Bristol Zoo set to sell car park to create housing

A planning application detailing the plans to build 65 new homes on the zoo's car park is expected to be submitted in the spring

Bristol Zoo has announced plans to sell part of its Clifton site, which is likely to be replaced by new homes.

A consultation period has been opened on the proposed sale of the west car park on College Road, with a planning application due in the spring.

The zoo said housing is the most profitable use for the land and the funds will safeguard its future.

It was announced in November that the zoo would be sold and relocated to another site in South Gloucestershire.

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

The zoo has been in Clifton since 1836 but will close in late 2022 and move to its Wild Place Project site, near junction 17 of the M5 in South Gloucestershire, to reopen in early 2024.

Plans to sell the car park to create 65 homes are the first phase of the move and the Bristol Zoological Society said the funds from the sale will create "vital" funds to help deliver the "ambitious plans" for the new Bristol Zoo.

The society's chief executive, Dr Justin Morris, said public feedback would help them create the forthcoming planning application.

An artist's impression of how the new development would look

"Our proposals will also have high environmental and sustainable standards, and we want to ensure our proposals give a helping hand to local wildlife.

"As we have been Clifton residents since 1836, we want to leave behind a legacy of which we can all be proud."

Bristol Zoological Society, which owns and operates both Bristol Zoo 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.

A separate planning application relating to the main Bristol Zoo Gardens site will be submitted later this year or in early 2022.