Judge to review Bristol Zoo housing plans in May

Campaigners against plans to turn the old Bristol Zoo Gardens site into a housing estate have come together to discuss how else the land could be used, during a meeting last night (Wednesday 29th January) at Christ Church in Clifton.

The original Bristol Zoo known as Bristol Zoo Gardens closed in September 2022 after 186 years, with bosses citing financial difficulties.

Ever since the Bristol Zoological Society has been looking to sell the land for housing, saying it needs the money to develop Bristol Zoo Project in South Gloucestershire and to fund its conservation work around the world.

Last year the Society was formally granted planning permission for 196 homes on the land in Clifton, but that decision is set to be reviewed by a judge in the Spring after a legal challenge and could be reversed.

The Save Bristol Zoo Gardens Alliance has met at Christ Church to discuss what should happen to the site instead, if the judicial review goes in their favour. During the meeting it was confirmed the review is set to go ahead in May.

What was said at the meeting?

During the event inside a packed out Christ Church, leading members of the Alliance including former city Mayor George Ferguson outlined again why they think the housing plan should not be allowed and the process through which the judicial review may rule in their favour.

Several arguments were made as to why the housing shouldn't be allowed, the main two of which perhaps, were as follows:

• That the Zoological Society's promise in their plans that 80 percent of the homes will be "affordable" is not true.
• That a promise that the Gardens will become freely accessible to the public for the first time and remain so in perpetuity, is also not true.

In UK law "affordable" homes are defined as those sold at least 20 per cent below normal market value. Therefore the price at which a home can be considered affordable will vary substantially depending on the market within the area in quesiton.

According to rightmove the average home in Clifton sold for £541,418 in the last year, the majority of which were flats. The average terraced home in the area sold for £875,653 and the average semi-detached home for £1,177,188.

The Alliance therefore argues that a home sold at 20 percent less than that is still considerably more expensive than the average person can afford and so the housing proposed on the Zoo site will in reality, be for the wealthy and not address the UK's housing crisis.

On the second point, the Alliance argues that a particular part of planning law, known as a Section 106 Agreement, would allow any developer which buys the Zoo site to apply to change elements of the planning agreement after five years. Using this, the Alliance claims, it is likely a housing developer would apply, after five years, to make the gardens private and for residents only.

What is the Zoological Society's stance?

Bosses at the Society remain adamant that their idea for the site is the best and indeed only viable one.

On its website the Society says the sale for housing is needed "to fund the creation of a new conservation zoo at Bristol Zoo Project", adding it was not viable to maintain the zoo in Clifton.

"Closing Bristol Zoo Gardens wasn’t an easy decision, but we do not believe the 12-acre Clifton site is fit for purpose as a modern, conservation focused zoo," a statement online reads.

"With 136 acres at Bristol Zoo Project, we can improve animal welfare, creating larger areas that better reflect the animals’ natural habitats.

"We went through a rigorous process to explore a number of options as well as taking independent professional advice from a range of sources to ensure we are taking the best possible course of action to deliver on our mission of Saving Wildlife Together.

"Our Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favour of this plan and it has the backing of the Society’s Directors and Chairs of Trustees from the last 20 years, who have helped shape this new vision.

"The move to one site at Bristol Zoo Project is about prioritising animal welfare and conservation and our vision for what we think a zoo should be."

Speaking to us in 2023 Society Chief Executive Justin Morris denied the campaigner's claims, that the Clifton gardens may not remain open to the public for more than five years.

"I've no idea where the five years has come from, that's simply not true," he told Greatest Hits Radio.

"The way that it works is that through the planning application that we've submitted, we've set out what the business model would be to ensure that the gardens can be sustained, to be open and free to access to the public and that will be a condition of that planning consent.

"That planning consent then exists in perpetuity and if anybody wanted to try and change that in the future then that would require them to go back to Bristol City Council and to submit an entirely new planning application for that site."

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