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

If the last 18 months has taught us anything, it’s that places are precious. When they are connected, welcoming and inclusive, they can represent the best of us.

This should not be overlooked as we face the future. It is partly what motivated us to work together on an alternative vision for the historic Bristol Zoo Gardens site.

OurWorld Bristol’s prospectus describes an inspiring vision for an urban zoo of the future, free of captive animals and set within a restored and revitalised garden in the heart of a remarkable city.

It’s an opportunity to build on Bristol Zoo’s legacy, keeping it at the heart of our efforts to tackle ecological emergencies by teaching us about our planet.

We understand that selling the site for housing is seen by Bristol Zoological Society as necessary to unlock the funds needed to safeguard the zoo’s long-term future.

We are fully aware of the pressures that visitor attractions face and of how COVID-19 has made these worse.

However, we strongly believe there is a far better way forward than a private housing development. A way that safeguards the zoo and creates a legacy for Bristol.

OurWorld sponsors have been in communication with Bristol Zoological Society since December last year and met representatives recently to explain how we continue to support their aims as an organisation committed to global conservation.

How these objectives are met is a crucial part of that discussion. We are keen to collaborate with the Bristol Zoological Society on its plans for the future.

We hope to have the opportunity to build on our ideas with the zoo and the city.

A new vision for Bristol Zoo Gardens

We propose harnessing a new resource for discovery, including immersive experiences travelling in time, place and scale which connect to animals and their habitats across the planet.

OurWorld Bristol will be important culturally and economically, keeping the zoological gardens open for individuals, families and schools to visit.

Keeper John Partridge beside Wendy. Credit: Bristol Zoological Gardens.

We want to retain and enrich these wonderful gardens that families have visited and enjoyed for generations and create a new experience that uses digital technology to immerse the visitor in global natural world experiences.

This vision is ambitious, and a potential world first for Bristol, building on the city’s great strengths in natural history and new media.

Delivering it is not without its challenges, but it is possible and we are building support with every passing day. In the short time since it launched hundreds of people have expressed an interest in our plans. Many more will do so as we continue to make our case.

We have the expertise and experience to make this happen. OurWorld Bristol brings together a great South West research partnership, including The MyWorld project at the University of Bristol, BBC Natural History Unit, the storytelling skills of Bristol’s theatre and film-makers, the global pioneer stature of Eden Project and academic expertise from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter.

Since the zoo first opened as an attraction 185 years ago, it has been a source of wonder and a force for good.

We offer an opportunity to safeguard the zoo’s future and secure a lasting, inclusive legacy for the whole of our city

OurWorld Bristol is a concept that seizes the moment in a way that a private housing development never could.

We hope you will join us and many thousands of others as we look to an enlightened future for this very special site.

Visit www.ourworldbristol.com to download our prospectus and sign up for updates if you are interested in supporting us.

Yours sincerely

Prof David Bull – Director, Bristol Vision Institute and Director MyWorld, University of Bristol
Marti Burgess – corporate lawyer at Bevan Brittan, Black South West Network chair and Lakota owner
Stephen Daldry CBE – Film Producer & Director
Prof Michael Depledge CBE – University of Exeter
George Ferguson CBE – Architect and Founder, Tobacco Factory
Dr Dominic Hogg – Founder, Eunomia Research & Consulting
Pip Rush Jansen – Creative Director, Arcadia
Lorna Knapman – Founder, Love Food Festival
Sue Lipscombe – MD, Cod Steaks
Peter Lord CBE – Co-Founder, Aardman
Laura Marshall – Director, Icon Films
Tom Morris OBE – Artistic Director, Bristol Old Vic
Prof Alice Roberts – Broadcaster and author
Alastair Sawday – Founder, Sawday’s Publishing
Sir Tim Smit – Co-Founder, Eden Project
David Sproxton CBE – Co-founder/Trustee of Aardman
Steve Taylor – Chief Executive Officer, Cabot Learning Federation
Clare Wilks – Director, LDA Design
Stuart Wood – Executive Director, boomsatsuma
Kalpna Woolf – CEO, BeOnBoard & 91Ways

Main photo: OurWorld Bristol

Read more: ‘A huge thank you from myself and my colleagues at Bristol Zoo’