YTL Bristol development gets £2bn injection

Malaysian conglomerate YTL has announced plans to invest around £2 billion in the long-delayed Brabazon Bristol development, which includes a 19,500-capacity carbon-neutral arena.

The Filton Airfield site will be transformed into the UK’s largest brownfield development, including 6,500 homes, three new schools and a 15-acre park.

Plans for the arena, which would be the fourth-largest indoor arena in the UK and the only arena in South West England, have faced several setbacks over several years. Earlier this month it was reported that the venue is facing up to a likely opening date of 2028.

The Brabazon Bristol development was formally announced last week by the Malaysian prime minister, who also revealed that YTL will invest a further £2bn in its UK businesses over the next five years.

Earlier this month it was reported that the venue is facing up to a likely opening date of 2028

The Copenhagen-inspired project, which will deliver more than 30,000 jobs, is being designed to allow people to access essential services within a 15-minute radius of their home. Developers hope the new town will be the most sustainable in the UK.

Bristol is the biggest city in the UK without an arena, with plans for such a venue first drawn up more than 20 years ago. A previous plan for a city centre arena near Temple Meads was scrapped in 2018 because of risk to the taxpayer.

Its current largest indoor venues are the 2,100-cap Bristol Beacon and 1,600-cap O2 Academy Bristol, although its 32,000-cap Ashton Gate Stadium has hosted concerts by acts including the Spice Girls, Take That, The Killers, the Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys, Muse and Elton John.

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