The future of the iconic Bristol Zoo Gardens site in Clifton looks set to be decided by councillors later this month, with the Bristol Zoological Society hoping to win planning permission to redevelop the site and build the 196 flats that they say will help pay for a new Bristol Zoo on the edge of the city.
The proposal is meeting strong opposition from a coalition of residents, campaigners, celebrities and city leaders, who want the council to refuse to give planning permission and send zoo bosses back to the drawing board. But is there an alternative? What else could the famous walled garden site in Clifton become?
When, on November 27, 2020, Bristol Zoo announced it was closing what was said to be the oldest continually open zoo site in the world, and instead focussing on its Wild Place location at Easter Compton in the South Gloucestershire countryside, Bristol was shocked. Thousands flocked to the zoo back in the summer of 2022 and there were tears shed on the last day the zoo was open to the public on September 3, last year.
