The Bristol Zoological Society has secured a resolution to grant planning permission for the redevelopment of the 12-acre Bristol Zoo Gardens site in Clifton.
The mixed-use masterplan will see the site repurposed as a residential-led development offering 196 sustainable homes of mixed tenure – of which 20% will be affordable – with significant public realm and free public access to the historical gardens for the first time.
The zoological society intends to sell the development site to fund the creation of a new conservation zoo at Wild Place Project on the outskirts of the city. At the zoo site some of the historic buildings, such as the Grade II Listed Giraffe House and Clifton Pavilion, will be sensitively restored and converted and the site’s Grade II listed entrance lodge will become the Clifton Conservation Hub, consisting of a cafe, exhibition spaces and community rooms.
Perkins&Will, which helped the zoological society secure planning, has also designed new perimeter buildings for the site, featuring green roofs equipped with solar panels and terraces, and new lake houses overlooking the remodelled lake.
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 approval of the planning application for Bristol Zoo Gardens. As Clifton residents since 1836, we want to leave behind a legacy that we can all be proud of. Perkins&Will has delivered a brilliant design. It is great to see the progress being made on the redevelopment of this historically important location.”
Sunand Prasad, principal at Perkins&Will, added: “Our approved plans will enable Bristol Zoological Society to invest in Wild Place Project, focus on conservation and secure the long-term future of the society. It is a complex site with an assemblage of local and regionally significant heritage assets, which, through a careful and considered approach to regeneration, can take on a new lease of life as a mixed-use development that sustainably blends housing with new community access and uses, to be enjoyed for generations to come.”
