Bristol City Council officers have recommended plans for 62 new homes to be built on a car park belonging to Bristol Zoological Society. The Clifton brownfield site was previously used by staff who worked at Bristol Zoo Gardens but is now unused after the attraction closed in September after 186 years.
The proposals include a mix of one-, two- and three-bed apartments and three-to-four-bed mews houses, of which 20% will be affordable.
Plans to develop a residential scheme on the site of the west car park, in College Road, were originally approved in September 2021, with planning permission granted in February 2022, but the process was delayed when the Clifton & Hotwells Improvement Society raised concerns about the planning process.
A decision was quashed and the planning application was returned to the pre-decision stage. A second decision by Bristol City Council’s development control committee members will now take place on November 16.
Bristol Zoological Society said it had used the delay to consult further with Historic England and the council’s heritage officer, and make further improvements to the scheme, making sure it sits "more sensitively" within the conservation area. It said Historic England had recognised the changes to the development and now did not object to the scheme.
Improvements include alterations to the façade and roofline on College Road, and solar panels added to part of the roof of Block A to provide sustainable energy generation.
The plans are part of the first phase of a new strategy by the the Society to safeguard the future of the charity and its conservation and education work. The strategy will see the creation of a new zoo on the site of Wild Place Project - Bristol Zoological Society’s 136-acre site on the outskirts of Bristol.
Dr Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society, said: “As Clifton residents since 1836, we want to leave behind a legacy that we can all be proud of. The scheme will deliver sustainable, much-needed homes for Bristol.
“This is an important step towards realising our exciting plans for the future of Bristol Zoological Society and will help create a new, world-class Bristol Zoo where around 80% of species will be linked to our conservation work, living in spaces more closely reflecting their natural habitats. In this way Bristol Zoo will continue to exist for generations to come.”
A separate planning application relating to the main Bristol Zoo Gardens site was submitted in June.
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