Filton and Bradley Stoke MP Jack Lopresti has enthusiastically welcomed the Bristol Zoological Society’s decision to relocate Bristol Zoo to the Wild Place Project on Blackhorse Hill. The decision was taken to safeguard the future of the society and create a world-class zoo for Bristol and the West of England.
The new Zoo will offer fantastic, spacious, modern facilities for animals and visitors alike, and address many of the problems faced by a lack of space at the current Clifton site. The Society plans to sell the Clifton site to deliver the new Zoo, with plans for an urban conservation hub preserving the zoo’s main entrance building. This would also become the base of the Avon Gorge and Downs Wildlife Project, community and conservation programmes, an exhibition of Bristol Zoo Gardens’ heritage and a café.
Commenting Jack Lopresti said:
I am hugely in favour of BZS’s decision to move Bristol Zoo to the Wild Place Project here locally in Almondsbury.
I have many fond memories of annual family trips to the Zoo in Clifton. Despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic is it vital that organisations like the Zoological Society can survive, grow and continue their vital work conservation work, as well as ensuring their animals are cared for, protected and understood.
The new site is a fantastic opportunity to create a world-class Zoo, easily accessible to people in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and across the country. It also creates an exciting development prospect in the heart of Clifton, alongside the Zoo Gardens and new urban conservation centre.
BZS forecast the new Zoo opening at the Wild Place Project, which will be open throughout the process, in 2024.
