Bristol Zoo has announced the Clifton Zoo Gardens and its Wild Place site will close for one day next week - so it can talk to all its staff about its future.
The zoo has apologised to customers in advance of the closure, and said it had told anyone who had already booked tickets to visit the Clifton zoo gardens offering them an alternative date.
The zoo said it would close on Tuesday, January 25, to go through the Society's 'Strategy to 2035' programme of works.
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The biggest change is, of course, the closure of the Bristol Zoo Gardens in the autumn of this year, and the eventual transfer to a new Bristol Zoo at the Wild Place site in South Gloucestershire in 2024.
A spokesperson for the Bristol Zoological Society said it wanted to discuss the future with its staff.
"We have taken this decision so that we can meet with all our staff to discuss key plans as part of our ‘Strategy to 2035’ programme of works, including the impact of closing Bristol Zoo Gardens in autumn 2022 and creating a new Bristol Zoo (due to open in 2024) at our Wild Place Project site," a spokesperson confirmed.
"All visitors, Members and Annual Pass Holders that have booked, have been contacted to offer them an alternative date for their visit, and we have updated the website and posted on our social media.
"We apologise for any inconvenience caused and look forward to welcoming you soon," the spokesperson added.
The Zoo's plans for apartments to be built on part of the Clifton site -which would fund a large part of the new zoo at Easter Compton - are still going through the council planning process. An alternative proposal to create a 'virtual zoo' using augmented reality technology, has sparked a divide among Bristol's cultural, economic and political establishment.
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