The North South divided

N

Ned

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
It seems that for most of my life the south of England has had the majority of major zoos, London, whipsnade, Paignton, Bristol, the Aspinal zoos, Marwell etc. Recently the northern zoo scene has been changing, Yorkshire Wildlife Park exploded on to the scene, Chester has been expanding, a new proposed zoo in Manchester even Blackpool has had a little investment. Conversely, nearly every southern is a shadow of its past self.
Why is the North doing so well and the south floundering?
 
Not meaning to be devils advocate but much depends where you feel the South and North divides. A lot of the northern collections are on much newer bigger sites than those in the south, which are often on plots which can't be expanded only, changed.

Yorkshire, Blackpool, and Chester are all places you mention and they are on huge sites which have the opportunity to purchase surrounding land and expand further into, and there isn't that luxury for a number of the Southern attractions.

Many of the top southern attractions are town or City Zoo's with no real scope for expansion, however some could arguably use their land better so to speak.

That said in the south, you have the impressive Manor Wildlife Park which is a gradual build which hosts some amazing exhibits and a lot of growth opportunity to bring in more ABC animals in due course. Then you have Wild Place Project, which is one of the more exciting Zoo's in the South, which are building a £5m, 5 species exhibit, with plans to add another 2 big exhibits which will bring in a further 8 species to the Zoo and two unique to the country within the next 10 years.

Hamerton is another that continues to build within it's space, and now Dartmoor has charity status, there are plans a foot for expansion and new species as well.

One could say there are many more collections down south and the regression of say Paignton (TB hasn't helped) and Marwell, and possibly Twycross stand out somewhat but there are newer collections with plans so I'm not convinced it's as cut and dried as you make out.

Blackpool is fortunate to have a lot of land available to them if they wish to use it and may do if the time is right, plus Chester and Yorkshire are on massive sites and are getting the numbers through the gates and TV exposure to assist with expansion plans.

I personally feel within 10 years, Yorkshire and Wild Place will be deemed two of the best Zoo's/Wildlife Parks in the country, along with Chester. Whipsnade definitely has the space to do more, but personally I like it the way it is, I love the big exhibits and feel of the place, but if a Southern Zoo wanted to take off and expand to be the biggest and best, Whipsnade definitely has the most scope.
 
In terms of the big zoos space is definitely an issue for London, Paignton and Bristol - though Bristol has indeed got a solution for that sorted out already!

Hamerton is definitely a standout among the more southerly zoos in having a lot going on just lately - though that is not hemmed in and still seems to have unused or partially-used space to play with when the time comes.

Whipsnade is more-or-less doing as it always has - slow developments and intermittent waxing and waning of species numbers but overall not changing all that much but ticking over nicely.

Chester and Yorkshire both have exceptionally well-chosen sites - on the edge of a town - access is easy but there is space to expand - perfect choices. The same actually applies to Wild Place.

Does Blackpool have a lot of space to expand? All the land around them is already in use as far as I can recall - mostly by a hotel/golf course - what is now the elephant enclosure was the last big tranche they had access to.

Really, the only massively-expanding zoos out of the current larger ones in terms of (developed) footprint are Chester, Yorkshire and Wild Place - two new zoos of the last decade and the most-visited zoo in the country. I'm not sure how much geography on a national scale is relevant - though their positions within their local areas certainly are.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ned
Maguari said:
Does Blackpool have a lot of space to expand? All the land around them is already in use as far as I can recall - mostly by a hotel/golf course - what is now the elephant enclosure was the last big tranche they had access to.
Click to expand...

Yes all the land behind the Car Parks, where there are 2 unused Aircraft Hangers, one currently being worked on, but not for animal use I think.
Plus around 10-15 acres access behind the Elephant exhibit (This is adjacent to where the old aircraft hangers are), and another 10 acres or so behind the current big cats, which they could obtain. At least 20-25 acres of expansion land there if they wished to use it.
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
Pembrokeshire, around 8 miles from Folly Farm Animal & Adventure Park.

Manor Wildlife Park has the most impressive Red Panda exhibit, which is a huge ! Best in the country by a mile.
Click to expand...

Isn't this the place where the lady owner has now gone to France, leaving it under the management of her husband? I think it might need fresh management before anything major happens there.
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
Yes all the land behind the Car Parks, where there are 2 unused Aircraft Hangers, one currently being worked on, but not for animal use I think.
Plus around 10-15 acres access behind the Elephant exhibit (This is adjacent to where the old aircraft hangers are), and another 10 acres or so behind the current big cats, which they could obtain. At least 20-25 acres of expansion land there if they wished to use it.
Click to expand...

Have a look in Google Maps satellite images. I'm looking and I can't see this land at all. There are the aircraft hangers themselves, but I believe these are already in use in various ways. Behind there is the land that has now been developed for the elephants. Behind the big cats/giraffes is the entrance road to the Village Hotel and golf course, which would make this very difficult to use - this wraps around the zoo on all sides except the main road, including behind the car parks, which is part of the golf course, not spare land.

EDIT: In fact, it appears the golf course area to the north of the zoo is part of the Blackpool Park Golf Club, and the one to the east is the Village Hotel/Heron's Reach one. These join up neatly behind the zoos' car park, and then the hotel's entrance road runs along the south, just beyond the zoo boundary.
 
Last edited:
Pertinax said:
Isn't this the place where the lady owner has now gone to France, leaving it under the management of her husband? I think it might need fresh management before anything major happens there.
Click to expand...

The Red Panda exhibit was developed over this year since she left, it is top class. There is also another area of the park ear marked for another forthcoming development. Nothing had really happened in the last 3/4 years until this year when the Panda development went ahead, so one could say that developments have actually happened since she left.
 
Maguari said:
Have a look in Google Maps satellite images. I'm looking and I can't see this land at all. There are the aircraft hangers themselves, but I believe these are already in use in various ways. Behind there is the land that has now been developed for the elephants. Behind the big cats/giraffes is the entrance road to the Village Hotel and golf course, which would make this very difficult to use - this wraps around the zoo on all sides except the main road, including behind the car parks, which is part of the golf course, not spare land.
Click to expand...

There is definitely land behind the Elephants and you can see it from the Elephant house, out the back. The hangers one is being developed for something, and there is another unused and the land around it which sits around by the overflow car park.
The land behind the Tigers is the edge of the Golf Course, by the hotel, but this land is available to expand into if required. Part of this land will be developed when the new Big Cats exhibit starts. The plans when they come out will show that quite clearly, as the new facilities for the Big Cats will certainly be a lot bigger than the current exhibits.
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
and now Dartmoor has charity status, there are plans a foot for expansion and new species as well.
Click to expand...

Dartmoor has hardly developed much in the last ten years, and irrespective of any change in its status, I'd be surprised if there were any major changes there soon either, though that doesn't preclude any fresh species additions of course.
 
Pertinax said:
Dartmoor has hardly developed much in the last ten years, and I'd be surprised if there were any major changes there soon either, though that doesn't preclude any fresh species additions of course.
Click to expand...

Dartmoor will definitely be expanding. 100% happening. There will definitely be a few new species over the next year or two. There are already plans in place for 2 massive changes at the Park, and Dartmoor have just got on board new staffing since they became a Charity, and there are plans in place for some changes.
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
There is definitely land behind the Elephants and you can see it from the Elephant house, out the back. The hangers one is being developed for something, and there is another unused and the land around it which sits around by the overflow car park.
Click to expand...

Some land, maybe, but not a lot - compare the space into which the elephants have been put with the size of the dinosaur section here: Google Maps


Zooreviewsuk said:
The land behind the Tigers is the edge of the Golf Course, by the hotel, but this land is available to expand into if required. Part of this land will be developed when the new Big Cats exhibit starts. The plans when they come out will show that quite clearly, as the new facilities for the Big Cats will certainly be a lot bigger than the current exhibits.
Click to expand...

But who owns that land? If not the zoo then using any of that land is subject to agreement with the owner. It's not inherently free for the zoo to use. There is a little space between the lions and the zoo boundary but going any further than that will need them to buy/lease land from the hotel. There's an ambiguous space between the tigers and hotel car park that looks to me like it has a public footpath running through - is that what you mean? If so, even if they can negotiate to use the land they will need to preserve the right of way.

I don't think you can count Blackpool as having massive room to expand. It's certainly not got space 'available' the way it is to Chester, Yorkshire and Wild Place (and indeed Whipsnade), who all own large amounts of undeveloped land themselves. They can push the edges out a little at best, then they'll come up against other landowners and unless they are prepared to start buying out the golf courses they'll be at their limit.
 
Zooreviewsuk said:
Dartmoor will definitely be expanding. 100% happening. There will definitely be a few new species over the next year or two.
Click to expand...

Never use definitely with zoo plans - even after ground has been broken a lot can happen..! The best you can say is that they definitely intend it to happen. ;)
 
Neither MWP or Dartmoor strike me as up-and-coming, more been-and-gone, but if you say things are about to change at Dartmoor then I'd be happy to see it. Dartmoor is on a small site but a change in direction for Paignton might be an opportunity for Dartmoor.
 
Maguari said:
Some land, maybe, but not a lot - compare the space into which the elephants have been put with the size of the dinosaur section here: Google Maps




But who owns that land? If not the zoo then using any of that land is subject to agreement with the owner. It's not inherently free for the zoo to use. There is a little space between the lions and the zoo boundary but going any further than that will need them to buy/lease land from the hotel. There's an ambiguous space between the tigers and hotel car park that looks to me like it has a public footpath running through - is that what you mean? If so, even if they can negotiate to use the land they will need to preserve the right of way.

I don't think you can count Blackpool as having massive room to expand. It's certainly not got space 'available' the way it is to Chester, Yorkshire and Wild Place (and indeed Whipsnade), who all own large amounts of undeveloped land themselves. They can push the edges out a little at best, then they'll come up against other landowners and unless they are prepared to start buying out the golf courses they'll be at their limit.
Click to expand...

Maybe massive not the right wording but when the Big Cat exhibit plans come to light early next year you’ll see what I mean.
 
Ned said:
Neither MWP or Dartmoor strike me as up-and-coming, more been-and-gone, but if you say things are about to change at Dartmoor then I'd be happy to see it. Dartmoor is on a small site but a change in direction for Paignton might be an opportunity for Dartmoor.
Click to expand...
'Change in direction for Paignton?' Am I missing something here?
 
FBBird said:
'Change in direction for Paignton?' Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

I was just making reference to this post by @Gigit on the Paignton thread,

Gigit said:
Mysterious media Christmas card from the zoo:

'Paignton Zoo and the Whitley Wildlife Conservation Trust have been names in conservation for decades, working hard to prevent the extinction of threatened species both in the UK and overseas; but times are changing and so are we. Watch this space for exciting things happening in 2019.

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting us and our vital conservation efforts and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!'

Name change ahead? The way things are going at the moment maybe 'Paignton Badger Sanctuary and Bird and Reptile Park'? :(
Click to expand...
 
What about the Midlands? Dudley, WM safari park, Drayton Manor & Twycross are a pretty solid geographical group, and as a genuine Northener, I would classify YWP and Hamerton as Midlands too :rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top