PLANS have been revealed for the country’s first wildlife conservation park due to be built at Compton Greenfield.

According to the plans, bears, giraffes, zebras, rhinos and wolves are all expected to be roaming the plains of North Bristol by 2012.

Bristol Zoo, which has owned the Hollywood Tower Estate since 1965, put the plans on display this week.

It plans to submit a detailed planning application for the £70 million wildlife park to South Gloucestershire Council later this month.

Dr Jo Gipps, director of Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: "The Park will make a spectacular day out for visitors of all ages and interests.

"Stepping through the gates of the Park, visitors will be transported from the normality of the Gloucestershire countryside to an amazing world of wildlife.

"Visitors will feel immersed in ecosystems from all over the world, engaged in active conservation programmes and inspired to make their own real contribution to sustainable living."

The 136-acre site will be divided into several exhibit areas, which will take visitors on a geographic journey to areas including the Congo Tropical Forest, Sumatra Rainforest, British Ancient Woodland and Indian Ocean Coral Reef.

Zoo bosses hope that through its design, the wildlife park will enable visitors to get close to animals within their natural habitats and understand more about the natural world and the impact humans have on it.

The park is expected to create 140 full-time jobs for the region and attract 500,000 visitors a year, giving local tourism and the economy a boost.

However, the development has been criticised by residents in Easter Compton and Almondsbury, who fear that the park will attract too much traffic to the area.

Almondsbury Parish Council recently decided to ask a Government inspector to call in the planning application for a new roundabout at Blackhorse Hill put in by Bristol Zoo.

Dr Gipps said: "We have been talking to our neighbours in Easter Compton and Almondsbury.

"We have recently received permission for the access roundabout. We have done lots of work to minimise the impact on junction 17 and we will do more work on that.

"We want our neighbours to be our friends, not our enemies."