Chester Zoo to submit plans for £30m Islands scheme

CHESTER Zoo is to submit a planning application for its £30m Islands conservation project in May.

The Zoo’s bosses have just released images of the scheme, which it describes as “a conservation expedition bringing the islands of the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Bali, Sumatra, Sumba and Sulawesi to the heart of Cheshire”.

The zoo said the development would showcase conservation work and bring together a range of animals such as Babirusa, Indonesian Rhinoceros Hornbill, Lorikeet, Sumatran Orangutan, Saltwater Sulawesi Macaque, Sumatran Tiger and the Visayan Warty Pig.

It will be built along a 1.5km jungle path and include 50,000 sq km of landscape with integrating more than 25 buildings.

The Islands project has been designed by architects from the Dan Pearlman group in Germany. If planning is approved, work will start on the project in autumn. It is scheduled to open by spring 2015.

Dr Mark Pilgrim, director-general of Chester Zoo, said: “Our wildlife expedition will be based on real life, real people and real stories and will be unlike anything seen in a UK zoo.

“These images show, for the first time, a flavour of what can be expected from our new development. Islands will not just showcase the areas that the zoo works but will be a platform for some of the most endangered animals on the planet.”

Visitors will travel through the Islands either by boat or on foot and will navigate mangroves, swamps, bamboo and tropical forests.

Some of the animals are already in the zoo but new species will be added including the Saltwater Crocodile and Banteng, which is an endangered cattle species.