Campaigners to launch judicial review over development at former zoo

Plans to build homes on the former site of Bristol Zoo have been paused after campaigners said they would launch a judicial review of the city council’s decision to grant planning permission.

The zoo has been moved and its owner Bristol Zoological Society (BZS) wants to sell its original site for construction of 196 homes and a park.

But the Save Bristol Gardens Alliance said it had crowdfunded £6,165 towards its £10,000 target for a judicial review.

The group said: “We have no argument with the decision to stop the caging of animals, but we absolutely have an argument with the [Zoological] Society’s dogged attachment to destroying a precious urban oasis - in the face of 10,000 petitioners and nearly 1,000 formal objections.” 

A judicial review would be argued on the grounds including that planners allowed BZS to use old unworkable methodology in its application and to show a biodiversity net gain.  

According to the alliance, using the correct workings would have shown a 20% net loss in biodiversity.

It would also argue that planners inconsistently used an old version of carbon factors to demonstrate a reduction in carbon emissions from the development and that the local plan does not generally permit such development on open spaces and the reasons the planners gave to justify development were wrong in law.

BZS was granted planning consent in June and said at the time: “This is positive news, as the planning obligations include key aspects of the design, which the society has always been committed to.”

These conditions included 20% affordable housing, free public access to the gardens and conversion of the entrance building to become a conservation hub.

The society said that should anyone bring a judicial review “this will take a few months to resolve”.

Bristol City Council has been approached for comment.

Mark Smulian