‘Horrendous’ Campaigners slam zoo’s homes plan
ON Wednesday the Post reported how Bristol City Council officers have backed plans to build 62 new homes on one of Bristol Zoo’s two car parks. Yesterday Dr Justin Morris, Chief Executive Officer of Bristol Zoological Society, gave the argument for the homes plan. Today Christopher Jefferies, of Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society, puts his case against the plan to Post reporter Conor Gogarty
PLANS for housing to replace part of Bristol Zoo Gardens have been criticised as horrendous.
Christopher Jefferies, who became a well-known campaigner for press reform after tabloids printed false claims linking him to the murder of Joanna Yeates in 2010, has spoken out against the proposals for housing on the site of Bristol Zoo in his role as a member of Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society.
Bristol Zoological Society, which owns the site, announced last year that the land would be sold and the zoo would move into the Wild Place Project, near junction 17 of the M5 in South Gloucestershire.
The society plans to get permission for housing on the Clifton land before selling it - but there is an alternative proposal for the site to become an “augmented reality zoo”, driven by the OurWorld Bristol group which includes former Bristol mayor George Ferguson and broadcaster Prof Alice Roberts.
Mr Jefferies, 76, is a planning coordinator for Clifton and Hotwells Improvement Society (CHIS), a residents’ group which has successfully applied for Bristol Zoo to become an asset of community value.
The listing means CHIS must be informed if the site goes up for sale in the next five years. The group could then bring forward a Community Right to Bid, which would give it six months to raise funds for a purchase. Mr Jefferies, a retired Clifton College teacher, spoke to the Post about his belief that the listing could help make OurWorld Bristol a reality - and his fears over the planned housing scheme.
He said: “To deny or restrict public access to such an important site would be a huge loss. It is quite obvious the zoo wants to generate the maximum amount of money for itself from that site.
“The aesthetic considerations of what might be built there, the density of the development, the inconvenience to other residents - all that has taken very much second place in the zoo’s thinking.”
Mr Jefferies believes the Zoological Society’s plans for its West Car Park in College Road are a worrying sign of what could be proposed for the main zoo site.
Bristol City Council officers have recommended approval of the scheme for 62 homes on the brownfield car park, which will be decided by councillors on September 22. The proportion of affordable housing would be 20 per cent, the minimum required by the council.
Mr Jefferies described the West Car Park proposals as “pretty horrendous”, adding: “The first issue with the car park plans is it is extremely dense development and to our mind, it’s very much an overintensive use of the site.
“A certain amount of affordable housing is proposed and indeed has been allocated, but the provisions of that only meet the very basic requirements for such housing. That housing would meet only the minimum requirements in terms of space.
“There is considerable need for the sort of housing which first-time buyers might be interested in acquiring. The sort of housing built on a site such as Bristol Zoo is hardly going to be the sort your average 20- or 30-year-olds can rush out and acquire.
“The zoo has had a very good reputation but if it is prepared to leave the sort of legacy currently proposed, it will do a huge amount of damage to that reputation.”
CHIS is backing the OurWorld Bristol plans for “a fully immersive” zoo experience with technology like digital headsets and a “more accessible city garden” with bees, birds and butterflies.
The residents’ group applied for the zoo to get protected status after being approached by Green councillor for Clifton, Paula O’ Rourke.
“Paula O’Rourke is extremely keen on the OurWorld project and she suggested an application for listing it as an asset of community value, which has to come from the equivalent of a local community organisation,” he said.
“We obviously thought it was an extremely good idea.
“CHIS would not itself simply buy the site and hand it over to OurWorld, because it is OurWorld doing all the fundraising and developing
a credible business plan... We hope (by the time it is marketed) that OurWorld will have the finances in place.”
Mr Jefferies argued OurWorld would be “a feather in the cap for Bristol” and called on Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees to “give a large amount of excellent publicity” to the vision. Mr Rees did not respond to our approach for comment.
Asked if the use of virtual rather than real animals could hold OurWorld back, Mr Jefferies said: “I would think if anything (the augmented reality plans) might generate even more interest than the existing zoo.
“The zoo claims it’s struggling at the moment to attract visitor numbers to the Clifton site. They might put that down to some problems with parking but I think that’s a minor part of it.
“The days where we have wild animals contained in comparatively constricted areas are now passed. People are much more interested in the whole business of conservation and seeing wild animals in something much more akin to their natural habitat.”
The Zoological Society intends to
submit a planning application, late this year or early next, for housing on the main site. It believes only a residential-led scheme can “secure a sustainable future for the Society and for the gardens themselves”.
Under its plans, Bristol Zoo Gardens would remain open until late 2022. Wild Place Project would remain open before becoming the new Bristol Zoo from early 2024.
Responding to Mr Jefferies, the Zoological Society’s director of transformation Francesca Fryer said: “As a responsible wildlife conservation charity we have had to make some difficult decisions in order to safeguard our future after an incredibly challenging number of years, and to ensure an exciting new future for Bristol Zoo, for everyone in Bristol and beyond.
“Our decision to sell the Bristol Zoo Gardens site, and the adjacent West Car Park in College Road, was not one that we took lightly. But it means we will be able to create a new, world-class Bristol Zoo at our Wild Place Project site and continue to deliver and expand our conservation and education work both in the UK and overseas, allowing us to continue leading the way as a modern conservation and education charity whilst inspiring the next generation of conservationists.
“We care about what happens to the site, we care about our neighbours, we care about our future, and we care about our legacy. This is why we are leading the planning applications ourselves so we can be confident and proud of the legacy we leave there.
“For our West Car Park, we have applied for planning permission for high-quality, environmentally friendly, low-carbon homes. This includes a mix of one, two and three-bed apartments and three to four-bed mews houses, of which 20 per cent will be affordable in line with Bristol City Council planning policy.
“We want to ensure that we create an exemplar for environmentally and socially sustainable residential development that Bristol can be proud of and showcase to other cities across the UK.
“There is a huge under-supply of housing in Bristol. New homes are needed in all parts of the city, including affordable homes, to address the housing crisis.”
Ms Fryer said the society is still in the early stages of developing plans for the main sites and is holding a series of public consultations.
“We plan to enhance the gardens to encourage greater biodiversity, and we are considering public access to the gardens beyond the Clifton Conservation Hub that is already planned for the zoo’s iconic main entrance building,” she added.
“Our plans ensure that Bristol Zoo continues to exist for generations to come whilst meeting our mission of ‘saving wildlife together’ and offering millions more people the opportunity to experience the magic of a new Bristol Zoo, in its new home at the Wild Place Project site.”
Ms Fryer encouraged people to help shape the plans by visiting the
future.bristol zoo.org.uk website.