Bristol Zoo homes plan recommended for approval

The former zoo site will feature 196 homes

Plans to build on the site of Bristol Zoo have been recommended for approval by council officers.

The 12-acre site in Clifton will have 196 new homes built there, of which 20% will be affordable.

The zoo, which closed in 2022, has been the centre of protests, with campaigners claiming alternatives to housing should be explored.

A final decision will be made by councillors at a planning meeting on Wednesday 26 April.

As part of the plans, the gardens at the centre of the zoo site will be open to the public for free year-round.

Dr Justin Morris, chief executive of Bristol Zoological Society, said: "We are really confident in our plans and the quality of the design proposals we have submitted.

"As well as delivering sustainable, much-needed homes for Bristol, our plans for Bristol Zoo Gardens secure the site as a public park, a community asset, so everyone can enjoy its beauty and heritage for many years to come."

The society submitted a planning application in May 2022, before resubmitting it in October after feedback from the council and Historic England.

The gardens will be open to the public and other buildings will be retained at the site

The Grade-II entrance lodge will be redeveloped into a café and exhibition space.

A separate planning application for 62 new homes on the zoo's west car park was approved in November last year.

Historic England said it found "much to admire" in the planning application.

"The ability for visitors to enter the site, free of charge, post-redevelopment, is a significant heritage benefit," it said in a statement.

An aerial shot of the proposed plans was part of a set of artist's impressions released by the zoo