The controversial expansion of South Bristol Cemetery will still go ahead but on a reduced scale after a compromise was found. Councillors voted to press ahead with the expansion but – crucially – explore alternative options for drainage that are less damaging to the environment.
The expansion will be delayed while staff at Bristol City Council look at how they can prevent flooding in the graveyard without damaging a site of nature conservation interest. Catherine Withers, who runs the neighbouring Yew Tree Farm, had warned that previous drainage plans would pollute a nearby brook.
The decision was made by the cross-party public health and communities policy committee today (Oct 11). Greens said they had “found a solution” to the problem that balanced protecting the environment with providing enough spaces for Bristolians to bury the dead.
Green Councillor Abdul Malik tabled an amendment, paving the way for alternative options for the drainage to be explored. That followed concerns that a pond to collect excess rainwater could pollute Colliter’s Brook, a haven for wildlife that runs through south Bristol.
Cllr Malik said: “As someone who has worked closely with burials for the last two decades, I understand the significance of having a dignified resting place for our loved ones. But I also know the importance of protecting the precious green spaces we have left.
“This is about balancing respect — respect for families 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. The area is a sanctuary for wildlife, a breath of fresh air for the community, and a symbol of our commitment to protecting nature from the face of rapid development.
“My amendment asks us to pause, to look at alternative options before making any decisions that would harm this site. Let’s not rush into placing drainage systems through the SNCI without fully understanding the extent of the potential damage. We owe it to the people who live nearby, those who enjoy these green spaces, and wildlife that depends on it.”
The committee was asked to choose from three options: pressing ahead with the expansion as planned by the former Labour administration; expanding the cemetery but on a reduced scale; or scrapping the expansion altogether.
The limited expansion will avoid new burial plots on the SNCI and provide 870 new standard burial plots, just over half of the 1,550 originally planned. New burial plots will be created in the field in between the existing cemetery and the A38 Bridgwater Road, which is not used by Yew Tree Farm.
In the longer term, councillors will set up a taskforce to look at where else could be repurposed for a new cemetery. South Bristol Cemetery is the only council-owned graveyard with plots left, with the other seven already full up. The 870 plots should be enough to last another decade.
Building an entirely new cemetery was estimated to cost £4.5 million. Another option mentioned by the committee was repurposing a golf course as a new graveyard. But this could prove expensive, and some courses might not be suitable due to the type of land.
Jon James, head of service for natural and marine environment, said: “We would have to do a compulsory purchase but it could have a significant land value. We would be looking at exactly the same criteria: is it suitable land, are the gradients right, is there bedrock there, what’s the water table like?”
The reduced expansion initially included building an excess rainwater pond at the bottom of one of the meadows. Council staff will now explore alternative locations for this and the wider drainage issues that could be less harmful to the environment. The final decision would be taken by Liberal Democrat Cllr Stephen Williams, chair of the public health committee.
He would consult with the rest of the committee, although they will not meet in public to discuss the alternative options. Speaking after the committee meeting, he said the new Green-Liberal Democrat administration was “determined to be as transparent and cooperative as possible”.
Cllr Williams said: “We’re making sure that we take another opportunity to examine the drainage proposals that are currently in front of us. As an administration we’re determined to operate as transparently and cooperatively as possible with the public, which is quite a fundamental change from the mayoral model. People are witnessing that in action, particularly with the operation of this committee.
“It makes it more difficult for members and officers but at the end of the day we want to make sure that the public are confident that we’ve made a sound decision. They might not agree with it but they need to be confident that we’ve looked at all the evidence and professional advice that’s available to us.
“The most important thing we’ve decided today is that there’ll be no expansion of the cemetery into the SNCI itself. 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.”
Ms Withers, the farmer, said she was still sceptical about the compromise option. But she thanked the many supporters of Yew Tree Farm, some of whom packed out the public gallery during the committee meeting.
She said: “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 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. This option was offered to me on May 24 and I told them it wasn’t suitable.
“It feels like six months of torture, absolute torture. They’ve already broken pre-commencement conditions by removing scrub during bird nesting season in a dormice habitat, and we’ve found destroyed nests. That’s how much these guys like ecology. It doesn’t figure on them.
“I’m overwhelmed and blown away by the amount of support we have, to have scientists, ecologists, charity heads, ex-leaders of the council coming together to say stop this madness, stop building on SNCIs. This means you can build anywhere, nowhere is sacred, and that breaks my heart.
“I think I’ve been pushed into a corner I can’t get out of. Do I get a seat at the table? Nobody has spoken to me about that. They’re withholding surveys to say where this really special grassland is, we happen to know it’s exactly where they want to put the drainage, which is why we don’t have the availability of the surveys.
“We were promised, and I fought hard alongside Green councillors for an honest administration, and we are still not being delivered an honest administration. All of that work was done behind closed doors and not available to us as the public. We could be potentially killing a vital waterway in Bristol if we don’t get this right.”