The Zoo Gardens site does not belong to the City of Bristol or to the Council. It belongs to a charitable company called the Bristol, Clifton and West of England Zoological Society Ltd., a very old company owned by about 185 shareholders and run by the Chief Executive, Justin Morris, and his team in partnership with a board of twelve Trustees and its Chair, Charlotte Moar. The shareholders have no financial stake in the Society and do not stand to benefit financially from any sale.

The site has not been sold yet (as at December 2022). It is the Zoo themselves who have submitted a planning application to turn it into luxury housing. Once they have secured planning permission, they will then seek to sell the site to a developer and hope to raise £45m or more from the sale. But right now it hasn’t been sold and there’s still a chance for it not to be turned into housing, but transformed into something better.

The simple answer is money. There’s no doubt that running a zoo is expensive and running two zoos is twice the headache. Nevertheless, it’s a mystery why, right now, the Clifton site has been closed since the summer when it could have received paying visitors and sold cups of tea. The business case for closing the Zoo and not developing an imaginative plan for its future must be seen as a failure. The strategic decision was pushed through during the early days of Covid and some shareholders report that they were pressured or hoodwinked by a flimsy business case.

From the PR, you would believe that one of the main reasons for shutting the site in Clifton is to move all the animals to bigger and comfier homes at the Wild Place. In fact almost all the creatures will end up being moved to other locations - at great expense - and only a tiny percentage of the thousands of animals, fish and insects will be moved to the Wild Place. Of the larger animals, only the blue-eyed black lemurs and the gorillas have a definite place. The Wild Place will be almost entirely stocked with animals from other zoos and places. This is fairly normal practice as zoos trade animals all the time. But if they can’t all be re-homed, it’s not out of the question that some of the animals still languishing at the shuttered Clifton Zoo will be put down.

Casting back 150 years before TV, radio, the Internet, sound recording and David Attenborough, zoos were unique institutions where you could experience live animals. But times have changed and arguably the novelty of a zoo is not what it once was. Many conservationists and zoologists believe that zoos still have a vital role to play in animal conservation and fighting the threat of extinction through education, conservation work and captive breeding programmes. So the challenge is how to offer a new experience fit for the 21st century which focuses on these things while still delivering entertainment and appreciation of the natural world. Most parents know their children are as entertained by feeding ducks as seeing a lion.

Under the current plans, some of the open space is designated as publicly accessible, but this is a relatively small area compared to now. You will have to cross several roadways and pass through gates, which will be locked out of hours, so it’s not exactly inviting and raises the question why would you ever go there if you didn’t live nearby? Additionally, this access and the maintenance of the gardens is to be funded by a charge on the residents who may in time object to funding a public amenity. Also, the access right is permissive and could be modified or withdrawn completely, so it’s far from guaranteed for the next 15 years, let alone the next 150. There are already examples in Bristol and nationally where similar gardens which were supposed to be publicly accessible became gated ‘for security reasons’ over time and have become private spaces.

Firstly, communal value. Millions of people have visited the Zoo as children, as adults and with their own children and grandchildren for more than 150 years and the loss of this experience is not to be taken lightly. Additionally, the ashes of many people have been scattered within the herbaceous borders which will be covered. Others have held weddings and celebrations in the Pavilion, which will be lost to private houses and gardens. These memories and experiences - communal value - are engraved in the psyche of millions. The value of this site cannot be underestimated and once lost will be gone forever. Secondly, listed buildings and gardens. Most of the buildings on site, where they are kept will be converted to apartments meaning their character and use will change and they won’t be accessible by the public. 162 old trees (42.5% of them) will be removed, while it is feared that lengthy building works will harm or kill many others.

It’s up to the Council and planners to decide what’s acceptable and to closely study the grey areas, but fundamentally, yes! some aspects are highly questionable and must be challenged. The current national primary planning guidance, the NPPF, in para 189, states: ‘These assets are an irreplaceable resource and should be conserved in a manner appropriate to their significance, so that they can be enjoyed for their contribution to the quality of life of existing and future generations’.

We agree and aim to fiercely resist these plans and to change the hearts and minds of the Trustees and shareholders of the Zoo. A decision was made in 2019/2020 at a time of great national duress to dramatically change the destiny of the Zoo forever. We and many others feel this was a mistake and press for the decision to be reversed, as easily as it was taken.