Legal challenge over homes plan at old zoo rejected

4 December 2025

Carys NallyBristol

News image — The plans, illustrated above, to build 196 homes and create public gardens at the former zoo site were approved by Bristol City Council in 2023

Perkins & Will An aerial computer-generated image of proposed flats and gardens. About half a dozen blocks of flats line one edge of the site with some houses visible on the other side. There are lots of trees and greenery in the middle of the image. Other houses, a section of the Downs green space and sports pitches can be seen around the edge of the site. — The plans, illustrated above, to build 196 homes and create public gardens at the former zoo site were approved by Bristol City Council in 2023

A judicial review which would have challenged plans for houses and flats to be built on the old Bristol Zoo site has been rejected.

A judge has ruled Bristol City Council correctly followed all processes when approving Bristol Zoological Society's application to build 196 homes at the site in Clifton.

The society, which closed the historic zoo in 2022 and has been gradually moving animals to the larger Bristol Zoo Project, said legal challenges had cost it more than £300,000 and lead to 20 redundancies.

A spokesperson for Save Bristol Gardens Alliance, which brought the legal challenge, said it was disappointed with the news.

"[This is] not by any means the end of the opposition to this dreadful plan," they added.

"It took a vast amount of hard work and fundraising to mount the challenge.

"Had the zoological society and its board consulted properly in the first place, listened to the people of Bristol, and been open to an alternative scheme that did not entail such vast environmental destruction, we might have avoided going to court."

Perkins & Will Depiction of the planned flats with a green meadow in front of it with people sitting and playing. — Plans for the site in Clifton include public gardens, as well as almost 200 homes

Plans to develop the site were put on hold in August 2024 when the judicial review application was submitted.

Justin Morris, Bristol Zoological Society's chief executive, said the society was pleased with the decision but said campaigns against its plans have taken a "toll".

"In recent years we have faced a concerted campaign by individuals who have purposefully delayed the sale of Bristol Zoo Gardens, preventing us from accessing the proceeds and harming our charity and work," he said.

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"Responding to the campaigners' lawyers has cost our charity more than £300,000 – vital funds which could have been spent on conservation and education.

"As a result, this year we have had to cut costs dramatically and make roles redundant."

Mr Morris said he hoped the decision "brings an end" to the campaign and will allow the charity to make the best use of their funds.

He said: "We want to focus on conservation and the threatened animals that most need our help."

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