Councillors in Bristol have approved plans to build 200 homes on Bristol zoo gardens to the horror of local campaigners.
The decision was made with the reasoning that building the homes would help the current housing crisis in Bristol, with councillors acknowledging it would be against the authority's development plan and that trees and habitat would be lost.
The walled gardens, which have been open since 1836, have been shut since September last year, and the "Bristol Zoo project" is currently being developed outside of town in south Gloucestershire.
Of the 196 homes proposed to be developed on the site, 20% of them should be affordable, and all listed and historically sensitive buildings on the site will be preserved. However, local people have expressed concern that the site will be used to make money and the highly desirable neighbourhood will be full of luxury housing.
One protester told the Guardian:
"We've learned so much from it and have so many happy memories. It seems a crime to take away this incredible space. It's been loved by the public for 186 years – all that history. What is going to replace it is homes that are unaffordable for most people. It's an act of complete greed."
In the final decision, six of the members backed the motion for the housing and three objected.
Planning officers said on the decision that the development would attract "substantial positive weight given the council currently cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites".
