News / planning
‘Disappointment’ after government refuses to call in Bristol Zoo Gardens plans
Campaigners against the redevelopment of Bristol Zoo Gardens have reacted with disappointment after the government refused to call in the plans for the site.
The Save Bristol Zoo Gardens group had wrote to the levelling up, housing and communities secretary Michael Gove, urging him to hold a public inquiry into the plans to build almost 200 homes on the Clifton site.
But a letter from Gove’s office on Tuesday said he has decided not to call in the application, which was approved by Bristol City Council councillors in April.
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Campaigners have reacted with disappointment after the government refused to call in plans for around 200 homes on Bristol Zoo Gardens – photo: Mia Vines Booth
Reacting to the decision, a spokesperson for Save Bristol Zoo Gardens said it was a “a disappointing, but not unexpected decision”.
The spokesperson told Bristol24/7: “We would have welcomed a call in by the secretary of state, as that would have opened the way for the zoo’s dreadful proposal to destroy the garden site to have been looked at again at a public inquiry.
“Mr Gove may feel that Bristol City Council is fit to make informed and lawful planning decisions in the face of mass public opposition – but this scheme is one of a growing number in our city that shows that is not the case.
“So really this decision does not alter our opposition to the zoo’s plans or our determination to make sure they do not go ahead.”
The approved proposals for the former Bristol Zoo site include 196 homes while ensuring it remains an open space – photo: Bristol Zoological Society
The plans for Bristol Zoo Gardens include about 200 homes, a new cafe, exhibition space, play area and theatre and public toilets, and will see the much-loved gardens converted into a public park.
But Save Bristol Zoo Gardens claim the zoo’s move to the former Wild Place Project site in South Gloucestershire is being done to make money from the sale of the Clifton site to developers.
The decision to approve the plans in April was made despite arguments from campaigners that alternatives for the site should be explored and large amounts of public opposition.
Nearly 10,000 petitioners and 1,000 public objections urged the council to refuse the planning permission, citing the loss of biodiversity, the impact on the architectural heritage of the Victorian buildings, and an increase in vehicle traffic.
Campaigners say zoo’s move to the the former Wild Place Project site in South Gloucestershire is being done to make money from the sale of the Clifton site to developers – photo: FCB Studios
Mayor Marvin Rees, however, appeared to welcome the decision to not call in the plans.
On X, he wrote: “Bristol Zoo Project’s plan for 200 new homes (20 per cent affordable) in Clifton will proceed, after the secretary of state declined to call in the decision.
“The conservation charity can thrive at a site ten times bigger, while the old zoo gardens open for free to people in Bristol.”
The Bristol Zoo Gardens site in Clifton was home to the zoo for 186 years until its closure in September 2022.
The zoo is moving to the former Wild Place Project, with construction work on the site now known as Bristol Zoo Project planned to start in 2024.
Main photo: Bristol Zoo
Read more:
- Wild Place to become Bristol Zoo Project
- Bristol Zoo boss defends redevelopment of Clifton site ahead of decision day
- Controversial plans for almost 200 homes at former Bristol Zoo site approved
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