Brabazon New Town (Bristol) Transport Questions

[PTR 444]

With my sister moving to Bristol next month, it has got me researching the very impressive plans for the Brabazon new town on the site of the old Filton Aerodrome. Looking at the attached map, it is clear that there will be a Metrobus route running through the length of the development and a station on the Henbury Loop line, however I am curious to find out more about how exactly the development will be served transport wise. I have sorted my questions into the following categories:

Bus
Will the Metrobus route be a diversion of the existing m4, or a brand new route?
Is Brabazon likely to get bus provision to other nearby destinations, such as Southmead Hospital, Bradley Stoke and Horfield?
Could an extension of route 2a and diversion of route 76 via the Charlton Road missing link be on the cards to provide a faster journey between Southmead Hospital and Cribbs Causeway?

Rail
Will the Brabazon - Temple Meads route be a standalone rail service, or part of a longer route (such as Avonmouth - Weston-Super-Mare)?
Is there likely to be an Avonmouth - Bristol Parkway rail service in addition to the above?
Could Bristol - Cardiff and Bristol - Gloucester trains serve Brabazon with a reversal?

Private transport (driving, cycling, walking)
Will it be possible to drive your own car through the development, or will private cars be limited to access only and enforced by bus gates?
Assuming the previous question is true, will buses be mostly on their own right of way?
Will footpaths and cycleways be provided to allow access between opposite neighbourhoods currently severed by the runway (for example: Fishpool Hill to Cribbs Causeway)

I have attached a map of the development below for reference (apologies for poor image quality).

 

[The exile]

Rail
Will the Brabazon - Temple Meads route be a standalone rail service, or part of a longer route (such as Avonmouth - Weston-Super-Mare)?
Is there likely to be an Avonmouth - Bristol Parkway rail service in addition to the above?
Could Bristol - Cardiff and Bristol - Gloucester trains serve Brabazon with a reversal?

At least initially it is going to be a standalone shuttle to Temple Meads (basically already exists from Temple Meads to Filton AW)
Avonmouth - Bristol Parkway - not for the foreseeable future (though I do seem to remember it being mentioned as an aspiration)
Reversals at Brabazon - extremely unlikely [other than the obvious one of the terminating shuttle] - though not physically impossible. It would need the "Avonmouth - South Wales" curve at Filton to be passed for passenger working (but that's probably a long way down the list of reasons why it won't happen)

 

[Magdalia]

Brabazon is possibly going to be part of something bigger, the West Innovation Arc, which is in the New Towns Taskforce recommendations:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...chapter-2-recommended-locations-for-new-towns

The new town proposal in South Gloucestershire, within the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) geography, is a group of sites across an arc, with a high-density core on the former Filton Airfield, known as Brabazon, offering the earliest phase of delivery.

This would be a new town across three urban centres: Brabazon, Bristol Parkway station, and the Bristol and Bath Science Park. These would be linked by public transport and walking and cycling routes, building on the shared identity and history of this area and boosting the total number of homes to support economic growth.

There are these words of caution too:

However, the site is not without challenges. As a new town, land assembly would be complicated, as the land for the wider West Innovation Arc is in fragmented ownership and would require significant remediation and upfront investment. Additional transport and energy investment would also be required to maximise the potential for this site. With early work underway to identify energy constraints, government departments would need to jointly prioritise infrastructure investment in this area to ensure sufficient energy and transport provision.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Regarding the stations:

These new train stations will form part of the Henbury spur and a new hourly train service will run between Bristol Temple Meads and Henbury, calling at Ashley Down and North Filton.

Source Travelwest website

Brabazon Station was previously referred to as North Filton.

The Henbury Loop (extension to Severn Beach line) was an aspiration not proceeded with.

But campaigners have long been calling for the reopening of the Henbury Loop line, to link Henbury to Avonmouth and the Severn Beach line, to create a circle line around the city.

Despite the idea being dropped a decade ago, Stephen Peacock, chief executive of West of England Combined Authority (Weca), said they "will be looking at it" again as part of their overall delivery planning

Source BBC News article