb Loyn, director of planning and development at YTL Developments, said: ‘We welcome the fact that the West Innovation Arc with Brabazon at its heart has been recommended by the Government’s new towns task force.’

YTL is headed by Malaysian billionaire Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, who owns the conglomerate now building the mega-town.

The Government’s new towns task force list features the project as one of its 12 recommended locations to be classified as a town

Only bungalow on millionaire’s row is worth less than neighbour’s CAR collection

His family are legendary figures in Malaysia responsible for some of the country’s most high-profile construction work.

As well as hotel and airport designs, his company – founded by his late father, Yeoh Tiong Lay in 1955 – has built Malaysia’s national art gallery and is constructing the rail link from Kuala Lumpur to the new international airport.

In recent years, YTL has been seeking to expand its footprint in Britain. It follows the surprise purchase of Wessex Water in 2002 for £1.2billion.

However, the purchase was marred by controversy after Wessex Water’s then chairman, Colin Skellett, a water industry veteran, was arrested amid an alleged bribery probe over the takeover.

Mr Skellet was later cleared in 2003 of any suspicion of accepting a £1million bribe, having denied the allegations.

Last year one of the wings of YTL found itself embroiled in a £700million anti-corruption probe over a contract to provide internet for schools.

YTL Communications won the contract in Malaysia, which was meant to be for 15 years. However, this was shortened to seven and a half years ‘without any reduction in contract value’, according to the Malaysian anti-corruption investigators.

The company was cleared of any wrongdoing by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission in December.

Speaking of its plan to build a new mega-town, a spokesman for YTL Developments told the Mail: ‘Brabazon is being developed on the 400-acre former Filton Airfield, which would otherwise remain an empty, unused brownfield site. Making best use of urban brownfield land is helping to protect the local greenbelt.

‘Planning permission is already secured for 6,500 new homes, including 1,700 affordable homes. The New Town has already won multiple awards for its design, placemaking and use of brownfield land. It will include 86 acres of public green space, with the 15-acre Brabazon Park at the heart of the community – the largest new urban park in the south west in more than 50 years.

‘We understand why infrastructure concerns are raised with any new development, but more than £100 million is already being spent on transport connections linking Brabazon to Bristol City Centre and further afield. This includes footpaths, cycle paths, a new Metrobus route and a train station in the New Town set to open in autumn 2026.’

Daily Mail has approached Bristol City Council for comment.

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‘It’ll be a nightmare’: Fears mega town with 25,000 homes will bring roads to a standstill and inundate schools and GP surgeries with massive influx of residents

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