Support Bristol Zoo Gardens

Lead petitioner : Dr Jo Gipps

Status: New > Draft > Rejected > Accepted > Collecting signatures > Awaiting submission > Submitted > Pending owner response > Closed > Withdrawn

Status: Awaiting submission

Petition

We, the undersigned, urge Bristol City Council to grant the current planning application from Bristol Zoo (no. 09/05111/T) to use the Downs for overflow visitor car parking during peak periods.

Background information

Without this extra parking (accommodating around 2000+ visitors on busy days), the future viability of the Zoo is genuinely threatened, with the consequential negative impact on our important conservation work, both at the Zoo and overseas. The loss of the Zoo would also deal a major blow to the tourism economy, so vital for our City’s economy.

The Zoo has engaged expert consultants to research thoroughly all alternative options, none of which are currently viable. These include Park and Ride (we shall conduct a trial this summer to test the impact on the nine busiest days), and the provision of a multi-storey car park off College Road (to be big enough to make a difference, this would have to be at least 7 storeys high, clearly not economically possible or allowable in a sensitive conservation area). We have also carried out research to establish that our use of this area for parking does not have any medium- or long-term negative impact on the ecology of the area.

Signature Count

324