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19 Jul 2017

Exclusive: Chester Zoo MD details £100m redevelopment masterplan

Chester Zoo will redevelop 100 acres (405,000sq m) of its existing site into grassland and forest areas as part of a £100m (US$130.4m, €113m) development masterplan.

The grasslands area will be located in the western part of the zoo and will be characterised by large, open savannah landscape populated by a mix of free-roaming species in the same areas.

To the eastern side of the zoo the forest zone will be multi-layered, with ground level experiences telling the story of trees and teaching visitors about the various animals that live in forests, while a treetop experience will offer exploration of the forest from a different viewpoint.

Jamie Christon, managing director of Chester Zoo, said the new areas will build on the attraction's £40m (US$52.2m, €45.2m) Island project, using high levels of immersion to create an authentic feel to the visitor experience.

“On the back of our success with Islands, we decided that as the majority of our collection comes from the three different types of area – island, forest and grassland – that we should look at developing the remainder of the zoo under those categories,” he told Attractions Management.

To accommodate its expansion, the zoo is also planning to build a temporary holding area outside of operational boundaries, with the zone to eventually become and breeding and conservation area for the zoo.

A major new restaurant and a number of yet-to-be-decided ride experiences are also in the works.

Phase one of the zoo’s masterplan will be completed “within the next seven years”, with grasslands scheduled to open by 2023. Forests has been given a tentative completion date of 2028. The entire zoo masterplan is expected to be complete by 2030.

“We will be applying for planning permission for two or three schemes in Q3 and start building once the main season is out of the way,” said Christon.

“The majority of this is happening within the zoo’s existing footprint. We’ll be developing new zones which have a similar feeling to how we have presented Islands, but with each area in its own realm.

"The quality of the build and theming has been very successful with Islands and we want to continue that on with our forests and grasslands zones. It’s helped boost record attendance and we want to keep building on that.”

The zoo is the UK’s most visited tourist attraction outside London, with 1.9 million people visiting in 2016. As a leading tourist attraction, the zoo contributes more than £50m (US$65.3m, €56.4m) a year to the local economy.

According to the zoo, the improvements will allow it to continue to develop with the vision of its founder George Mottershead’s “always building” philosophy, with its next opening being the next phase of the Dan Pearlman-designed Islands.

Costing £3m (US$3.9m, €3.4m) the work includes new areas for Sunbears and Malayan Tapir’s and a large walkway. A second phase of the zoo’s Madagascar play area is also in the works, with building starting in September.

Oakfield House, the Victorian property in the middle of the zoo, is currently undergoing a renovation and redevelopment, with the Grade II-listed property to open next year as a 150-seat gastro pub.

There is no main contractor for each build during the zoo’s redevelopment, with individual projects being put out for tender. A large internal development team will carry out much of the work, according the zoo.