Bristol Zoo to leave Clifton site after 185 years

The zoo will move from its Clifton site in 2022

Bristol Zoo has announced it will relocate from its current site to the outskirts of the city to "safeguard its future".

The site in Clifton will be sold, and the zoo will move to its Wild Place Project site, near junction 17 of the M5 in South Gloucestershire.

The zoo has been at Clifton since it began in 1836.

Bosses said the site will stay open until late 2022, and the new zoo would open in early 2024.

Bristol Zoological Society, which owns and operates both Bristol Zoo Gardens in Clifton and Wild Place Project, said the zoo had "suffered years of declining visitor numbers", and had made an operating loss in four of the past six years.

The society's chief executive, Dr Justin Morris, said 2020 had been "by far the most challenging year the society has faced" in its 185-year history.

The zoo has a special place in people's hearts

He said the zoo had been "struggling with fundamental and persistent challenges" which had had an "enormous impact" on its finances.

"Namely an inability to meet the changing needs of the animals within the available space and infrastructure, and declining visitor numbers."

He added the impact of Covid-19 has caused the society to "radically rethink" its plans for the future.

"We know Bristol Zoo Gardens has a special place in the hearts of many, and lots of people have fond memories of visiting the zoo.

"But a lot has changed and many of the animals associated with these memories are no longer at Bristol Zoo Gardens, for very valid reasons.

The zoo will move to the Wild Place Project site in South Gloucestershire

"This new strategy presents an opportunity to create a world-class zoo that sets the standard for a modern, forward-looking zoo in the 21st century."

He said the new zoo would have "conservation and sustainability at its heart, where animals will have the space and facilities to thrive".

Bosses said they will seek planning permission to create housing on the Clifton site in existing buildings, and the existing gardens will be largely unchanged.

The zoo's iconic main entrance building would become an "'urban conservation hub", a spokesperson added.