Sale secured for former Bristol Zoo car park site

Bristol Zoo’s former West Car Park site has been sold to a housebuilder.

The empty car park, in Clifton, sale to the Hill Group will fund the first phase of construction of a new conservation zoo at Wild Place Project in South Gloucestershire.

The brownfield site has been out of use since September 2022, after being open for 186 years. In November 2022, plans were submitted to build 62 new homes were put forward for recommendation. The Hill Group will now build the 62 homes, 20% of which will be affordable housing.

At the Wild Place Project, to be called Bristol Zoo Project from summer 2023, Bristol Zoological Society will create new visitor facilities, new play areas, new animal homes with new species, and a conservation campus for students, scientists, and the breeding of highly threatened animals.

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In the first phase of construction, which is expected to start in 2024, the Society will build a new central African forest area.

This comes after plans to build hundreds of new homes on the former zoo site in Clifton were approved in April. At this time, Bristol Zoological Society said that it was looking to use money from the development to fund the expansion of its 136-acre conservation site, Wild Place Project.

Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society, said: “Our journey to develop a progressive conservation zoo at Wild Place Project has moved a significant step forward, with the sale of the West Car Park in Clifton to the Hill Group. The sale follows Bristol City Council’s decision to grant planning permission for West Car Park at the end of last year. An application for a judicial review on the decision was refused, which means planning permission for the site is now beyond challenge.

“As Clifton residents since 1836, we want to leave behind a legacy that we can all be proud of. The Hill group have developed a high-quality housing proposal for our former car park, which delivers this, and provides sustainable, much-needed homes for Bristol of which 20 per cent will be affordable.

“With our planning application for the sale of Bristol Zoo Gardens also approved by Bristol City Council, it is great to see the progress being made on the redevelopment of this historically important location.”

Savills, who acted for Bristol Zoological Society in the sale, will be marketing the Bristol Zoo Gardens site later this year.

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