Originally Posted by
Mike Flynn
If it was not for politics Filton would now be the logical replacement for both Cardiff and Lulsgate.
Actually that was a commercial decision, by the old Bristol Aeroplane Company, in the early 1950s when the old prewar Bristol airport at Whitchurch became outdated and too small for operations, there was Filton, with its huge runway extended for Brabazon production, but when it was put to them to build a civil terminal Bristol Aeroplane refused to have such a "disruptive" operation on Their Airfield. So their second best choice was the old RAF site at Lulsgate, always known as a poor location (and it still is)..
There was an element of politics, because if Filton had been within Bristol the city could have had more influence. The town is, but the airfield site was just over the border in Gloucestershire. The old Whitchurch airport had been owned and developed by the city, but had been taken over by the Ministry postwar, who despite being a considerable funder of Bristol Aeroplane, for the Brabazon, Britannia, and other types, did not force things through.