The Bristol Zoological Society says judicial review has “no merit” after taking independent legal advice
Campaigners have brought a legal challenge against Bristol City Council for approving plans to develop 196 homes at the former Bristol Zoo Gardens site in Clifton.
Save Bristol Zoo Gardens, a group of residents and activists, has applied for a judicial review of the planning process used by the council to make its decision on approving the scheme.
The Bristol Zoological Society lodged the planning application to redevelop the site, which has operated as a zoo garden since 1836, in June 2022. Bristol City Council granted planning permission for the redevelopment of the former zoo gardens in April 2023.
Save Bristol Zoo Gardens has challenged Bristol City Council’s planning decision on the grounds that the development would create “environmental destruction” and has said that thousands of local people have objected “to the plan to build luxury flats”.
The group also said that council planners allowed the Bristol Zoological Society to use “an outdated method for calculating the impact on nature in its planning application”.
They added that if the development goes ahead “almost half of the trees would be chopped down” and “a road and parking would pollute the gardens”.
Last month, Bristol Zoological Society announced that it had signed a s106 planning agreement with Bristol City Council and that a decision notice on the application had been issued. The society described this as a “major step forward” for the development.
However, in the society’s statement, it suggested a potential legal challenge was anticipated.
The statement noted that: “Following the release of all decision notices, there is a six-week period during which anyone can bring a judicial review challenge to the planning process followed by Bristol City Council. Should such a challenge be submitted, this will take a few months to resolve”.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Bristol Zoological Society said: “The application for a judicial review of Bristol City Council’s decision, to approve the redevelopment of the former Bristol Zoo Gardens site, is seeking to stop a development that will bring much-needed housing for Bristol.”
They reiterated that the development will deliver 196 new homes, 20% affordable, a new public park which will see the gardens accessible for free, for the first time, a new café, playground and Conservation Hub.
The spokesperson added: “We remain confident in our plans and genuinely believe this is the right thing for Bristol.
“Both we and Bristol City Council have taken independent legal advice and will robustly defend against this application for a judicial review, which in our opinion has no merit.”
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Regarding the trees on site, the society said that “to protect the most important trees like the monkey puzzle tree, [it] has put in place 29 tree protection orders, and the design of the buildings has been carefully planned to protect tree roots.”
The statement added that out of the 218 existing trees on site, the society is proposing to remove 80 trees.
The spokesperson said: “Most of the trees to be removed are of a low quality and have been assessed as Category U or C.
“Of those being removed, 44 trees will be translocated, and 470 new trees will be planted, which far exceeds Bristol Tree Replacement Standard.”
In June 2022, the High Court quashed the council’s approval of the scheme, on the grounds that the local authority had failed to properly take account of heritage advice from Historic England “as a material consideration”.
In November 2022, the plans were approved for a second time.
A previous application to develop 62 homes in a car park on College Road, adjacent to the zoo, was approved in October 2021.
The Hill Group acquired the former Bristol Zoo car park from the Bristol Zoological Society in June of last year.
Bristol City Council has been approached for comment regarding the judicial review.
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