Bristol Zoo Project The Wild Place news 2023

[Alwaysevergreen]

Each time I’ve been the car park has been rammed and there’s been a queue so it appears pretty popular though not on the scale of larger places - once they get the gorillas and other animals I guess they will need a larger car park.

Depends when you visit I suppose. At weekends, and school holidays yes it's busy, but it is a small car park, so it can be deceptive. Bristol Zoo on a weekend, the two main car parks were full, so was off street parking and paid parking. Yes, BZP does have some charm and the exhibits are decent and definitely the correct way of doing things, but as a visitor attraction at present, it's lacking. I mean, the only food outlets are vending machines or a café, that offers hot drinks, sandwiches, cakes and a few sausage rolls which are often gone by noon. The Pizza restaurant which was nice, but pricy has now closed and you are forced into bringing your own food, or not stay a whole day and go elsewhere to eat.

I do like that the play areas are away from the animals, this is a big plus for me, but it needs a lot of work imo.

The problem is, at £15 it is quite expensive to visit for what they have, and you know once the Gorillas and Rhino's arrive it's going to be bumped up to £20+.

Whilst most people with an interest to the industry knew very few animals were moving from Clifton, the general public, families, locals etc didn't. They now go to Wild Place and ask, where are the lions, where are such and such. Most thought the old zoo was moving to the new zoo and therefore when they turn up at a lovely looking place with very little there, they feel let down.

I hear so many times at Noah's Ark, people going there for the first time, having not really known about it, and hearing them talk to people saying oh it's far better here than wild place and we'll come here in future. These are the people who supported Bristol Zoo, and they have now lost to their biggest local rival. They are not going to be easy to get back.

 

[GeeZee]

Depends when you visit I suppose. At weekends, and school holidays yes it's busy, but it is a small car park, so it can be deceptive. Bristol Zoo on a weekend, the two main car parks were full, so was off street parking and paid parking. Yes, BZP does have some charm and the exhibits are decent and definitely the correct way of doing things, but as a visitor attraction at present, it's lacking. I mean, the only food outlets are vending machines or a café, that offers hot drinks, sandwiches, cakes and a few sausage rolls which are often gone by noon. The Pizza restaurant which was nice, but pricy has now closed and you are forced into bringing your own food, or not stay a whole day and go elsewhere to eat.

I do like that the play areas are away from the animals, this is a big plus for me, but it needs a lot of work imo.

The problem is, at £15 it is quite expensive to visit for what they have, and you know once the Gorillas and Rhino's arrive it's going to be bumped up to £20+.

Whilst most people with an interest to the industry knew very few animals were moving from Clifton, the general public, families, locals etc didn't. They now go to Wild Place and ask, where are the lions, where are such and such. Most thought the old zoo was moving to the new zoo and therefore when they turn up at a lovely looking place with very little there, they feel let down.

I hear so many times at Noah's Ark, people going there for the first time, having not really known about it, and hearing them talk to people saying oh it's far better here than wild place and we'll come here in future. These are the people who supported Bristol Zoo, and they have now lost to their biggest local rival. They are not going to be easy to get back.

When I went the pizza place had reopened near the entrance, generally I always bring my own food anyway as I enjoy having a bit of a picnic - but as I understand they are rebuilding the pizza restaurant that was by the bear wood if that’s what you were referring to.

I do agree that to an extent, the media did seem to make out that a lot of the animals from BZ were going to move to BZP , when clearly that is not the case - but to what extent the zoo itself is to blame for that I’m not so sure. The “general public” don’t typically have such a vested interest in these things like we may do.

 

[TriUK]

Depends when you visit I suppose. At weekends, and school holidays yes it's busy, but it is a small car park, so it can be deceptive. Bristol Zoo on a weekend, the two main car parks were full, so was off street parking and paid parking. Yes, BZP does have some charm and the exhibits are decent and definitely the correct way of doing things, but as a visitor attraction at present, it's lacking. I mean, the only food outlets are vending machines or a café, that offers hot drinks, sandwiches, cakes and a few sausage rolls which are often gone by noon. The Pizza restaurant which was nice, but pricy has now closed and you are forced into bringing your own food, or not stay a whole day and go elsewhere to eat.

I do like that the play areas are away from the animals, this is a big plus for me, but it needs a lot of work imo.

The problem is, at £15 it is quite expensive to visit for what they have, and you know once the Gorillas and Rhino's arrive it's going to be bumped up to £20+.

Whilst most people with an interest to the industry knew very few animals were moving from Clifton, the general public, families, locals etc didn't. They now go to Wild Place and ask, where are the lions, where are such and such. Most thought the old zoo was moving to the new zoo and therefore when they turn up at a lovely looking place with very little there, they feel let down.

I hear so many times at Noah's Ark, people going there for the first time, having not really known about it, and hearing them talk to people saying oh it's far better here than wild place and we'll come here in future. These are the people who supported Bristol Zoo, and they have now lost to their biggest local rival. They are not going to be easy to get back.

I’ve been contemplating this quite a bit, in correlation to the way my local zoo is changing, and my own behaviour whilst visiting.
When I visit Wild Place, I think I ‘slow down’ and spend much longer at each exhibit, compared, say, to when I’m at Chester or Colchester and I’m trying to ‘see everything’?
Paignton is reducing its collection and I believe the focus there will be to go down the Wild Place model of trying to only display animals, as much as possible, that they are directly involved with in the wild. There is already a clear & dedicated plan evolving to observe enclosures from multiple view points and encourage people to stop and find animals in more overgrown and larger naturalistic exhibits? Wild Place do this well.
Bristolian families that regularly visit WWT Slimbridge and National Trust sites most weekends for family walks may visit the new Bristol Zoo more than the families who’d ordinarily go to the zoo once a year with kids?
Bristol & Paignton will have to slowly re-educate people and gently encourage a change in visiting behaviours, perhaps?
Paigntons new baboon exhibit has an amphitheatre styled viewing area, to encourage guests to sit down, as many currently do at the rock.
Wild Place do this in Bear Wood with ranger styled talks and excellent interpretative signage.
It will be interesting to see how it works for these new styled zoos.
As a zoo nerd, at least I’ve got Shaldon, Newquay, Axe and Exmoor all close!

 

[Alwaysevergreen]

Bristolian families that regularly visit WWT Slimbridge and National Trust sites most weekends for family walks may visit the new Bristol Zoo more than the families who’d ordinarily go to the zoo once a year with kids?

I find this quite an odd comment. Personally, whilst not a family, I have a National Trust membership and a WWT membership, and I like that for a nominal monthly fee, I can visit a number of different places, the same with my RSPB membership.
However, I can't see how BZP would get this crowd? Most families when they go to zoos, want to spend a whole day, and be entertained, and this can include play areas for the kids etc. Some of the play areas at National Trust places with gardens are very interesting and WWT Slimbridge actually has a good play area near the café.

I'm not sure this is the audience that BZP are after or should be after, they shouldn't have closed Bristol Zoo, until closer to the time of BZP being ready to be a state of the art zoo. I appreciate that financially this may not have been possible. But whilst the zoo was scaling down and moving animals on, they should have offered members or locals the chance to see animals currently still at Bristol, do themed events now and again. This could have kept locals interested and also kept people informed on the animals still there, and maybe on future plans for the sites.

The way it closed and pushed people towards BZP straight away has done them no favours, as most of the non zoo nerds who then visited BZP as BZ was closed, were left disappointed and disillusioned. Those without transport are further frustrated that a year after closing, there is still not an ideal bus to BZP that stops outside, and you still have to walk from Cribbs.

Numbers for Noahs Ark have been on the up and consistently, most of my family and school friends are from central Bristol, and many of them have kids and love a day at a zoo, I speak to a handful of them and they all prefer Noahs Ark. However a year ago, they only went to BZ, they rarely even visited Noahs Ark or BZP, they've all been disappointed, these are not people who want to go to zoos and learn about conservation etc. They want to see animals and keep the kids entertained for the day. Most families and people that actually keep zoos in business, aren't really massively interested in huge exhibits which modern day zoos have and are great for the animals. Yes this is the way it should be, but the general zoo visitor just wants to see animals and lots of them. You don't get that at BZP, and that's why it's going to be very hard to get the people who all went to BZ, to stay long term visitors to BZP.

 

[TriUK]

I find this quite an odd comment. Personally, whilst not a family, I have a National Trust membership and a WWT membership, and I like that for a nominal monthly fee, I can visit a number of different places, the same with my RSPB membership.
However, I can't see how BZP would get this crowd? Most families when they go to zoos, want to spend a whole day, and be entertained, and this can include play areas for the kids etc. Some of the play areas at National Trust places with gardens are very interesting and WWT Slimbridge actually has a good play area near the café.

I'm not sure this is the audience that BZP are after or should be after, they shouldn't have closed Bristol Zoo, until closer to the time of BZP being ready to be a state of the art zoo. I appreciate that financially this may not have been possible. But whilst the zoo was scaling down and moving animals on, they should have offered members or locals the chance to see animals currently still at Bristol, do themed events now and again. This could have kept locals interested and also kept people informed on the animals still there, and maybe on future plans for the sites.

The way it closed and pushed people towards BZP straight away has done them no favours, as most of the non zoo nerds who then visited BZP as BZ was closed, were left disappointed and disillusioned. Those without transport are further frustrated that a year after closing, there is still not an ideal bus to BZP that stops outside, and you still have to walk from Cribbs.

Numbers for Noahs Ark have been on the up and consistently, most of my family and school friends are from central Bristol, and many of them have kids and love a day at a zoo, I speak to a handful of them and they all prefer Noahs Ark. However a year ago, they only went to BZ, they rarely even visited Noahs Ark or BZP, they've all been disappointed, these are not people who want to go to zoos and learn about conservation etc. They want to see animals and keep the kids entertained for the day. Most families and people that actually keep zoos in business, aren't really massively interested in huge exhibits which modern day zoos have and are great for the animals. Yes this is the way it should be, but the general zoo visitor just wants to see animals and lots of them. You don't get that at BZP, and that's why it's going to be very hard to get the people who all went to BZ, to stay long term visitors to BZP.

I agree with all of this, I don’t think I worded it correctly. Really good points and it’s healthy to discuss all this - cheers

 

[Charles]

I find this quite an odd comment. Personally, whilst not a family, I have a National Trust membership and a WWT membership, and I like that for a nominal monthly fee, I can visit a number of different places, the same with my RSPB membership.
However, I can't see how BZP would get this crowd? Most families when they go to zoos, want to spend a whole day, and be entertained, and this can include play areas for the kids etc. Some of the play areas at National Trust places with gardens are very interesting and WWT Slimbridge actually has a good play area near the café.

I'm not sure this is the audience that BZP are after or should be after, they shouldn't have closed Bristol Zoo, until closer to the time of BZP being ready to be a state of the art zoo. I appreciate that financially this may not have been possible. But whilst the zoo was scaling down and moving animals on, they should have offered members or locals the chance to see animals currently still at Bristol, do themed events now and again. This could have kept locals interested and also kept people informed on the animals still there, and maybe on future plans for the sites.

The way it closed and pushed people towards BZP straight away has done them no favours, as most of the non zoo nerds who then visited BZP as BZ was closed, were left disappointed and disillusioned. Those without transport are further frustrated that a year after closing, there is still not an ideal bus to BZP that stops outside, and you still have to walk from Cribbs.

Numbers for Noahs Ark have been on the up and consistently, most of my family and school friends are from central Bristol, and many of them have kids and love a day at a zoo, I speak to a handful of them and they all prefer Noahs Ark. However a year ago, they only went to BZ, they rarely even visited Noahs Ark or BZP, they've all been disappointed, these are not people who want to go to zoos and learn about conservation etc. They want to see animals and keep the kids entertained for the day. Most families and people that actually keep zoos in business, aren't really massively interested in huge exhibits which modern day zoos have and are great for the animals. Yes this is the way it should be, but the general zoo visitor just wants to see animals and lots of them. You don't get that at BZP, and that's why it's going to be very hard to get the people who all went to BZ, to stay long term visitors to BZP.

I think they were hoping that west car park would have been sold much quicker and that the new exhibits would have opened next year but because there was so much delay they had already said they were closing but couldn’t start building the new exhibits and for someone who goes almost every week there doing well, I think Noah’s ark has just improved and people are recommending it but both sites have things the other doesn’t it doesn’t mean that BZP will fail

 

[Alwaysevergreen]

I think they were hoping that west car park would have been sold much quicker and that the new exhibits would have opened next year but because there was so much delay they had already said they were closing but couldn’t start building the new exhibits and for someone who goes almost every week there doing well, I think Noah’s ark has just improved and people are recommending it but both sites have things the other doesn’t it doesn’t mean that BZP will fail

I'm not saying, BZP will fail so to speak, but I would say that you are what I would call an invested visitor. You openly say you visit every week, you have spoken passionately as well about the place, and this is a good thing. However, part of me has always wondered if deep down, the wrong place closed. Now, I appreciate there is more space at BZP, the exhibits can be far more modern day standard and that over time it can showcase a number of big species, however it's location was not screaming for another "big" zoo.
Within 90 minutes you have Dudley, Cotswold Wildlife Park, Marwell, Longleat, Noahs Ark, and Paignton. I would argue that Bristol Zoo, being the 5th oldest zoo, in a big city with it's own charm had a lot that BZP didn't, but it was smaller and could not house the larger species any more. That said if people came to Bristol for a week or weekend and they wanted to visit a zoo, they would visit the city Zoo. People aren't staying in the area and visiting BZP.

I don't dislike BZP, I think what they have is done well, and I like some of the exhibits, and I find it a good place for photos, but it's a place that I could visit once, maybe twice a year and feel no real desire to go back, as it's always the same. There is not really aside of Wolverine and Lynx, any real notable species breeding successfully, so there is not the draw of constant babies and I would say that it can't compete at present to any of the local bigger zoos.

You need a balance, and Bristol already has a large animal zoo in Noahs Ark, that is well supported, offers a good day out, has good public transport links, but the heart of the city lost a zoo which may have not ever been a long term answer for the species it once held, but it was popular and loved by it's locals for what it was.

Personally, whilst conservation is vitally important, I do think we should be moving away from having larger animals in zoos, and we should be looking to support species in decline and leave the big animals that need support to the largest already established facilities. We should be focusing on our own native wildlife and we should be educating about how we need to be protecting areas more. This message doesn't mean 250 acre zoos with very few species, in large exhibits, but identifying species of concern.

I've no doubt within 12 years when we have got to 2035 and this was the phases published for BZP that it will be a lovely zoo, but attitudes to animals in captivity is regularly changing and at present there are voices suggesting Elephants shouldn't be in captivity, next it will be Rhino's or Giraffes etc.

BZP for me, has always felt a bit behind the grain, and trying to play catch up in a field they can't compete in. Council wise, Bristol has always been backward. Numerous times a tram system has been blocked since it's closure in 1978, and any attempt to bring it back has been blocked. Redevelopments of both the Cities football stadiums has been met with unrest and delays and even resulted in Bristol City redeveloping their own ground, rather than building a new one at Ashton Vale. The prospect of Arena's initially at Temple Quay and latterly in Filton have been met with delays upon delays and this is for a city which has lost it's stature over the years. It was the 5th biggest city when I grew up there, and has dropped to the 8th in 2021, and according to statistics in 2023, it is now not even in the top ten cities.

The delays you speak of with the West Car Park, weren't so much down to a buyer, but the council continuously blocking and delaying new proposals, but this is not something new. BZP will have plans drawn up for future planning at BZP, but whilst most places, things go through smoothly, BCC are in a league of their own in delaying progression.

BZP formerly WPP, has had the safe life-span as YWP, albeit YWP opened in 2009 and WPP in 2013, but whilst some will argue YWP hasn't had 2 sites to pay for, and BZP did until 2022, one has grown into probably the 2nd or 3rd best animal attraction in the UK, and the other is not even a top 20 attraction in terms of visitor numbers. The money pumped into Yorkshire had been huge and led to iffy financial projections post covid, but it would appear, new funds or investment has been reached to develop and redevelop exhibits in the last 6 months and there feels to be progression in animal collection. BZP still have not started work on exhibits which were pretty much announced a year ago and the whole 2035 plan is based on the old zoo site being sold for the valuation.

In order to be a success and decision justified, BZP needs to be up there amongst the Chester's, and Yorkshire's. However, they are yet to scale the heights of a Paignton, Marwell or even Twycross. One would argue, that the likes of Peak Wildlife Park, Jimmy's Farm and Hamerton will develop more in this period of 12 years and be larger collections.

For me, and the reason I am passionate about it, is because I'm Bristolian, I grew up in Bristol, I've seen for 40 years how backward the council is, how all big plans never come to anything, and I'm annoyed a perfectly good zoo which catered for the cities audience was allowed to die so an all singing and all dancing facility could be created on the outskirts of the city, but the problem is, the development will be slow, it's prospects rely on many factors and the new facility was never needed as there isn't the levels of investment and money behind it, to challenge the major operations setting the standard or growing and progressing into larger zoos.

My fear, is that the sale of the main site at Bristol will drag on and on. Only the west car park has been sold to a developer for 62 luxury homes, in an area where there are already many luxury homes on the market. The main site, valued at some 40m will be years off getting a buyer, and plans completed, and in that time BZP will be held back from future ambitious plans because of funding.

I've never found myself agreeing or wanting to support the save Bristol Zoo campaign that was created, as I think it was rushed, and created on ill facts, but there is a part of me, as someone who loves Bristol, and is Bristol born and bred, that would rather see BZP realise that their plans are too big, for an area where there just isn't the buyers or funding in the main site to get what they need to make the collection at Cribbs what they want. I for one, would love a community City zoo in Bristol, focused on education, conservation and history of what was the 5th oldest zoo in the world. Concentrate on what works and what can be successful, rather than a pipe dream, that is currently under funded, under supported and probably will never be the place they want it to be. That may sound harsh. But nearing 3 years after Bristol Zoo announced they were to close in 2022, and drew up plans for the future of the site, and how it could be sold to benefit the City and fund an amazing new zoo out of town, very little has happened.
There are a lot of people and business' in Bristol who would support, sponsor, invest into a community zoo in Bristol, at Clifton. But not at Cribbs.

 

[Rajang21]

Personally, whilst conservation is vitally important, I do think we should be moving away from having larger animals in zoos

There is published research showing that zoos holding large animals results in greater visitor attendance and conservation investment in wild populations. Having a collection of small critically endangered animals is a nice thought but won’t enable zoos to have as significant a conservation impact.

In any case, BZP is planning to hold many small, conservation-relevant species alongside the large, iconic mammals. This also lines up with the aforementioned research findings and BZS’ intention of being heavily conservation-focused.

BZP formerly WPP, has had the safe life-span as YWP, albeit YWP opened in 2009 and WPP in 2013

How can it have had the same lifespan if YWP has been open for four more years?

Also - on the council front, is BZP not under South Glos. rather than Bristol City?

 

[Alwaysevergreen]

There is published research showing that zoos holding large animals results in greater visitor attendance and conservation investment in wild populations. Having a collection of small critically endangered animals is a nice thought but won’t enable zoos to have as significant a conservation impact.

In any case, BZP is planning to hold many small, conservation-relevant species alongside the large, iconic mammals. This also lines up with the aforementioned research findings and BZS’ intention of being heavily conservation-focused.


How can it have had the same lifespan if YWP has been open for four more years?

Also - on the council front, is BZP not under South Glos. rather than Bristol City?

Agreed, but there is pushback on keeping them in captivity. What happens if in ten years, Elephants, Giraffes and Rhino's are not advised to be kept in captivity then what ?

I meant they are relatively the same age, 4 years is not a long time, and I meant that they are newer collections, not ones that have been around for a long time.

BZP may come under South Gloucs, but they rely on BZ getting it's planning and agreement to be in a position to sell it, to even get BZP where they want it. A recent pool conducted by the Bristol Post (Bristols Newspaper) has had around 8000 votes, with 67% not wanting housing on the old site. This poll amongst other things have been presented to the council, who are still going over a number of things regarding the old site. This will definitely drag on and on.

 

[Rajang21]

Agreed, but there is pushback on keeping them in captivity. What happens if in ten years, Elephants, Giraffes and Rhino's are not advised to be kept in captivity then what ?

I meant they are relatively the same age, 4 years is not a long time, and I meant that they are newer collections, not ones that have been around for a long time.

BZP may come under South Gloucs, but they rely on BZ getting it's planning and agreement to be in a position to sell it, to even get BZP where they want it. A recent pool conducted by the Bristol Post (Bristols Newspaper) has had around 8000 votes, with 67% not wanting housing on the old site. This poll amongst other things have been presented to the council, who are still going over a number of things regarding the old site. This will definitely drag on and on.

There is always pushback somewhere about animal captivity. It (sometimes rightly) forces zoos to be better. I don’t foresee BZP receiving many complaints about large animal holdings given what they have done so far has been exemplary.

 

[Alwaysevergreen]

There is always pushback somewhere about animal captivity. It (sometimes rightly) forces zoos to be better. I don’t foresee BZP receiving many complaints about large animal holdings given what they have done so far has been exemplary.

True, but it doesn't get away from the fact, they need to sell the site in Bristol, and there is a lot of opposition for it to be turned into housing, and the council are yet to approve it, they are yet to find a buyer and it would not be the first time something like this in Bristol gets blocked.

 

[Rajang21]

True, but it doesn't get away from the fact, they need to sell the site in Bristol, and there is a lot of opposition for it to be turned into housing, and the council are yet to approve it, they are yet to find a buyer and it would not be the first time something like this in Bristol gets blocked.

I don’t think that point is particularly relevant to the discussion around holding large mammals.

 

[Alwaysevergreen]

I didn't say it was, but the future plans are reliant on funding. No planning, no sale, no funding.
I personally believe in most of our lifetimes, some of the iconic species we currently see in zoos, will not be there in 20/30 years.

 

[Ned]

I think quite the opposite. In the future we may find large terrestrial mammals only exist in some form of captivity. I can't see there being large enough areas of wilderness to support viable populations of large animals.
I also think the fact Bristol kept gorillas and lions as flagship species says a lot about the species the average person goes to a zoo to see.

 

[Haliaeetus]

I think quite the opposite. In the future we may find large terrestrial mammals only exist in some form of captivity. I can't see there being large enough areas of wilderness to support viable populations of large animals.

It depends largely from the species, countries, human occupation of land and attitude towards wild animals.

 

[Dassie rat]

I think quite the opposite. In the future we may find large terrestrial mammals only exist in some form of captivity. I can't see there being large enough areas of wilderness to support viable populations of large animals..

I think you're right. There are relatively few cases of large captive animals being released into the wild and some Zoochatters have condemned the practice. I have read that about 250 genetically-diverse individuals are required for a species to be viable. Keeping thousands of individuals of some large species is not true conservation and it would be better to increase the number of endangered species kept in captivity, rather than a high percentage of zoos reducing the number of species kept.

 

[Lafone]

Lots of good points but I don’t think there is a remote possibility of Bristol zoo relocating to its old site or being reborn in its old form. The campaign to save it had emotive support but if people were that bothered they’d go and support the new place for the sake of the animals and staff. If as stated here no one is now really going to BZP who went to BZ well it wasn’t BZ they were bothered about. Which isn’t hard to believe.

Either BZP fails altogether and there is no new major zoo in the immediate vicinity (and Noah’s ark becomes the ‘local’ default) or it continues to expand, albeit more slowly than most people reasonably expected.

I can’t see a future where a new large zoo appears in the middle of Bristol. No funding. No site. And no one to set that in motion. It might be a good outcome but it’s not a likely one.

At the moment people go to the zoo and want to see the ABC/s - indeed that’s been raised as one of the reasons BZP is a bit disappointing for some people compared to somewhere like Noah’s ark. I believe that if they can get the notable species like the gorillas onto the site they’d get visitors ‘back’ or just going anyway. If families want animals and lots of them then it’s important to also note the distinction between petting zoos with smaller or domestic species and ‘proper’ zoos is made in most peoples minds. Think of the times you are at the zoo and people are having a moody moment because the lions are asleep when there are true wonders in enclosures under 100m away.

Being vested in the new or old Bristol zoo won’t much alter the way this plays out imho. It would be a shame if BZP fails though as if it does that’s another collection gone for good. But I would agree it hangs in the balance. It does have some really nice stuff well done though so hopefully it sells the site, gets the big things in and grows on from there. The alternative is a lot of jobs and animals with a poor future.

 

[Dassie rat]

Plzen Zoo has a good mix of ABCs and XYZs

 

[Alwaysevergreen]

Lots of good points but I don’t think there is a remote possibility of Bristol zoo relocating to its old site or being reborn in its old form. The campaign to save it had emotive support but if people were that bothered they’d go and support the new place for the sake of the animals and staff. If as stated here no one is now really going to BZP who went to BZ well it wasn’t BZ they were bothered about. Which isn’t hard to believe.

Either BZP fails altogether and there is no new major zoo in the immediate vicinity (and Noah’s ark becomes the ‘local’ default) or it continues to expand, albeit more slowly than most people reasonably expected.

I can’t see a future where a new large zoo appears in the middle of Bristol. No funding. No site. And no one to set that in motion. It might be a good outcome but it’s not a likely one.

At the moment people go to the zoo and want to see the ABC/s - indeed that’s been raised as one of the reasons BZP is a bit disappointing for some people compared to somewhere like Noah’s ark. I believe that if they can get the notable species like the gorillas onto the site they’d get visitors ‘back’ or just going anyway. If families want animals and lots of them then it’s important to also note the distinction between petting zoos with smaller or domestic species and ‘proper’ zoos is made in most peoples minds. Think of the times you are at the zoo and people are having a moody moment because the lions are asleep when there are true wonders in enclosures under 100m away.

Being vested in the new or old Bristol zoo won’t much alter the way this plays out imho. It would be a shame if BZP fails though as if it does that’s another collection gone for good. But I would agree it hangs in the balance. It does have some really nice stuff well done though so hopefully it sells the site, gets the big things in and grows on from there. The alternative is a lot of jobs and animals with a poor future.

Some really good points @Lafone . It's not so much a call to revert, but there is significant support to block the redevelopment of the old site. The petition to revert and have a zoo there is too small, and the site couldn't house a modern day zoo for sure, however, a lot of Bristol do not want more housing, and more luxury housing at that.
When the Bristol Post ran it's poll on whether people wanted development on the Clifton site, 67% of it's readers who voted (Believed to be 8000+), it was a categoric No. That's not saying they want a zoo there or don't want BZP, but they don't want the Clifton site redeveloped into more luxury housing and this could well be the stumbling block for BZP.

It's future and plans hinges on planning on the 12 acre site and a developer buying it. The council have hinted they will approved plans, but since doing so, many task groups have come out the wood work to say they will object and contest. One of the main affordable housing developers supporting Bristol has spoken out against the redevelopment and the Bristol Post has given the results of it's poll to the council.

Going back 8-10 years, Bristol City FC through Steven Lansdown purchased land at Ashton Vale to develop into a state of the art football stadium. Plus wanted to develop the remaining land for culture, arts, university housing etc. It was found on the site, there was a newt living there, and this "shouldn't" be relocated. there was also huge opposition from the neighbouring areas and despite once getting backing of the council, in the end through judicial review, it was denied. Bristol City ended up redeveloping their own ground, and the Ashton Vale site remains untouched. Still owned by Lansdown.

The issue may not be the plans BZP has, but the funding to finance them is reliant on the sale of the current Bristol Zoo site. Yes they have wanted to create these gardens and yes make it a community park, with café, museum and luxury housing. But for all there possibly is a developer interested in this scheme, and plan, there is fierce opposition from the people of Bristol, who don't want the land developed, don't want more luxury housing.

This is why this will drag on and on, and the outcome is far from certain. Now, it is labelled with a 40m price tag, which would be hard to recover for any developer, but something has to give.

There remains the possibility that in time, the site won't get the planning backing, and survive a judicial review, and then what. The money needed to fund the big plan to 2035 will not be there. The West Car Park sale, is funding this initial Central African Forest and Visitor Centre and so on, but it's the steps after this.

For the sake of BZP, they need planning to come through, and then they need a buyer, but to put a time scale on that is not easy.

For me, the problem is not the plan or the desire for BZP, it's really they should have been looking to get the planning and all that acquired, before they closed the main site. Continued to have kept it running, until everything went through.

I don't think they ever anticipated it being as tricky as it's proving to be, and once they announced BZ's closure there wasn't much they could do.

The site however is still licensed and still has animals. It still serves university students, so in theory they could still run "Gorilla Breakfasts" etc and open up the café and garden for special events, to bring in money.
They of course have tried this, with saying the first 20 sign ups for the lifetime membership to raise £20,000 would get to have a morning with the Gorillas. I've no idea if they now have the twenty, but it was plugged for a good 2 weeks, which shows take up was not significant so to speak.
We all know if Yorkshire or Chester made the same offer, it would sell out within an hour.

I do hope things go smoothly for BZP. I hope they get planning, and I hope it sells and they are able to construct the zoo they wish to by 2035, but I personally have a gut feeling that planning is not going to go their way, there is just so much opposition to the redevelopment to the Clifton site, which the Council may struggle to ignore, especially when the council is a Green Party and Labour stronghold, and they would be concerned about losing votes of its people next year when it comes to a general election.

 

[Pertinax]

Does anyone know what other animals, if any, are still held on the old Zoo site apart from the Gorillas?