Colchester Zoo expansion sees plans to offload 500k tonnes of sand

The popular Maldon Road venue has set out ambitious plans to bring in new animals and expand its enclosures.

First revealed in April, Colchester Zoo will become a charity trust known as the Colchester Zoological Society from 2025.

A drawing shows how the zoo plans to expand, subject to planning permission.

The plans for the expansion include an extended safari ride experience, a refurbished savannah paddock, and a larger car park.

Now, the first stage of plans has been submitted to Essex County Council, which seeks planning permission for the prior extraction of sand which will facilitate a future expansion of Colchester Zoo.

The scheme has been designed to ensure it can be completed in a short period of time to allow the zoo to “progress with the respective stages of the masterplan and expansion development”.

It details offloading 500,000 tonnes of sand from a site next to the zoo.

The site, referred to as the “pre-extraction area” (PEA), is situated to the south east of Colchester Zoo.

It comprises a rectangular field used for farming, with areas used for overspill zoo car parking between the southern field and the main zoo car parking and exhibit area.

The application outlines plans to transport sand across via a conveyor into a ‘surge pile’ at Stanway Quarry.

The conveyor would be laid across the northern field. 

Due to it crossing a public footpath, it has outlined plans to “sink the conveyor and create a gentle ramp structure over the conveyor, with appropriate signage at a crossing point”.

The conveyor would also need to cross Maldon Road, with plans to create a bridge over it alongside associated traffic management with details needing to be agreed with the Highway Authority.

There would also be the stripping of the soils and extraction of minerals on the site as well.

The planning statement says a “Colchester Zoo Masterplan” is being prepared in stages, with this being Stage A’s “initial enabling works”.