News / bristol zoo
Plans approved for 62 new homes on former zoo car park
Plans have been approved for 62 new homes on the former Bristol Zoo’s car park which locals warn would “permanently scar” a conservation area.
Bristol Zoological Society now has permission to build a mix of one-, two- and three-bed flats and three- to four-bed mews houses, of which 20 per cent will be affordable, off College Road, which will raise millions for the charity.
This is the second time the plans have been given planning permission. In 2021, Bristol City Council granted permission, but this was later quashed after residents threatened to take legal action amid concerns about how the scheme could impact architectural heritage.
is needed now More than ever
College Road is currently the site of the former Bristol Zoo’s West Car Park – photo: Martin Booth
Architects revised the scheme and councillors have now once again voted to give the green light to the new homes. But concerns remain among local people on how the new buildings will affect the historic nature of the surrounding area.
Speaking to the development control committee on Wednesday, local resident Adam Chivers said: “Nobody is objecting to the sale of the zoo’s assets or the principle of housing.
“The only question is whether you give the zoo permission for an awful development to which all fair-minded people object.
“The design of the scheme is wholly out of keeping with the conservation area. This is most emphatically not a case of nimbyism, just an overriding concern that the greedy and unimaginative design of this scheme will leave a permanent scar on the conservation area.”
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Read more: Is there any truth behind the Bristol Zoo parking attendant myth?
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Chris Booy, vice chair of trustees of the Bristol Zoological Society, said that the charity needs to develop the car park and former zoo sites “as part of our strategy to create a new world-class zoo” at the Wild Place Project.
Booy, also chairman of Bristol Bears, added: “We wish to leave a really positive legacy. So instead of securing permission for this brownfield, largely redundant car park and selling it to the highest bidder, we have this really high quality and detailed scheme.
“This development will be part of our legacy, including bringing affordable homes to a part of Bristol that for most is unaffordable.”
Main image: Bristol Zoological Society
Read next:
- ‘I feel a responsibility to defend Bristol Zoo Gardens against inappropriate development’
- In photos: Bristol Zoo’s last day after 186 years
- Dismay as historic building could be demolished
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