The Chancellor and the Housing Secretary have backed plans for the country’s fastest-growing regional economy to soon become home to its first Mayoral Development Zone (MDZ), covering the West of England’s emerging new town: Brabazon and the West InnovationArc, in South Gloucestershire and north Bristol.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, set out the plans during a busy few days banging the drum for the region with business leaders with a new £17 billion investment prospectus. Weeks after the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Act became law, the Mayor restated her determination to make the most of available powers to deliverfor the West of England to grow the economy and help tackle the housing crisis. This announcement is another major signal of intent to take on a greater role in development. It follows the Mayor securing the region’s first ever funding from the national BrownfieldHousing Fund, with £45 million set to support the delivery of some 1,500 homes.
At the UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum, a major investment conference in Leeds, the Mayor confirmed her intention to establish the region’s first MDZ – indicating the scale of the opportunity to build more homes and create more jobs, withthe right infrastructure and services alongside new homes. With the £50 million Bristol Brabazon railway station set to open this autumn, the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is already investing to make the region’s emerging new town one of the best connected in the country. Bristol Parkway, a mainline station with direct connections to London, already calls the zone home while plans continue to progress for another station at Henbury.
Mayoral Development Zones are non-statutory designations made by a Mayor to focus effort on a priority regeneration area, providing the vision, oversight, direction and enablers to unlock housing and economic growth delivery, and to leverage in inward investment.This MDZ underpins a direction of travel towards establishing a statutory Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) for the Brabazon and West Innovation Arc new town, with the details of any MDC to be developed through significant local and political engagement.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“It’s time to make the most of devolution and more quickly deliver the right homes in the right places, to help tackle the housing crisis. Our region’s first Mayoral Development Zone designation will be a major moment in making that vision a reality, andrealising our enormous and exciting further potential as a place.
“Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc is already the fastest-growing part of the country’s fastest-growing regional economy, something we’ve been showcasing this week with investors. We have so much to be proud of across the area shortlisted to become oneof the government’s new towns, with our new Bristol Brabazon train station opening later this year ahead of the new Aviva Arena.
“Working together, this part of the West of England – with the right transport investment to connect the Science Park, Bristol Parkway station, and Brabazon – can deliver 40,000 new homes and the same number of new jobs over the longer-term.”
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said:
“For too long the West of England has been denied investment and had its potential held back.
“That’s why alongside Mayor Helen Godwin, we’re backing a new Mayoral Development Zone, meaning new homes and better transport links, boosting the region’s economy and giving the West of England an ambitious vision for the future.
“In a changing world this government has the right economic plan: stability, investment and reform to build a stronger more secure economy.”
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said:
“The region’s first Mayoral Development Zone will make a huge difference to people’s lives.
“It means working families across the West of England can truly benefit from real change – with thousands more affordable homes, well-paid jobs and greater transport links between communities.”
When Bristol Brabazon train station opens this year, it will strengthen the connections between the West Innovation Arc growth zone and the Central Bristol and Bath growth zone’s Bristol Temple Quarter and Bath Riverside Innovation District. Linking the West’semerging new town with the region’s two cities will bring some of the most exciting developments in the country closer together, including tens of thousands of new homes and new jobs.
Councillor Maggie Tyrrell, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council and Councillor Ian Boulton, Co-Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, said:
“We welcome the Mayor’s announcement of a proposed Mayoral Development Zone to support the delivery of Brabazon and West Innovation Arc in South Gloucestershire. Whilst this is a non-statutory designation, we recognise that it presents a real opportunityto focus significant investment in homes, jobs, transport and other infrastructure. However, it will be vital that this is delivered in close partnership with the Council and our communities, with the right infrastructure, strong local input, and clear governance.
“We look forward to working constructively with the Mayor to ensure this creates sustainable, high-quality places that benefit both new and existing residents.”
Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council and Deputy Mayor of the West of England, said:
“Designating Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc as a Mayoral Development Zone is a positive step for our region and for Bristol. It will help unlock the delivery of new homes alongside much‑needed transport infrastructure, improving connections betweenthe north of the city and opportunities in Central Bristol and other key growth areas across the West of England.
“I look forward to working closely with the Mayor and partners across the West of England, including South Gloucestershire as we continue to develop our plans for this area, including the next stages of work towards any future Mayoral Development Corporation.”
With nearly £1 billion already invested in Brabazon as part of its multi-billion-pound planned investment to transform the former Filton Airfield, YTL UK Group has secured planning permission for 6,500 new homes, three new schools and a major park at Brabazon,where more than 500 residents have already moved in.
Colin Skellett, Chief Executive of YTL UK Group, said:
“We welcome the announcement of the MDZ as this will be key to unlocking the wider investment in the West Innovation Arc. Brabazon is fast becoming the most exciting multi-purpose destination in the West. With nearly £1 billion already invested by YTL, itserves as a prime example of how sustainable growth, placemaking and the creation of local jobs is accelerating in the region thanks to private investment.”
Thisweek, Bromford Flagship LiveWest (BFL) and YTL Developments unveiled a new strategic partnership. BFL is already the UK’s largest provider of new affordable homes, with plans to build over 50,000 new homes nationally by 2040.
Robert Nettleton, Chief Executive Officer, Bromford Flagship LiveWest (BFL):
“Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc has enormous potential and demonstrates what can be achieved when regional leaders and housing providers work together around a shared vision for long-term growth.
“The scale of the housing challenge has to recognise the importance of aligning growth with existing places, infrastructure and local priorities.
“Our recent strategic partnership with YTL also reflects the kind of long-term collaboration needed to help unlock sustainable growth and create the conditions that enable people and places to thrive.”
This news follows South Gloucestershire Council discussing the potential options to support the delivery of the emerging new town earlier in May, and comes ahead of an item at the Mayor and council leaders’ next meeting on 5 June.
Mayors in England have had the power to establish MDCs since 2014, with the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act granting these powers to all mayors by default. There are currently nine MDCs in other parts of the country, including the London LegacyDevelopment Corporation, which has overseen the continued regeneration of Stratford, in the east of the capital, following the 2012 London Olympic Games, delivering 12,000 new homes. Other MDZs/MDCs are mooted, including for the regeneration around ManchesterUnited’s Old Trafford stadium in Greater Manchester.
Recent months have also seen a newTransport Vision for the region announced by the Mayor and council leaders to reduce congestion, support productivity, unlock new homes, and cut pollution. Last year alone, just in Bath and Bristol, congestion cost the economy over £150 million. Government,transport, and business leaders have welcomed the West’s ambitions, including potential mass transit options alongside better buses, more trains, active travel, and improved streets. The Mayor set out the importance of securing both public andprivate investment in transport infrastructure improvements to help boost continued economic growth in the country’s fastest-growing regional economy.
