Bristol Aerospace Centre

Following many years of work, the planned museum at Filton near Bristol took a very significant step forward this month, with an announcement of support from BAE Systems. The support takes the form of:

• Land on the Filton Airfield site, to the north of the runway, including two Grade II listed First World War hangars;
• £2 million towards the estimated £13 million cost of the development;
• A further £400,000 in professional support.

Concorde 216 will be the centrepiece, but the heritage centre will cover the history of the aerospace industry in the region. The project is being led by the Bristol Aero Collection Trust, and it will include the exhibits from the now-closed hangar at Kemble as well as many other artefacts. The listed buildings are a 1917/18 triple-span Belfast Truss General Service Shed, and an earlier side-opening ‘tin’ shed. Concorde will be housed in a new purpose-built building on the same site.

A Heritage Lottery Fund bid will be lodged early in 2013.

As part of this development, the Bristol Aero Collection Trust is looking for feedback on how the heritage centre will look and what it should cover. Please spare a few moments to fill in the survey here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BristolAerospaceCentre2

More details will appear on the Bristol Aero Collection website in due course.

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