Posted April 12, 2023 in News
We have an exciting announcement…
Here at Colchester Zoo, we celebrate all colours of wildlife and strive to support conservation of the beautiful flora and fauna we are lucky to share our world with.
As Spring arrives it’s time to enjoy the bright colours again after a long period of grey, not only from the weather but also the current cost of living squeeze we are all facing – after all there’s only so much grey we can handle! However, those dull colours in life make you appreciate the bright ones so much more and we have some beautiful bright colours ahead!
We can start to enjoy the vivid flowers and the wonderful birds that come back out to sing, but we are also pleased to be able to share with you some news that is sure to bring a BRIGHT future for the Zoo and the City of Colchester!
As we celebrate our 60th anniversary this year, we have been putting our vision for the Zoo’s future to paper and are pleased to share with you what we hope the future will hold for Colchester Zoo.
The long-term future of the Zoo has always been main priority, we want to see the Zoo prosper and so have produced an ambitious vision which hopefully will see it become one of the leading zoos in the country.
For the last 60 years, we have been known as a commercial Zoo, setting high standards for us to achieve, in education and conservation. We have been second to none, but we want to do more.
Therefore, it is with great pride that we announce, as of January 2025, the Zoo will become a charitable trust, known as Colchester Zoological Society.
The visual drawing below gives you a taste of what the future holds for Colchester Zoo. We must reiterate this is just a vision at this stage, due to this being subject to surveys, consent and planning permission. You can download the drawing here.
We hope to create many new jobs for the local community, as well as generate and expand our building association with many local suppliers and traders.
A bigger Zoo will not necessarily see the arrival of many new species but will ensure that every animal we have, will have better and bigger facilities, with many habitats tripling in size.
We hope to be able to bring new species such as, Gorilla, Bonobo and Okapi amongst others, to retain very much the African theme we have had over the years.
Our Green Zoo Policy will remain, and we are thinking of ways in which we can continue to reduce our carbon footprint such as further use of solar power.
Of course, all of this cannot be achieved overnight. Surveys and planning permission application is required and granted before anything can start and we need to build the funds to fulfil these plans to the highest standard possible.
We would like to thank all our dedicated staff, visitors and supporters who have, for so many years, given us the strength to survive and helped bring us through the darkest of days. Without your support we would not be where we are today and striving towards the Zoo of tomorrow.
We hope that the Zoo of the future here in Colchester will be one that the local community will be proud of. We strongly believe that this vision will secure a future which will allow us to achieve our mission and revolutionise the Zoo as we know it today.
This will not be possible without your support, so we kindly ask you to continue visiting and enjoying the wonders of wildlife with us. Help us to carry on supporting conservation projects worldwide and making a difference.
