News / Yew Tree Farm
Ten more years of burial space to be gained with cemetery expansion
The Green Party claim they have found a solution to the need to expand South Bristol Cemetery without disturbing a nature-rich habitat.
Yew Tree Farm’s Catherine Withers, however, says that no Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) in Bristol is now safe.
On Friday, councillors voted unanimously to continue with the cemetery expansion project but also agreed to an amendment put forward by Green councillor Abdul Malik which would require alternative drainage solutions within the SNCI.
is needed now More than ever
Council officers speaking at the public health & communities committee were keen to stress that if the cemetery in Bedminster Down does not expand, Bristol will run out of burial plots by mid-2026.
The expansion of the cemetery will ensure ten more years of burial spaces.
But expansion will be delayed while Bristol City Council staff look at how they can prevent flooding in the graveyard without damaging the SNCI, with campaigners including Withers claiming that previous drainage plans would have polluted the nearby Colliter’s Brook.
Before burial space runs out, it is now up to the council to find suitable land elsewhere – with none yet located anywhere across the city.
Committee chair Stephen Williams said “the most important thing we’ve decided today is that there’ll be no expansion of the cemetery into the SNCI itself”.
Williams said: “Future burial provision will not be in the SNCI, but in the field in between the existing cemetery and the A38 Bridgwater Road.
“It’s occasionally used by horses grazing but it’s not important farmland. It’s certainly not a site of nature conservation interest.”
South Bristol Cemetery will be expanding onto land currently used by Yew Tree Farm – map: Bristol City Council
Speaking at the meeting to put forward his amendment, Malik said: “As someone who has worked closely with burials for the past two decades, I know first hand the significance of having a dignified resting place for our loved ones.
“And I also know the importance of protecting precious green spaces we have left, spaces like the Site of Nature Scientific Interest that we are talking about today.
“This amendment is not just about balancing numbers or ticking boxes; it’s about balancing respect.
“Respect for the families who deserve a space to bury their loved ones within the city and respect for the rare and delicate habitats that make Bristol a home for more than just people.”
Catherine Withers at Yew Tree Farm, the last working farm in Bristol – photo: Rob Browne
Outside City Hall, Withers told Bristol24/7: “I don’t feel as awful as I could have done but that’s only because I’m so grateful to all the people who turned up today.
“It wasn’t the outcome that I wanted and it wasn’t the outcome that I thought I was going to get from the political party that I support and helped get in.
“It felt very staged. I was offered this option on May 24 and I told them that it wasn’t suitable but yet here we are and it feels like six months of absolute torture.
“We got across very strongly how a lot of us feel like the officers have treated the farm… If the officers are talking about ecology, they don’t mean it.”
Withers added: “SNCIs should trump green belt, should trump any development. And yet here we are.
“This means that you can now build anywhere in theory. Nowhere is sacred and that breaks my heart.”
South Bristol Cemetery & Crematorium in Bedminster Down will be expanded onto land currently used by neighbouring Yew Tree Farm – photo: Emily Brown
Committee member Fi Hance, a Green councillor for Redland ward, said: “Thanks to the hard work of Green councillors, this amendment protects the SNCI and I hope addresses the fears of those worried about the fate of Yew Tree Farm.
“It also means that burials across the council will still pay for themselves, stopping money coming from improvements to our city’s parks at a time when the council is under significant financial pressure.
“The Greens are committed to addressing the ecological emergency, and we will work with officers to make sure that the SNCI remains protected, now and in the future.”
Main photo: Emily Brown
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