PLAN FOR ‘WORLD CLASS’ ZOO
EXCLUSIVE: CONSERVATIONIST IN DISCUSSIONS WITH COUNCIL OVER ATTRACTION
A ZOOLOGIST is in talks with council officials over plans to bring a zoo to Greater Manchester, the M.E.N. can reveal.
The multi-million pound ‘Manchester Zoo’ project is being developed by Johnpaul Houston and has been two years in the making. Mr Houston, a former assistant head keeper at Blackpool Zoo, who holds positions with a number of global zoological associations, has held talks with senior Trafford council officers over potential sites in the Carrington area.
Architects and planning consultants have also been consulted to work up plans.
No planning applications have been submitted and no firm site has been decided as yet, but the M.E.N. understands the talks have involved land around the path of the River Mersey.
Initial site assessments have been held, the documents reveal.
A business plan, seen by the M.E.N., has already been submitted to the council for consideration, alongside a brief on the project requested by the council ahead of any planning application being submitted.
Trafford council confirmed talks have been held and said officers would continue to work with Mr Houston, who told the M.E.N. he hoped the first phase of the zoo would be open by summer 2020, initially to schools only.
In a statement the council said: “Council officers have met with Mr Houston to discuss his proposals. We will continue to work with him in advance of any potential future planning application.”
Mr Houston, 29, has been in zoo management for more than a decade and has previously worked at Chester Zoo, Twycross Zoo in Warwickshire and the former Blackbrook Zoological Park, near Leek. He left his position at Blackpool Zoo, where he was also head of birds, small mammals and reptiles, after eight years in September to concentrate fully on the Manchester Zoo plans. He teaches zoo management at Myerscough College in Lancashire and is also the co-ordinator in the north west of the Diploma in Management of Zoo and Aquarium Animals, run by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the professional body representing zoos and aquariums. Outlining his ambitious plans to the M.E.N., Mr Houston said he was also speaking to private landowners over a potential site – and described Manchester Zoo as a ‘20-year project.’ He said he’s secured private, multi-million pound funding to realise the development. Any planning application involving green belt land would need permission as a ‘case for very special circumstances.’
The business plan references big cats including lions, as well as penguins, birds of prey, giraffes, flamingos, monkeys and themed attractions featuring an array of other animals. But Mr Houston said major emphasis would be placed on conservation, education and saving threatened species.
The business plan states: “The over-arching objective is to become a leader for socio-economic advancement in the local area, in the field of conservation, sustainability and zoo education and research. The zoo aims to become a beacon within the community, drawing the community together and creating a unique environment in which to learn new skills, gain new drive and foster public wellbeing and community spirit.”
A website is due to go live shortly.
An initial location, an 84-acre site north of Carrington Lane in Flixton land bounded by the Mersey bordering Flixton Golf Club and the former Shell refinery – was first proposed, but that plan has now changed, Mr Houston said.
Submitted documents also include a ‘site vision’ for Manchester Zoo prepared by a planning and design consultancy firm. It references job opportunities and infrastructure benefits from a ‘new conservation and educational asset for the region.’
Mr Houston said: “We are still currently working out the details with the council over a site.
“We would like to prove ourselves first so we would be able to keep animals like big cats. We are in no way assuming that we can keep lions and elephants straight away, but they are in the long-term plans. There is no reason to suggest that we will not be able to have animals that you would associate with zoos from A to Z, anteaters to zebras.
“The council have been very positive about being able to house us there. We will make a park that is great for animal welfare.”
He added: “The first stage is to get onto a site. We want to bring an institution to Manchester that shows what an animal attraction can be, not just for the leisure and tourism industry. Manchester Zoo would be the name. We debated it long and hard because the word ‘zoo’ has negative connotations in a lot of ways. We want to show people what a zoo really can do.
“We want to welcome school classes in by summer 2020.”