Zoo could quit capital after homes vision is kicked out

Published on Thursday 9 July 2009 00:30

THE future of one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions was thrown into doubt last night after plans to sell part of its site for housing were rejected by an independent inquiry.

Scottish Government reporters have rejected plans by Edinburgh Zoo to sell off about a sixth of its land to help pay for its multi-million-pound redevelopment.

The reporters ruled the creation of 120 houses on the western side of the zoo would have dramatically changed the character of Corstorphine Hill, ruining views of the beauty spot.

Although the news was welcomed by local campaigners last night, it raises major doubts over whether the zoo will be able to go ahead with a 72 million redevelopment over 20 years.

The zoo will be allowed to sell only a fraction of its site, raising less than a quarter of the sum it hoped to drum up.

It was hoped to create a string of tower blocks up to seven storeys high, but now less than 20 homes are expected to be approved. Insiders warn the move may even force the zoo to quit the site, its home since 1913, or even leave the capital entirely.

A surprise U-turn by councillors over the plans almost two years ago, when the city's planning committee rejected the sale plans, was branded a "kick in the guts" by zoo officials.

South Lanarkshire Council and Glasgow City Council have attempted to lure the zoo west in the wake of uncertainty over its future. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which runs the zoo, had been banking on the sell-off, agreed several years ago with the City of Edinburgh Council, as the major source of funding for its long-term ambitions.

Up to 20m from the sale was to be ringfenced for a host of new features, including a new entrance, four "biomes" replicating different environments and featuring new animals, new research centres and modern, covered enclosures and wildlife trails.

But the reporters – who delivered their verdict on the zoo as part of deliberations on the wider Edinburgh City local plan – said the proposals for 120 homes would effectively create a "high-density" development at the site.

They concluded that "the overall number of units and the extent of residential development proposed, particularly in the blocks of flats and the locations envisaged, would … would place the general character of the green belt and the landscape of Corstorphine Hill at risk".

The reporters said new housing should be limited to a small part of the zoo's western boundary, no more than two storeys high. It should be shielded by existing trees and they ruled out any housing being created facing on to the main road.

Eddie Price, chairman of the Friends of Corstorphine Hill group, said: "We're delighted at this result, it's pretty much what we were looking for. We've nothing at all against the zoo, but the development they were proposing would have changed the whole nature of the area."

Local councillor Jeremy Balfour said: "We were in favour of some development being allowed to help the zoo raise funds, but not on the scale proposed."

The RZZS declined to comment, with a spokeswoman saying the organisation had only just received the report.

Although the reporters' findings are not binding on the city council, the planning committee had backed the campaigners, against the advice of the local authority's own officials.

A spokesman for the council said last night: "We will put forward our proposals based on these recommendations to the council's planning committee later in the year."