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A new traffic roundabout at the top of traffic-choked Blackhorse Hill near Cribbs Causeway was set to get the green light from planning watchdogs today.

Bristol Zoo chiefs want to construct the roundabout near the already congested M5 junction 17 to take traffic in and out of their proposed £50million National Wildlife and Conservation Park on the Hollywood Tower estate at Compton Greenfield.

Outline planning consent was first granted more than 40 years ago when the site was still in "old Gloucestershire". Despite objections, the consent has been ruled to be still valid.

The zoo's latest vision for a huge "eco" attraction on the 136 acre site - once owned by the family of industrialist Sir George White - was first unveiled more than two years ago but had been delayed as consultants prepare traffic assessments.

South Gloucestershire Council has already indicated broad support for the development, which could attract up to 600,000 visitors a year.

Today, planning officers were recommending councillors to approve the roundabout scheme - subject to undertaking and conditions - as a precursor to a detailed planning application which the zoo is set to submit some time this year.

Almondsbury parish councillors have warned of "irreversible harm" to traffic flow in the area if the scheme goes ahead. Councillors say the proposed roundabout will be "hopelessly inadequate" leading to traffic mayhem on the B4055 and M5 junction 17, especially during holiday periods. They have called for traffic to enter the new zoo from the top of Blackhorse Hill but exit from Hollywood Lane.

Councils in Pilning and Severn Beach and Aust have also objected, mainly on traffic grounds. Bristol City is also concerned out the effect on its own road network especially if estimates of visitor numbers prove too conservative.

More than 150 local residents have also lodged formal objections on grounds ranging from traffic to noise and pollution.

Planners will hear today that following lengthy negotiations with the zoo highways chiefs were now satisfied that, subject to mitigating measures, the scheme would not seriously impact on the local road network.

The world's most exotic and threatened creatures, from rhinos, hippos and elephants to big cats, giraffes and okapi, will roam the estate (within the sound of the bells of All Saints, Compton Greenfield )if the new National Wildlife Conservation Park goes ahead.

A total of 12 exhibit areas, some of them inside or under cover, will include the Central American Swamp where visitors will walk through lush vegetation and around pools to catch a glimpse of the manatee, a spectacular aquatic mammal never before seen in a UK zoo.

They will also experience the African Savannah - with cheetahs, giraffes, rhinos, zebras, warthogs and wild dogs - which will be linked to key conservation area in a national park in Tanzania.

Habitats will be explored via walkways, hides, ranger stations and aerial platforms while specially designed enclosures and "invisible" barriers will help visitors feel immersed in the experience beyond what is possible in conventional zoos

8:34am Thursday 27th March 2008

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