Filton to close

The “stored” Rolls Royce Spitfire XIV RM689 has already been transferred to their Derby plant, according to ‘Aicraft’ magazine

Don’t get to happy, a ‘listed’ status dosen’t necesarily guarantee survival of a building, depending on local autority plans and demands in the area.
It all comes doown to ballancing the category of listing conferred, the percieved importance of the building, and future planning for the area.
Also as Peedee says there are no regs to maintain a building and if it is seen as a wreck or costly to rebuild in comparison of its importance, it isn’t guaranteed survival.
I can see it becoming an extension of the shopping malls and housing estates already in the area, which is probably why some parts of Filton have already been levelled.
the Brabazon Hangar is no St Pauls, well not to non aviation friendly locals!

An airport would make a lot of sense, it could replace Lulsgate and Cardiff in one go, but would agree with FiltonFlyers’ points.

This report from only a couple of weeks ago, http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/news/8934049.Airbus_announces___70million_investment_in_Filton_plant/, seems strangely at odds with the news here, I assume it is only good news as far as some fancy office blocks and a small assembly plant goes?

Phillip,
Several of the buildings are listed On the factory side, New Filton House – the 1935 Art Deco office block which has been derelict for many years but currently covered in scaffolding – is listed, and I believe the massive three-bay hangar built for Brabazon assembly in the late 40s is also listed. On the northside, I think two WW1 RAF buildings are listed including the Belfast hangar.

Andy

Some good news, I’m really happy for you!

BAe own the land but don’t really use it.
Airbus uses it a little, but would prefer to consolidate all its work at Chester.
Airbus Military – TBH I don’t know how those A400 Spars and L/e T/e are shipped out of Filton.
GKN doesn’t use it and doesn’t need to. The A350 Rear Spar and FTE is (a) Now not made at Filton, but at Western Approach (No, not the Wartime Bunker in Liverpool) and (b) Is to be hauled by road to Chester anyway.

I think GKN own the listed building (The original Bristol A/c Corp.) which is covered in canvas. If so, it will stay that way until it falls down within. GKN will not put a penny into something they can’t make a margin on.
A flaw in the “Listed Buildings” rules is that you are not legally bound to maintain the building. You cannot alter it for sure.
I’ve seen it so many times, they let them rot until such time the Environment lot declare it as unsafe and it gets pulled down.

Almost inevitable I am afraid.

As an ex-BAE Filton employee for nearly 10 years from 1984 to 1994 I have watched the following progressively happen

F-111 Depot Maintenance Contract Completed
A320 wing equipping moved to Chester
Rolls Royce Flight Test Department Closed down
VC10 tanker conversions finished
A300 Cargo Conversion programme came to an end
BAE 146 storage moved to Kemble
Air Lvery moved to Manchester
MK Airlines ceased trading

All less movements to cover the large costs of maintaining the airfield and fire cover.

It could have been so very different if efforts had been put into developing commercial or freight traffic after Concorde. This was long before the developments at Lulsgate and the building of Bradley Stoke. Once land had been sold for housing development this was certainly the begining of the end

At least now I wont be told off by my wife for not concentrating on the traffic as I go over the Filton Flyover on the A38 and look to see what is on the airfield

As one of the regulars on here has in his signature, never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Here’s an idea, move Bristol Airport to Filton from its home way out of the city at Lulsgate Bottom. There is the railway which runs through the site with direct access to the Bristol-Cardiff mainline and the mainline to London via Parkway and reasonable access to the M4 and M5.

Ok there isn’t room to expand but that doesn’t exactly exist at Lulsgate with the up & down topography and the transport links to there are not very good.

Been thought of before I’m afraid. In addition to the benefits you listed, there is also the fact Lulsgate is frequently fogbound whilst Filton is clear. In the 1990s BAe planned to open Filton up to commercial traffic, but there were so many objections from the residents that they gave up. Victim of their own success – the factory grew so much during WW2 (the biggest aircraft factory in Europe) that many housing estates were built around the area. These are now populated by people who don’t really see the benefits of Filton Airport.

Andy

Great shame 🙁

I shall miss calling up Filton Approach 4 or 5 times before the controller wakes up to give me a transit, or doing scary ‘smash and goes’ when the wind is rolling off the Brab hangar :dev2:

Reckon it’s been on the cards for a while, and probably one of the reasons that Concorde ‘AF’ has been moved out of public view and access, with no timescale for return.

Poor show BAe. Hope you regret the decision sometime in the near future, and before it’s too late to reverse it.

Here’s an idea, move Bristol Airport to Filton from its home way out of the city at Lulsgate Bottom. There is the railway which runs through the site with direct access to the Bristol-Cardiff mainline and the mainline to London via Parkway and reasonable access to the M4 and M5.

Ok there isn’t room to expand but that doesn’t exactly exist at Lulsgate with the up & down topography and the transport links to there are not very good.