A packed public meeting on the future of the site of the closed down Bristol Zoo heard a fresh vision for its future – but only if a legal battle to prevent it being developed for housing is won.
The Save Bristol Gardens Alliance campaign held the public meeting at Christ Church in Clifton to reveal their initial ideas for an alternative use for the site, and revealed the date for the court showdown with zoo bosses has been set.
It comes as the Bristol Zoological Society announced today it has exchanged sale contracts on the former Bristol Zoo Gardens site in Clifton with independent housebuilder Acorn Property Group.
The High Court will sit in Bristol from May 7 to hear a Judicial Review case brought by the SBG campaign, challenging the planning permission given by Bristol City Council to the zoo to build almost 200 new apartments on the site of the former Bristol Zoo site.
The Save Bristol Gardens Alliance have brought the challenge on three grounds against the city council’s planners – claiming that councillors were given incorrect information by planning officers before they gave planning permission for 198 new homes on the famous old botanical gardens site.
With the date now set for the Judicial Review, the campaign leaders called the public meeting to update the concerned residents of Clifton and the rest of Bristol – many of whom contributed towards a £10,000 fighting fund to bring the Judicial Review to the courts – on the latest in the legal action.
And SBG Alliance member Iain Boyd also explained an early vision for the future use of the zoo gardens site, should the Judicial Review succeed. Bristol Zoo bosses have consistently said they need to raise as much money as possible from the sale of the Zoo Gardens site to invest as much as possible into the expansion of the Bristol Zoo Project – formerly the Wild Place – site at Easter Compton on the edge of Bristol.
And Society CEO Justin Morris told Bristol Live before Christmas that although there have been many alternative plans put forward over the past four years since the closure was announced, none has come up with the same amount of money housing developers did.
The strategy outlined by Save Bristol Gardens Alliance’s Alastair Sawday was for the Judicial Review to succeed, which would then send the zoo back to the drawing board, and instantly reduced the market value of the site to a level that could mean it might be affordable for an alternative project.
“There is no fully developed plan,” he told the meeting. “The zoo would not bee interested in a lower value project, but if the Judicial Review is successful, it means the zoo has to go back to the drawing board, which will reduce the market value to a point where people can coalesce around a cohesive plan with proper financing,” he added.
That vision, set out by Iain Boyd at the meeting, is for the zoo gardens to become an education hub for nature, with sensitive development of teaching spaces for everyone from primary school children to Bristol University, along with workspaces and facilities to keep the gardens as a visitor attraction.
The meeting was opened and closed by former mayor of Bristol George Ferguson, who rallied the local residents to continue the fight against the zoo’s plans. “There is no walled garden of that size that is comparable in a city within the UK, it’s a beautiful place,” he said. “It’s impossible to imagine the scale of the development, it destroys it. Who’s going to go out of their way to come to Clifton to walk around a housing estate garden?
“There have been serious attempts by a lot of people to engage with the zoo, but they are clearly on a path of just wanting the most money and that is all they care about,” he said.
On the contract exchange, Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society, said: “Since we announced our new strategy in 2020, which included the closure of Bristol Zoo Gardens and development of a new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project, we have faced a relentless campaign of misinformation. We have also had to spend thousands of pounds in legal fees, and this will continue with the Judicial Review this year.
“We are a conservation and education charity trying to save and protect the world’s most threatened species, and yet those against our plans continue to put our future conservation work in doubt, undermining the hard work of our staff and volunteers.
“The move to Bristol Zoo Project has always been about our vision for what we think a zoo should be. The new zoo will allow us to improve animal welfare, in larger natural habitats, and focus our resources on animals that really need our help. The gorilla and mangabey habitat will be four and a half times larger than their home at the old site in Clifton.
“To be clear, we will not be reopening Bristol Zoo Gardens as a zoo in any capacity. In the five years since we announced its closure, not one viable alternative plan has ever been put forward to us, with the finances to back it up.
“Before taking the decision to sell the site, we took extensive expert advice. Now, we have exchanged sale contracts with independent housebuilder Acorn Property Group. Acorn Property Group is committed to delivering the new homes and public space in Clifton, ensuring the gardens remain open to the public free of charge, for the first time in their 186-year history.
“Of the homes to be built, 20% will be affordable and the site will also offer a new public park, café and playground. The iconic zoo entrance building will also become the Clifton Conservation Hub – a public café, exhibition space, education and meeting spaces.”
Bosses at Bristol Zoological Society said they are confident that they and the city council can robustly defend the way the planning permission was awarded back in April 2023, and they hope to start development later this year.