However you feel about zoos, it’s fair to say that they probably do a bit more for communities than tower blocks of luxury flats. Now, plans to build almost 200 homes on the former site of Bristol’s zoo gardens have been given the green light by city councillors – and locals are far from happy.
The much-loved Bristol zoo occupied a site in Clifton for more than 186 years, but it shut last year to move to a larger, out-of-town spot in south Gloucestershire. The Bristol Zoological Society, the charity that runs the zoo, has argued that the move makes sense financially, and since the new site is 11 times bigger than the Clifton one, it will provide more space for the animals.
In March, hundreds of locals protested on the Clifton site, claiming that the housing plan was all about making money and taking advantage of a desirable area to live in. It’s not only about the loss of public space – the development will also impact the environment, with a significant loss of trees and habitat, including bat roosts.
The council justified the plans by concluding that the development would help to ease the city’s housing crisis, but only one fifth of the proposed 196 homes are set to be affordable.
George Ferguson, a former Bristol mayor, told The Guardian: ‘We will be laughed at if we approve this dire application. I ask you for the sake of our children and grandchildren to put the welfare and reputation of our city first by rejecting, or at the very least delaying, a decision.’
Members of the Save Bristol Zoo Gardens group said that they would consider legal action if the plans go ahead.
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