Plans for housing on Bristol Zoo site could be prevented

Bristol Zoo bosses are still optimistic that homes will still be able to be built on their current site, despite a community group moving to protect the land from any future housing development.

Clifton & Hotwells Improvement Society (CHIS) has successfully applied for Bristol Zoo Gardens to become an Asset of Community Value.

This means that the community now has a right to bid to own the site if it is put up for sale any time in the next five years.

While Bristol Zoological Society progress with proposals to turn the world’s first zoo outside a capital city into a private housing development, an alternative plan for the site, OurWorld Bristol, wants to create the world’s first augmented reality zoo.

A virtual natural visitor attraction would be created on the 12-acre site, alongside plans for a city garden.

OurWorld Bristol’s ambition is to create the world’s first augmented reality zoo – image: LDA Design

Chris Jefferies, CHIS joint planning coordinator, Chris Jefferies, said that the zoo’s gardens “are too precious to be lost to a housing development”.

He said: “This is why we asked Bristol City Council to list the site as an Asset of Community Value so that if the zoological society try to sell the site, we have an opportunity to buy it and shape its future.

“We are delighted that Bristol City Council has backed our bid to safeguard the historic site for future generations.”

He added: “Like so many in the city, we are inspired by OurWorld Bristol’s proposal. It offers a fantastic future for the site that supports what the Zoological Society stands for.

“We call on Bristol Zoological Society seriously to consider this alternative, which is so much more imaginative and appropriate than developing the site for private housing.”

Speaking on behalf of OurWorld Bristol, Stuart Wood, the executive director of boomsatsuma, said: “Clifton & Hotwells Improvement Society’s successful application to list the gardens as an Asset of Community Value is further endorsement of the site’s unique importance to the people of Bristol. We are grateful to them for taking this initiative.

“Our proposals continue to build support. We are keen to work with Bristol Zoological Society and partners to find a better way forward for this vital asset for the city.”

Dr Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society, said that the decision to sell the zoo’s Clifton site ahead of a proposed move to Wild Place Project in South Gloucestershire “was not one that we took lightly”.

“However, it is vital to safeguard the future of Bristol Zoological Society, and ensure an exciting new future for Bristol Zoo, for everyone in Bristol and beyond.

“We realise the significance and importance of the Clifton site and that Bristol Zoo Gardens has a special place in the hearts of many people.

“This is why we are leading the planning process for a high-quality residential-led scheme which respects the history and heritage of the site and gardens.

“We want to ensure that we create an exemplar for environmentally and socially sustainable residential development that Bristol can be proud of and showcase to other cities across the UK.

“The spectacular gardens at the heart of the site will be enhanced to encourage greater biodiversity with consideration of public access to the gardens beyond the Clifton Conservation Hub that is already planned.

“There is a huge under-supply of housing in Bristol. New homes are needed in all parts of the city, including affordable homes, to address the housing crisis.

“We respect the decision by Bristol City Council to place the site of Bristol Zoo Gardens on its register of Assets of Community Value and will follow the associated process to ensure the community has the opportunity to prepare and submit a bid, when we come to market the site.

“Bristol Zoological Society has been engaging with CHIS since our strategic announcement in late 2020 including meeting with them regularly in our dedicated community forum and will continue to do so as our plans evolve.

“A period of public consultation is already underway for the Bristol Zoo Gardens site. We are meeting with, and listening to feedback from, a range of interested groups including near neighbours and Clifton residents…

“Our plans for the future will ensure that Bristol Zoo continues to exist for generations to come, offering millions more people the opportunity to experience the magic of a new Bristol Zoo, in its new home at the Wild Place Project site.”

Bristol Zoo in Clifton is expected to remain open until late 2022. Wild Place Project will remain open until it becomes the new Bristol Zoo from early 2024.

To find out more about Bristol Zoological Society’s plans for the future, visit www.bristolzoo.org.uk/our-future.

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Read more: ‘We need to build on Bristol Zoo’s legacy – not sell the site for housing’

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