It’s a Natural Vision!

L. Jones, Assistant Development Manager

North of England Zoological Society – ( Chester Zoo)

Chester , UK

l.jones@chesterzoo.org

Natural Vision is Chester Zoo’s ambitious £225 million development plan to transform the Zoo into a must-see European conservation, animal and leisure destination. Chester Zoo, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in May 2009, is a conservation charity that welcomes 1.3 million visitors per year. The Zoo’s mission is to be a major force in conserving biodiversity worldwide. This mission is achieved by supporting and promoting conservation by breeding rare and endangered animals and plants, by excellent animal welfare, high quality public ser vic e, recreation, education and science. Natural Vision is the culmination of many years of planning that will have huge economic benefits for the North West of England region. It will also showcase and financially support Chester Zoo’s national and international conservation work which already spans 50 countries worldwide, including nine major field programmes. Currently Chester Zoo occupies around 50 hectares of land but this is only around a third of its landholding. The Natural Vision project will increase the core zoo grounds to 80 hectares including new access roads and parking. The programme will be phased over a number of years and the first phase will include the only domed ecosystem in the UK . Called Heart of Africa, this bio-dome will be an African rainforest-themed sanctuary for a group of western lowland gorillas, a large group of chimpanzees, the elusive okapi , as well as a wide variety of tropical birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes and invertebrates, moving among lush vegetation. Phase one will also include a 90-bed hotel, a revitalised main entrance of the Zoo linking to a marina development , as well as the proposed Futures education centre. It is envisaged that visitation will increase to 1.6 million annually after phase one, rising to 2 million on completion of the full project. Natural Vision has been developed in partnership with the Zoo’s regional government agency, the Northwest Development Agency, who have provided funding to progress the project. Funding options for phase one are currently being investigated and planning permission will be submitted in September 2009. We are confident that Natural Vision will push the boundaries of the modern, 21st century zoo and lead the way for exciting new achievements in biodiversity conservation in the North West of England and worldwide.