Broughton and Bretton

Broughton and Bretton is a community of about 6,500 people beside the A55, west of Chester. It is home to the Airbus wing factory, where about 6,000 people work, Hawarden Airport and Broughton Shopping Park.

By Jonathan Sheppard, Editor, Deeside.com. Last checked 26 October 2026.

Key facts

Population	About 6,500 (6,535 in Census 2021, for the Broughton and Bretton community)
County	Flintshire
MP constituency	Alyn and Deeside
Senedd constituency	Fflint Wrecsam
Community council	Broughton and Bretton Community Council
County council wards	Broughton North East (one councillor) and Broughton South (two councillors)
From the A55	Junction 36, the Warren interchange (A5104). Junction 36A has slip roads for Broughton Shopping Park
Trains	No station. Hawarden is on the Borderlands line, and Chester has mainline trains
Buses	Chester to Mold services, including the Arriva 4 and the TrawsCymru T8, stop at Broughton Shopping Park
Airbus	Wings for the A320, A330 and A350 families are built here, on a 700 acre site
Hawarden Airport	On the Airbus site, owned and operated by Airbus UK
Broughton Shopping Park	Opened in June 1999

A short history of Broughton

Broughton & Bretton station opened on the Mold Railway in 1849. It closed to passengers in 1962.

Work began on a government “shadow” aircraft factory at Broughton in November 1937. Run by Vickers-Armstrongs, it built 5,540 Wellington bombers by October 1945, and at its peak about 6,000 workers turned out 28 a week. In 1943 a mainly female workforce built Wellington LN514 in 23 hours and 50 minutes, a record. Lancasters were built there from 1944.

De Havilland took over the factory in 1948, followed by Hawker Siddeley and British Aerospace. Today it is Airbus’s wing factory, and finished wings are flown out on the BelugaXL.

In September 2026 Airbus said about 480 jobs had been created at Broughton that year, as it turns the former A380 wing building into an A321 wing line.

Getting there

From the A55, leave at junction 36, the Warren interchange, onto the A5104. Junction 36A has slip roads for Broughton Shopping Park. Our A55 and A494 junction guide has the details. There is no station: Hawarden is on the Borderlands line, and Chester has mainline trains.

Listed buildings

Every Cadw listed building in Broughton and Bretton, on a map with links to the full listing records: Listed buildings in Broughton and Bretton. See also listed buildings across Flintshire.

Questions people ask

What does Airbus make at Broughton?

Wings for the A320, A330 and A350 families, from the wing skins to the wingbox. The BelugaXL flies them from Broughton to final assembly lines in Europe. Airbus says about 6,000 people work on the site.

Which A55 junction is for Broughton?

Junction 36, the Warren interchange, is on the A5104. Junction 36A has slip roads for Broughton Shopping Park.

When did Broughton Shopping Park open?

June 1999.

Are Broughton and Bretton the same place?

They are two villages that form one community, Broughton and Bretton, with its own community council.

Where are Flintshire County Council’s offices now?

The council moved its main offices from County Hall in Mold to Tŷ Dewi Sant in Ewloe in early 2025.

When are the bins collected?

Black bins are collected every three weeks, and recycling and food waste every week. Check your own days on the council’s website.

Sources

Deeside.com is independent and is not the community council.