Your say / Environment
‘We must balance the need for burial space with protecting the environment’
As a Green Party councillor and someone who has spent the past two decades working closely with the mosque and the burial process, the issues of limited burial space and the impact of the ecological emergency are deeply personal to me.
I have witnessed first hand the emotional impact on families struggling to find dignified burial spaces for their loved ones, and I know our city has a moral obligation to provide these final resting places with respect and honour.
The need for burial space in Bristol is pressing. It is about more than just logistics; it is about giving our citizens, who have lived in and loved this city, the opportunity to rest in peace within the community they have been a part of.
is needed now More than ever
For families with loved ones interred at South Bristol Cemetery over the past four decades, this is a sacred connection that we must preserve. It is a matter of dignity, respect, and continuity for our communities. The Muslim community has also been trying to find alternative burial sites for many years, without success.
As has been heavily publicised, the new public health & communities committee will soon decide on the proposed expansion of South Bristol Cemetery to meet Bristol’s need for burial space. The committee will be presented with three options to choose from.
South Bristol Cemetery is likely to expand onto land used by neighbouring Yew Tree Farm – photo: Martin Booth
One option is to go ahead with the full expansion, as agreed by the previous administration. This would expand the cemetery significantly but at the cost of encroaching on the Colliter’s Brook Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI).
This would provide enough burial space for our needs until 2050 but would come at a heavy environmental cost, impacting local biodiversity and green space.
Another option is to halt the expansion in its entirety. This option would leave the city with no new burial spaces from 2026 onward. This would force families to seek burial options outside of Bristol, disrupting community ties and increasing costs for many.
It would also leave the city with a substantial financial deficit which will be taken from the parks budget as we would still be responsible for maintaining the cemetery without the revenue from new burials.
The final option is to have a limited expansion now, with a review in the future. It proposes a reduced expansion that respects the environmental significance of the SNCI. All burials will take place outside the SNCI while still providing around ten years of additional burial space. There will have to be an attenuation pond and small pipe within the SNCI to prevent graves being flooded.
This option will allow us to meet the immediate needs of our communities while still respecting our environmental responsibilities. It also seeks to establish a working group to explore long-term burial solutions beyond the next decade.
Having been intimately involved with the Muslim community and burial processes, I understand the unique challenges we face. For many years, families have had to bury their loved ones in unacceptable conditions, such as waterlogged land at the adjacent Muslim burial site.
This is a reality I have worked to change, and it is deeply frustrating that we have not yet found a perfect solution. But we cannot let perfect be the enemy of the good.
I fully appreciate the concerns about the future of Yew Tree Farm and the weight of protecting our natural habitats. The ecological value of the SNCI cannot be underestimated. Bristol City Council are committed to responding to the climate emergency and are exploring all options to actively increase the biodiversity and natural value of this site.
However, due to the financial situation left behind by the previous Labour administration, we do not have the funds to build a new cemetery, even if there was a suitable alternative site. This would also not relieve us of the responsibility to maintain the existing south Bristol site.
We have a duty to our residents, both living and deceased, to use our resources wisely.
This decision transcends political lines; it is about compassion and our collective responsibility to the people of Bristol. We must ensure that there is space for all our citizens to be laid to rest with the dignity they deserve, while also safeguarding our precious natural environment.
This is an opinion piece by Abdul Malik, a Green Party councillor for Ashley ward
Main photo: Green Party
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
