The People Responsible
Who is responsible for the decision to close Bristol Zoo Gardens and then choose to sell it to become a private housing development?
The answer comes in two parts: The Bristol Zoological Society Executive team, led by the CEO and the Bristol Zoological Society Trustees.
The Executive
The Executive are a team of professionals whose jobs it is to run Bristol Zoological Society on a day-to-day basis. The Executive are accountable to the board of (up to) twelve Trustees and ultimately, it is the Trustees who are in charge of the Society as they have a legal duty and responsibility to safeguard the long-term interests and reputation of the Society.
The Trustees
Whilst the makeup of the board of Trustees has changed in the past few years, the list of twelve people below are the women and men who are ultimately responsible for Bristol Zoological Society’s current strategy. A strategy which will see the destruction of what Bristol Zoo Garden’s own website (until they deleted the page) described as “one of the UK’s most important collections of plants” and “170 years of nurture and gardening artistry”. The twelve Trustees of a conservation charity are sanctioning the chopping down of 150 beautiful mature trees and the bulldozing of the iconic herbaceous border where generations of Shareholders have scattered the ashes of their loved ones, in order to clear the way for multi-million pound homes and six-storey blocks of flats. That is not to mention permanently closing the world’s 5th oldest zoo, a living, breathing institution, a botanical garden, literally part of the fabric of the city which gave so much to the people of Bristol for almost 200 years, on a par with Clifton Suspension Bridge and the SS Great Britain in terms of its cultural and historical value to Bristol.
Who actually are the Trustees? Below is information primarily taken from the ‘Our People’ page on the Bristol Zoologival Society website.
These are the twelve people who have it in their power to change their current strategy of chopping down 150 trees, bulldozing the herbaceous border and putting up 6 storey tower blocks on the site of this walled botanical garden and world’s 5th oldest zoo.
DAVID ESAM - CHAIR OF TRUSTEES
David Esam is a retired commercial real estate lawyer.
CHRIS BOOY OBE - VICE CHAIR OF TRUSTEES
Chris Booy is Chairman of the Clifton Suspension Bridge Trust, Chairman of Bristol Bears Rugby Club, Chairman of the English Professional Game Board which controls English Rugby and is a Merchant Venturer. He has been a former Trustee of the SS Great Britain Trust and a Governor of the University of the West of England. He spent 40 years in senior positions in the construction industry operating as a consultant, including Chairman of The Symonds Group and Capita's Property Business.
DR ZOE BALMFORTH
Zoe Balmforth is a PHD ecologist and is Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Pivotal Future, a Special Advisor for the Biodiversity Consultancy, and is a Non-Executive Director of IDEMS International.
VICTORIA ASH
Victoria Ash has a broad business and entrepreneurial background with particular experience in marketing, business development and coaching.
PEACHES GOLDING OBE
Peaches Golding is His Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant, The King's personal representative for the County and City of Bristol. She is the independent chair of the Bristol Water Customer Challenge Panel, non-executive consultant of Moon Executive Search and a former Trustee of the SS Great Britain Trust.
ANDREW MARTYN-JOHNS
Andrew Martyn-Johns is a chartered accountant, working for 30 years at Deloitte. He is a Non-Executive Director of Goram Homes which according to its website, “was established in 2019 by Bristol City Council to build new homes in Bristol. Bristol City Council is our sole shareholder, but we are run as a commercial enterprise, with social objectives. We form partnerships with private developers to deliver mixed developments of market sale and affordable homes." The Goram Homes website also says that "Goram Homes is governed by our Board of Directors who are appointed by Bristol City Council. Our Business Plan is approved annually by our shareholder Bristol City Council."
Andrew Martyn-Johns was appointed as a BZS Trustee on 27th November 2020, the same day it was publicly announced that Bristol Zoo Gardens was to be sold. Shareholders were told at the AGM that day that Bristol Zoo Gardens would be sold for a housing development and that "Bristol City Council were looking for confidence that any developer would deliver the agreed scheme rather than come up with their own."
DR JOANNA PRICE
Dr. Joanna Price is a veterinary academic and former Head University of Bristol’s Veterinary School. She is also the former Director Farming & Food Futures Ltd and former Vice-Chancellor of the Royal Agricultural University.
PROFESSOR JUDITH SQUIRES
Judith Squires is Professor of Political Theory and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at the University of Bristol.
SIR PROFESSOR STEVE WEST CBE
Steve West is Vice-Chancellor, President and CEO of the University of the West of England, Bristol.
EMMA WOOLLETT
Emma Woollett is Chair of the Swansea Bay University Health Board.
SARAH FULLER
Sarah Fuller is a senior consumer marketing leader with extensive experience of leading commercially accountable marketing and digital teams.
ROSA CORBISHLEY
Rosa Corbishley is Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive of Wiltshire Creative and was formerly Development Director at Bristol Beacon for 12 years.